diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e3c7ce1..35102ea 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 - Make `generate-cli --bundle` artifacts deterministic by removing bundle-only paths/timestamps from embedded metadata and sorting generated tool/schema output. (Issue #180, thanks @imroc)
 - Let daemon-managed OAuth servers reuse cached credentials for tool calls and tool listing after token expiry. (PR #182 / issue #181, thanks @bradhallett)
+- Avoid restarting browser OAuth when an already-connected server has a still-valid cached access token. (Issue #179, thanks @jaigew and @StanAngeloff)
 
 ## [0.11.1] - 2026-05-14
 
diff --git a/src/runtime/oauth.ts b/src/runtime/oauth.ts
index 6038d21..f7210d7 100644
--- a/src/runtime/oauth.ts
+++ b/src/runtime/oauth.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { auth as sdkAuth } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/auth.js';
 import type { Client } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/index.js';
+import type { OAuthTokens } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/shared/auth.js';
 import type { Transport } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/shared/transport.js';
 import type { Logger } from '../logging.js';
 import type { OAuthSession } from '../oauth.js';
@@ -9,6 +10,7 @@ export const DEFAULT_OAUTH_CODE_TIMEOUT_MS = 300_000;
 const OAUTH_FLOW_ERROR = Symbol('oauth-flow-error');
 const POST_AUTH_CONNECT_ERROR = Symbol('post-auth-connect-error');
 const MAX_OAUTH_ERROR_DETAIL_LENGTH = 1_200;
+const PROACTIVE_TOKEN_SKEW_SECONDS = 60;
 
 export interface OAuthCapableTransport extends Transport {
   close(): Promise<void>;
@@ -109,6 +111,15 @@ function hasErrorMarker(error: unknown, marker: symbol): boolean {
   );
 }
 
+function hasUsableCachedAccessToken(tokens: OAuthTokens | undefined): boolean {
+  if (!tokens || typeof tokens.access_token !== 'string' || tokens.access_token.trim().length === 0) {
+    return false;
+  }
+  const stored = tokens as OAuthTokens & { expires_at?: number; expiresAt?: number };
+  const expiresAt = typeof stored.expires_at === 'number' ? stored.expires_at : stored.expiresAt;
+  return typeof expiresAt === 'number' && expiresAt > Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + PROACTIVE_TOKEN_SKEW_SECONDS;
+}
+
 export async function connectWithAuth(
   client: Client,
   transport: OAuthCapableTransport,
@@ -239,6 +250,10 @@ async function completeProactiveAuthorization(
     return;
   }
   try {
+    const cachedTokens = await session.provider.tokens?.();
+    if (hasUsableCachedAccessToken(cachedTokens)) {
+      return;
+    }
     const result = await sdkAuth(session.provider, {
       serverUrl: options.serverUrl,
       fetchFn: options.fetchFn,
diff --git a/tests/runtime-oauth-connect.test.ts b/tests/runtime-oauth-connect.test.ts
index 11245c9..cc9583f 100644
--- a/tests/runtime-oauth-connect.test.ts
+++ b/tests/runtime-oauth-connect.test.ts
@@ -241,6 +241,67 @@ describe('connectWithAuth', () => {
     expect(connectedTransport).toBe(transport);
   });
 
+  it('skips proactive OAuth when cached tokens are still usable', async () => {
+    const connect = vi.fn().mockResolvedValueOnce(undefined);
+    const client = { connect } as unknown as Client;
+    const { session, waitForAuthorizationCode } = createPendingAuthorizationSession();
+    const tokens = vi.fn(async () => ({
+      access_token: 'cached-token',
+      token_type: 'Bearer',
+      expires_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + 3600,
+    }));
+    session.provider.tokens = tokens;
+    mocks.sdkAuth.mockResolvedValueOnce('REDIRECT');
+
+    const transport = new MockTransport();
+    const logger = createLogger();
+
+    const connectedTransport = await connectWithAuth(client, transport, session, logger, {
+      serverName: 'courtlistener',
+      maxAttempts: 1,
+      oauthTimeoutMs: 5000,
+      serverUrl: 'https://courtlistener.example/mcp',
+    });
+
+    expect(tokens).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(mocks.sdkAuth).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(waitForAuthorizationCode).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(transport.calls).toEqual([]);
+    expect(session.close).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(connectedTransport).toBe(transport);
+  });
+
+  it('runs proactive OAuth when cached tokens are expired', async () => {
+    const connect = vi.fn().mockResolvedValueOnce(undefined);
+    const client = { connect } as unknown as Client;
+    const { session, waitForAuthorizationCode } = createPendingAuthorizationSession();
+    session.provider.tokens = vi.fn(async () => ({
+      access_token: 'expired-token',
+      token_type: 'Bearer',
+      expires_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) - 60,
+    }));
+    mocks.sdkAuth.mockResolvedValueOnce('AUTHORIZED');
+
+    const transport = new MockTransport();
+    const logger = createLogger();
+
+    const connectedTransport = await connectWithAuth(client, transport, session, logger, {
+      serverName: 'courtlistener',
+      maxAttempts: 1,
+      oauthTimeoutMs: 5000,
+      serverUrl: 'https://courtlistener.example/mcp',
+    });
+
+    expect(mocks.sdkAuth).toHaveBeenCalledWith(session.provider, {
+      serverUrl: 'https://courtlistener.example/mcp',
+      fetchFn: undefined,
+    });
+    expect(waitForAuthorizationCode).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(transport.calls).toEqual([]);
+    expect(session.close).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(connectedTransport).toBe(transport);
+  });
+
   it('marks proactive OAuth failures as OAuth flow errors', async () => {
     const connect = vi.fn().mockResolvedValueOnce(undefined);
     const client = { connect } as unknown as Client;
@@ -261,6 +322,28 @@ describe('connectWithAuth', () => {
     ).rejects.toSatisfy((error: unknown) => error === authError && isOAuthFlowError(error));
   });
 
+  it('marks cached token read failures during proactive OAuth as OAuth flow errors', async () => {
+    const connect = vi.fn().mockResolvedValueOnce(undefined);
+    const client = { connect } as unknown as Client;
+    const { session } = createPendingAuthorizationSession();
+    const tokenError = new Error('malformed token cache');
+    session.provider.tokens = vi.fn(async () => {
+      throw tokenError;
+    });
+
+    const transport = new MockTransport();
+    const logger = createLogger();
+
+    await expect(
+      connectWithAuth(client, transport, session, logger, {
+        serverName: 'calendar',
+        maxAttempts: 1,
+        oauthTimeoutMs: 5000,
+        serverUrl: 'https://calendar.example/mcp',
+      })
+    ).rejects.toSatisfy((error: unknown) => error === tokenError && isOAuthFlowError(error));
+  });
+
   it('marks finishAuth failures as oauth flow errors', async () => {
     const connect = vi.fn().mockRejectedValueOnce(new UnauthorizedError('auth needed'));
     const client = { connect } as unknown as Client;