diff --git a/packages/common/src/ide/types/QuickPickOptions.ts b/packages/common/src/ide/types/QuickPickOptions.ts
index 41868a6897..89ffd110c0 100644
--- a/packages/common/src/ide/types/QuickPickOptions.ts
+++ b/packages/common/src/ide/types/QuickPickOptions.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,21 @@
-export interface UnknownValuesOptions {
-  allowed: true;
+export interface QuickPickOptions {
+  /**
+   * An optional string that represents the title of the quick pick.
+   */
+  title?: string;
+
+  /**
+   * An optional string that represents the default value to be selected in the quick pick.
+   */
+  defaultValue?: string;
 
   /**
-   * An optional template to use when displaying the new option to the user. The
-   * template must include `{}` as a substring, which will be replaced with the
-   * user's input when displaying an option to add the unknown item.
+   * Indicates whether the quick pick should allow unknown values, and if so,
+   * how to handle them.
+   *
+   * If provided as a string: An optional template to use when displaying the new
+   * option to the user. The template must include `{}` as a substring, which will
+   * be replaced with the user's input when displaying an option to add the unknown item.
    *
    * For example:
    *
@@ -16,18 +27,5 @@ export interface UnknownValuesOptions {
    *
    * "Add new value 'foo' →"
    */
-  newValueTemplate?: string;
-}
-
-export interface QuickPickOptions {
-  /**
-   * An optional string that represents the title of the quick pick.
-   */
-  title?: string;
-
-  /**
-   * Indicates whether the quick pick should allow unknown values, and if so,
-   * how to handle them.
-   */
-  unknownValues?: UnknownValuesOptions;
+  unknownValues?: boolean | string;
 }
diff --git a/packages/cursorless-vscode/src/ide/vscode/VscodeIDE.ts b/packages/cursorless-vscode/src/ide/vscode/VscodeIDE.ts
index 65adc58d40..c235ddd0f9 100644
--- a/packages/cursorless-vscode/src/ide/vscode/VscodeIDE.ts
+++ b/packages/cursorless-vscode/src/ide/vscode/VscodeIDE.ts
@@ -58,11 +58,11 @@ export class VscodeIDE implements IDE {
     this.editorMap = new WeakMap<vscode.TextEditor, VscodeTextEditorImpl>();
   }
 
-  async showQuickPick(
+  showQuickPick(
     items: readonly string[],
     options?: QuickPickOptions,
   ): Promise<string | undefined> {
-    return await vscodeShowQuickPick(items, options);
+    return vscodeShowQuickPick(items, options);
   }
 
   setHighlightRanges(
diff --git a/packages/cursorless-vscode/src/ide/vscode/vscodeShowQuickPick.ts b/packages/cursorless-vscode/src/ide/vscode/vscodeShowQuickPick.ts
index eec26dd236..d16aaf3b85 100644
--- a/packages/cursorless-vscode/src/ide/vscode/vscodeShowQuickPick.ts
+++ b/packages/cursorless-vscode/src/ide/vscode/vscodeShowQuickPick.ts
@@ -1,26 +1,5 @@
+import type { QuickPickOptions } from "@cursorless/common";
 import * as vscode from "vscode";
-import type {
-  QuickPickOptions,
-  UnknownValuesOptions,
-} from "@cursorless/common";
-
-export async function vscodeShowQuickPick(
-  items: readonly string[],
-  options: QuickPickOptions | undefined,
-) {
-  if (options?.unknownValues == null) {
-    return await vscode.window.showQuickPick(items, options);
-  }
-
-  const { unknownValues, ...rest } = options;
-  return await showQuickPickAllowingUnknown(items, unknownValues, rest);
-}
-
-interface CustomQuickPickItem extends vscode.QuickPickItem {
-  value: string;
-}
-
-const DEFAULT_NEW_VALUE_TEMPLATE = "Add new value '{}' →";
 
 /**
  * Show a quick pick that allows the user to enter a new value.  We do this by
@@ -29,43 +8,58 @@ const DEFAULT_NEW_VALUE_TEMPLATE = "Add new value '{}' →";
  * detect that it is an unknown value and handle that case.
  *
  * Based on https://stackoverflow.com/a/69842249
- * @param items
- * @param options
  */
-function showQuickPickAllowingUnknown(
-  choices: readonly string[],
-  unknownValues: UnknownValuesOptions,
-  options: vscode.QuickPickOptions,
+
+interface CustomQuickPickItem extends vscode.QuickPickItem {
+  value: string;
+}
+
+export function vscodeShowQuickPick(
+  items: readonly string[],
+  options: QuickPickOptions | undefined,
 ) {
   return new Promise<string | undefined>((resolve, _reject) => {
     const quickPick = vscode.window.createQuickPick<CustomQuickPickItem>();
-    const quickPickItems = choices.map((choice) => ({
-      label: choice,
-      value: choice,
+
+    const quickPickItems = items.map((item) => ({
+      label: item,
+      value: item,
     }));
+
     quickPick.items = quickPickItems;
 
-    if (options.title != null) {
+    if (options?.title != null) {
       quickPick.title = options.title;
     }
 
-    const { newValueTemplate = DEFAULT_NEW_VALUE_TEMPLATE } = unknownValues;
+    if (options?.defaultValue != null) {
+      quickPick.activeItems = quickPickItems.filter(
+        (item) => item.value === options.defaultValue,
+      );
+    }
+
+    if (options?.unknownValues) {
+      const newValueTemplate =
+        typeof options.unknownValues === "string"
+          ? options.unknownValues
+          : "Add new value '{}' →";
 
-    quickPick.onDidChangeValue(() => {
-      quickPick.items = [
-        ...quickPickItems,
+      quickPick.onDidChangeValue(() => {
+        quickPick.items = [
+          ...quickPickItems,
 
-        // INJECT user values into proposed values
-        ...(choices.includes(quickPick.value)
-          ? []
-          : [
-              {
-                label: newValueTemplate.replace("{}", quickPick.value),
-                value: quickPick.value,
-              },
-            ]),
-      ];
-    });
+          // INJECT user values into proposed values
+          ...(items.includes(quickPick.value) || quickPick.value.trim() === ""
+            ? []
+            : [
+                {
+                  label: newValueTemplate.replace("{}", quickPick.value),
+                  value: quickPick.value,
+                },
+              ]),
+        ];
+      });
+    }
 
     quickPick.onDidAccept(() => {
       const selection = quickPick.activeItems[0];
diff --git a/packages/test-case-recorder/src/ScopeTestRecorder.ts b/packages/test-case-recorder/src/ScopeTestRecorder.ts
index 9158505738..d8068bddfc 100644
--- a/packages/test-case-recorder/src/ScopeTestRecorder.ts
+++ b/packages/test-case-recorder/src/ScopeTestRecorder.ts
@@ -118,6 +118,7 @@ export class ScopeTestRecorder {
     languageIds.sort();
     return this.ide.showQuickPick(languageIds, {
       title: "Select language to record scope tests for",
+      defaultValue: this.ide.activeTextEditor?.document.languageId,
     });
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/test-case-recorder/src/TestCaseRecorder.ts b/packages/test-case-recorder/src/TestCaseRecorder.ts
index fb6dd24c6b..3466ea9790 100644
--- a/packages/test-case-recorder/src/TestCaseRecorder.ts
+++ b/packages/test-case-recorder/src/TestCaseRecorder.ts
@@ -418,10 +418,7 @@ export class TestCaseRecorder {
       walkDirsSync(this.fixtureRoot).concat("/"),
       {
         title: "Select directory for new test cases",
-        unknownValues: {
-          allowed: true,
-          newValueTemplate: "Create new directory '{}' →",
-        },
+        unknownValues: "Create new directory '{}' →",
       },
     );