diff --git a/packages/db/src/query/builder/index.ts b/packages/db/src/query/builder/index.ts
index c43f3ad48..9716bce4d 100644
--- a/packages/db/src/query/builder/index.ts
+++ b/packages/db/src/query/builder/index.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import {
 import {
   createRefProxy,
   createRefProxyWithSelected,
+  isRefProxy,
   toExpression,
 } from './ref-proxy.js'
 import type { NamespacedRow, SingleResult } from '../../types.js'
@@ -475,7 +476,19 @@ export class BaseQueryBuilder<TContext extends Context = Context> {
   ): QueryBuilder<WithResult<TContext, ResultTypeFromSelect<TSelectObject>>> {
     const aliases = this._getCurrentAliases()
     const refProxy = createRefProxy(aliases) as RefsForContext<TContext>
-    const selectObject = callback(refProxy)
+    let selectObject: any = callback(refProxy)
+
+    // When the callback returns a RefProxy directly
+    // (e.g. select(({ users }) => users)), treat it as if the user
+    // spread it (e.g. select(({ users }) => ({ ...users }))).
+    // This avoids a common pitfall where returning a ref directly
+    // produces ref/proxy metadata instead of actual row data.
+    if (isRefProxy(selectObject)) {
+      const path: Array<string> = selectObject.__path
+      const sentinelKey = `__SPREAD_SENTINEL__${path.join(`.`)}__0`
+      selectObject = { [sentinelKey]: true }
+    }
+
     const select = buildNestedSelect(selectObject)
 
     return new BaseQueryBuilder({
diff --git a/packages/db/tests/query/select-spread.test.ts b/packages/db/tests/query/select-spread.test.ts
index 30665f0fe..517d6650c 100644
--- a/packages/db/tests/query/select-spread.test.ts
+++ b/packages/db/tests/query/select-spread.test.ts
@@ -277,4 +277,49 @@ describe(`select spreads (runtime)`, () => {
     const r1 = Array.from(collection.values()).find((r) => r.id === 1) as any
     expect(r1.meta.author).toEqual({ name: `sam`, rating: 5 })
   })
+
+  it(`returning a ref directly (without spread) projects the full row`, async () => {
+    const collection = createLiveQueryCollection((q) =>
+      q.from({ message: messagesCollection }).select(({ message }) => message),
+    )
+    await collection.preload()
+
+    const results = Array.from(collection.values())
+    expect(results).toHaveLength(2)
+    expect(results).toEqual(initialMessages)
+    expect(collection.get(1)).toEqual(initialMessages[0])
+  })
+
+  it(`returning a ref directly preserves nested object fields`, async () => {
+    const messagesNested = createMessagesWithMetaCollection()
+    const collection = createLiveQueryCollection((q) =>
+      q.from({ m: messagesNested }).select(({ m }) => m),
+    )
+    await collection.preload()
+
+    const results = Array.from(collection.values())
+    expect(results).toEqual(nestedMessages)
+
+    const r1 = results.find((r) => r.id === 1) as MessageWithMeta
+    expect(r1.meta.author.name).toBe(`sam`)
+    expect(r1.meta.tags).toEqual([`a`, `b`])
+  })
+
+  it(`returning a ref directly works with live updates`, async () => {
+    const collection = createLiveQueryCollection((q) =>
+      q.from({ message: messagesCollection }).select(({ message }) => message),
+    )
+    await collection.preload()
+
+    messagesCollection.utils.begin()
+    messagesCollection.utils.write({
+      type: `insert`,
+      value: { id: 3, text: `test`, user: `alex` },
+    })
+    messagesCollection.utils.commit()
+
+    const results = Array.from(collection.values())
+    expect(results).toHaveLength(3)
+    expect(collection.get(3)).toEqual({ id: 3, text: `test`, user: `alex` })
+  })
 })