diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 895f5e07..a4d8c83a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,26 @@
 
 All notable changes to the Toolpath workspace are documented here.
 
+## `path auth login --token` — streamlined, browser-free sign-in — 2026-07-01
+
+Adds a second way to authenticate the CLI that skips the browser code
+exchange entirely. The existing flow (`path auth login` → open
+`<base>/auth/cli` → copy an 8-character code → paste it back → redeem)
+still works unchanged; `--token` is an alternative for when you're already
+signed in on the Pathbase site, which can then hand you a single
+ready-to-paste command.
+
+- **`path auth login --token <token>`** (path-cli 0.15.0). The token *is*
+  the bearer credential — there's no redeem round-trip. The CLI validates
+  it against `GET /api/v1/users/me` before writing anything, so a bad or
+  expired token fails fast and never leaves a half-written session on disk;
+  on success it stores the same `credentials.json` (0600) the code flow
+  produces. Server URL resolves as usual (`--url` → `$PATHBASE_URL` →
+  `https://pathbase.dev`).
+- `--token` **conflicts with** `--code`. The interactive prompt now also
+  points at the one-line token command for users already signed in on the
+  site.
+
 ## Token usage: once per message, with per-step attribution + kind v1.1.0 — 2026-06-17
 
 Fixes token over-counting in derived documents (~3× output-token
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 01c70e9f..9b9d1733 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -134,6 +134,7 @@ cargo run -p path-cli -- show claude --project /path/to/project --session <sessi
 cargo run -p path-cli -- p track init --file src/main.rs --actor "human:alex"
 cargo run -p path-cli -- p validate --input doc.json
 cargo run -p path-cli -- auth login
+cargo run -p path-cli -- auth login --token <token>   # streamlined: paste a token from Pathbase, no browser round-trip
 cargo run -p path-cli -- auth status
 cargo run -p path-cli -- auth whoami
 cargo run -p path-cli -- auth logout
@@ -156,6 +157,14 @@ writes to `~/.toolpath/credentials.json` (0600, parent dir 0700) and sends as
 overrides the credentials directory. Server URL comes from `--url`, then
 `$PATHBASE_URL`, then `https://pathbase.dev`.
 
+`path auth login --token <token>` is the streamlined alternative — no browser
+code exchange. When you're already signed in on the Pathbase site it hands you
+a ready-to-paste `path auth login --token <token>` command; the CLI validates
+that token with `GET /api/v1/users/me` (so a bad/expired token fails fast and
+never gets written), then stores the same `credentials.json` session the code
+flow produces. `--token` conflicts with `--code`. The token *is* the bearer
+credential — there's no redeem step. See `login_with_token` in `cmd_auth.rs`.
+
 The CLI redeem endpoint (`POST /api/v1/auth/cli/redeem`) is real and works
 in production but is **not listed in `schema/pathbase-openapi.json`** — the
 OpenAPI spec only covers the documented surface. Don't be surprised that
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 77e86508..55187785 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -2308,7 +2308,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "path-cli"
-version = "0.14.0"
+version = "0.15.0"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "assert_cmd",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index b03c2d21..7fbe44d2 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ toolpath-github = { version = "0.6.0", path = "crates/toolpath-github" }
 toolpath-dot = { version = "0.5.0", path = "crates/toolpath-dot" }
 toolpath-md = { version = "0.7.0", path = "crates/toolpath-md" }
 toolpath-pi = { version = "0.6.0", path = "crates/toolpath-pi" }
-path-cli = { version = "0.14.0", path = "crates/path-cli" }
+path-cli = { version = "0.15.0", path = "crates/path-cli" }
 pathbase-client = { version = "0.2.0", path = "crates/pathbase-client" }
 
 reqwest = { version = "0.13", default-features = false, features = ["blocking", "json", "rustls"] }
diff --git a/crates/path-cli/Cargo.toml b/crates/path-cli/Cargo.toml
index 01eea174..7a6fa876 100644
--- a/crates/path-cli/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/path-cli/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "path-cli"
-version = "0.14.0"
+version = "0.15.0"
 edition.workspace = true
 license.workspace = true
 repository = "https://github.com/empathic/toolpath"
diff --git a/crates/path-cli/src/cmd_auth.rs b/crates/path-cli/src/cmd_auth.rs
index 621dbc4a..92494dc0 100644
--- a/crates/path-cli/src/cmd_auth.rs
+++ b/crates/path-cli/src/cmd_auth.rs
@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
-use anyhow::{Result, anyhow};
+use anyhow::{Context, Result, anyhow, bail};
 use clap::Subcommand;
 use std::path::Path;
 
 use crate::cmd_pathbase::{
-    StoredSession, api_logout, api_me, api_redeem, clear_session, credentials_path, load_session,
-    prompt_line, resolve_url, store_session,
+    StoredSession, User, api_logout, api_me, api_redeem, clear_session, credentials_path,
+    load_session, prompt_line, resolve_url, store_session,
 };
 
 #[derive(Subcommand, Debug)]
 pub enum AuthOp {
-    /// Log in by opening a browser to Pathbase and pasting the displayed code
+    /// Log in to Pathbase — paste a code from the browser, or a token
     Login {
         /// Pathbase server URL (defaults to $PATHBASE_URL or https://pathbase.dev)
         #[arg(long)]
@@ -18,6 +18,13 @@ pub enum AuthOp {
         /// Paste the code directly instead of prompting
         #[arg(long)]
         code: Option<String>,
+
+        /// Log in with a token straight from Pathbase, skipping the browser
+        /// code exchange. When you're already signed in on the Pathbase site
+        /// it hands you a ready-to-paste `path auth login --token <token>`
+        /// command; this validates that token and stores the session.
+        #[arg(long, conflicts_with = "code")]
+        token: Option<String>,
     },
     /// Log out and clear the stored session
     Logout,
@@ -30,17 +37,26 @@ pub enum AuthOp {
 pub fn run(op: AuthOp) -> Result<()> {
     let path = credentials_path()?;
     match op {
-        AuthOp::Login { url, code } => login(&path, url, code),
+        AuthOp::Login { url, code, token } => login(&path, url, code, token),
         AuthOp::Logout => logout(&path),
         AuthOp::Status => status(&path),
         AuthOp::Whoami => whoami(&path),
     }
 }
 
-fn login(path: &Path, url: Option<String>, code_arg: Option<String>) -> Result<()> {
+fn login(
+    path: &Path,
+    url: Option<String>,
+    code_arg: Option<String>,
+    token_arg: Option<String>,
+) -> Result<()> {
     let base_url = resolve_url(url);
-    let auth_url = format!("{base_url}/auth/cli");
 
+    if let Some(raw) = token_arg {
+        return login_with_token(path, &base_url, raw);
+    }
+
+    let auth_url = format!("{base_url}/auth/cli");
     let code = match code_arg {
         Some(c) => c,
         None => {
@@ -50,15 +66,41 @@ fn login(path: &Path, url: Option<String>, code_arg: Option<String>) -> Result<(
             println!("  2. Sign in if prompted");
             println!("  3. Copy the 8-character code shown on that page");
             println!();
+            println!("  (already signed in there? paste the one-line");
+            println!("   `path auth login --token <token>` command instead)");
+            println!();
             prompt_line("Paste code: ")?
         }
     };
 
     let (token, user) = api_redeem(&base_url, &code)?;
+    finish_login(path, &base_url, token, user)
+}
+
+/// Sign in with a token issued directly by Pathbase, no browser round-trip.
+///
+/// The token is used as-is as the bearer credential; we validate it (and
+/// resolve the account it belongs to) with a `GET /users/me` before writing
+/// it to disk, so a bad or expired token fails here instead of silently at
+/// the next upload.
+fn login_with_token(path: &Path, base_url: &str, raw: String) -> Result<()> {
+    let token = raw.trim().to_string();
+    if token.is_empty() {
+        bail!("--token was empty; paste the token from {base_url}/auth/cli");
+    }
+
+    let user = api_me(base_url, &token)
+        .with_context(|| format!("failed to sign in to {base_url} with the provided token"))?;
+    finish_login(path, base_url, token, user)
+}
+
+/// Persist the session and print the "logged in as …" confirmation. Shared
+/// by the code-exchange and token login flows.
+fn finish_login(path: &Path, base_url: &str, token: String, user: User) -> Result<()> {
     store_session(
         path,
         &StoredSession {
-            url: base_url.clone(),
+            url: base_url.to_string(),
             token,
             user: user.clone(),
         },
diff --git a/crates/path-cli/tests/integration.rs b/crates/path-cli/tests/integration.rs
index 27c53d8a..ec68aa0b 100644
--- a/crates/path-cli/tests/integration.rs
+++ b/crates/path-cli/tests/integration.rs
@@ -412,6 +412,103 @@ fn auth_login_against_unreachable_url_errors() {
         .stderr(predicate::str::contains("127.0.0.1"));
 }
 
+/// One-shot mock of `GET /api/v1/users/me`. `path auth login --token`
+/// validates the pasted token against this endpoint before storing it.
+fn spawn_me_mock(status_line: &'static str, body: String) -> (u16, std::thread::JoinHandle<()>) {
+    use std::io::{Read, Write};
+    use std::net::TcpListener;
+    let listener = TcpListener::bind("127.0.0.1:0").unwrap();
+    let port = listener.local_addr().unwrap().port();
+    let handle = std::thread::spawn(move || {
+        let (mut stream, _) = listener.accept().unwrap();
+        let mut buf = [0u8; 4096];
+        let _ = stream.read(&mut buf);
+        let resp = format!(
+            "{status_line}\r\nContent-Length: {}\r\nContent-Type: application/json\r\n\r\n{body}",
+            body.len()
+        );
+        let _ = stream.write_all(resp.as_bytes());
+    });
+    (port, handle)
+}
+
+/// Minimal `User` payload — the fields the generated pathbase client
+/// requires to decode `/users/me` successfully.
+fn me_body(username: &str) -> String {
+    format!(
+        r#"{{"id":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001","username":"{username}","created_at":"2024-01-01T00:00:00Z","updated_at":"2024-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}"#
+    )
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn auth_login_help_mentions_token() {
+    cmd()
+        .args(["auth", "login", "--help"])
+        .assert()
+        .success()
+        .stdout(predicate::str::contains("--token"));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn auth_login_token_conflicts_with_code() {
+    cmd()
+        .args(["auth", "login", "--token", "tok", "--code", "BCDFGHJK"])
+        .assert()
+        .failure()
+        .stderr(predicate::str::contains("cannot be used with"));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn auth_login_with_token_validates_and_stores_session() {
+    let (port, server) = spawn_me_mock("HTTP/1.1 200 OK", me_body("alice"));
+    let cfg = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+    let url = format!("http://127.0.0.1:{port}");
+
+    // Token login hits /users/me, resolves the account, writes credentials.
+    cmd()
+        .env("TOOLPATH_CONFIG_DIR", cfg.path())
+        .args(["auth", "login", "--token", "secret-token", "--url"])
+        .arg(&url)
+        .assert()
+        .success()
+        .stdout(predicate::str::contains("Logged in to"))
+        .stdout(predicate::str::contains("alice"));
+    server.join().unwrap();
+
+    // The session is on disk — `status` reads it back with no network call.
+    cmd()
+        .env("TOOLPATH_CONFIG_DIR", cfg.path())
+        .args(["auth", "status"])
+        .assert()
+        .success()
+        .stdout(predicate::str::contains("alice"))
+        .stdout(predicate::str::contains(&url));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn auth_login_with_rejected_token_errors() {
+    let (port, server) = spawn_me_mock("HTTP/1.1 401 Unauthorized", "{}".to_string());
+    let cfg = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+    let url = format!("http://127.0.0.1:{port}");
+
+    cmd()
+        .env("TOOLPATH_CONFIG_DIR", cfg.path())
+        .args(["auth", "login", "--token", "bad-token", "--url"])
+        .arg(&url)
+        .assert()
+        .failure()
+        .stderr(predicate::str::contains("failed to sign in"));
+    server.join().unwrap();
+
+    // A rejected token must not leave a half-written session behind.
+    cmd()
+        .env("TOOLPATH_CONFIG_DIR", cfg.path())
+        .args(["auth", "status"])
+        .assert()
+        .success()
+        .stdout(predicate::str::contains("Not logged in"));
+}
+
 // ── Import / export / cache ─────────────────────────────────────────
 
 #[test]
diff --git a/site/_data/crates.json b/site/_data/crates.json
index abf80299..c9335061 100644
--- a/site/_data/crates.json
+++ b/site/_data/crates.json
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@
   },
   {
     "name": "path-cli",
-    "version": "0.14.0",
+    "version": "0.15.0",
     "description": "Unified CLI (binary: path)",
     "docs": "https://docs.rs/path-cli",
     "crate": "https://crates.io/crates/path-cli",