diff --git a/packages/electron/main.mjs b/packages/electron/main.mjs
index ca188e7e..3e97f541 100644
--- a/packages/electron/main.mjs
+++ b/packages/electron/main.mjs
@@ -537,9 +537,37 @@ const readDesktopLocalClientToken = () => {
   return sanitizeClientTokenForStorage(readSettingsRoot().desktopLocalClientToken) || '';
 };
 
+const isMachineLocalHostname = (hostname) => {
+  const clean = String(hostname || '').replace(/^\[|\]$/g, '');
+  if (!clean) return false;
+  if (clean === 'localhost' || clean === '127.0.0.1' || clean === '::1' || clean === '0.0.0.0' || clean === '::') {
+    return true;
+  }
+  try {
+    return Object.values(os.networkInterfaces()).some((entries) =>
+      (entries || []).some((entry) => entry?.address === clean));
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+};
+
 const isLocalRuntimeUrl = (targetUrl) => {
   const localUrl = state.sidecarUrl || state.localOrigin || '';
-  return Boolean(localUrl && sameOrigin(targetUrl, localUrl));
+  if (!localUrl) return false;
+  if (sameOrigin(targetUrl, localUrl)) return true;
+  // The embedded server bound to 0.0.0.0 for LAN access is still THIS
+  // machine's server when addressed via any of its own interfaces on the same
+  // port — the minted client token must carry the desktop-local kind, or the
+  // server's client-create gate rejects it (the "Local — Auth required" +
+  // unreachable-screen regression).
+  try {
+    const target = new URL(targetUrl);
+    const local = new URL(localUrl);
+    const portOf = (url) => url.port || (url.protocol === 'https:' ? '443' : '80');
+    return portOf(target) === portOf(local) && isMachineLocalHostname(target.hostname);
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
 };
 
 const readDesktopHostsConfig = () => {
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/components/auth/SessionAuthGate.tsx b/packages/ui/src/components/auth/SessionAuthGate.tsx
index 8dbe460b..00c7c336 100644
--- a/packages/ui/src/components/auth/SessionAuthGate.tsx
+++ b/packages/ui/src/components/auth/SessionAuthGate.tsx
@@ -51,11 +51,30 @@ const shouldIssueDesktopClientToken = (): boolean => {
   return isDesktopShell();
 };
 
+const isLoopbackHostname = (hostname: string): boolean => {
+  const clean = hostname.replace(/^\[|\]$/g, '');
+  return clean === 'localhost' || clean === '127.0.0.1' || clean === '::1';
+};
+
 const isLocalDesktopRuntime = (): boolean => {
   if (!isDesktopShell()) return false;
-  const apiBaseUrl = getRuntimeApiBaseUrl();
   const localOrigin = readLocalOrigin();
-  return Boolean(localOrigin && sameOrigin(localOrigin, apiBaseUrl));
+  if (!localOrigin) return false;
+  // An empty api base means same-origin requests against the page itself —
+  // which on desktop IS the embedded local server. Requiring an exact origin
+  // match here used to leave local client tokens untagged (no desktop-local
+  // clientKind), and the server's client-create gate then 403'd them.
+  const apiBaseUrl = getRuntimeApiBaseUrl();
+  const effectiveTarget = apiBaseUrl || (typeof window !== 'undefined' ? window.location.origin : '');
+  if (sameOrigin(localOrigin, effectiveTarget)) return true;
+  // Loopback aliases (localhost vs 127.0.0.1) still address this machine's
+  // own server.
+  try {
+    const normalized = normalizeHostUrl(effectiveTarget);
+    return Boolean(normalized && isLoopbackHostname(new URL(normalized).hostname));
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
 };
 
 const desktopClientAuthMetadata = (): { clientKind?: string; dedupeKey?: string } => {
diff --git a/packages/web/server/lib/client-auth/remote-clients.js b/packages/web/server/lib/client-auth/remote-clients.js
index 7b87deb1..e16f391b 100644
--- a/packages/web/server/lib/client-auth/remote-clients.js
+++ b/packages/web/server/lib/client-auth/remote-clients.js
@@ -135,6 +135,14 @@ export const createRemoteClientAuthRuntime = ({ fsPromises, path, crypto, storeP
       };
       if (normalizedDedupeKey) {
         store.clients = store.clients.filter((entry) => entry.dedupeKey !== normalizedDedupeKey);
+        // Migrate pre-clientKind desktop tokens: a deduped, kind-tagged mint
+        // supersedes legacy records with the same label that carry neither a
+        // kind nor a dedupe key — those tokens can no longer pass the
+        // desktop-local client-create gate and would otherwise linger forever.
+        if (client.clientKind) {
+          store.clients = store.clients.filter((entry) =>
+            !(entry.label === client.label && !entry.clientKind && !entry.dedupeKey));
+        }
       }
       store.clients.push(client);
       await writeStore(store);