diff --git a/static/js/app/filesView.js b/static/js/app/filesView.js
index 41ff4771..9bc94db5 100644
--- a/static/js/app/filesView.js
+++ b/static/js/app/filesView.js
@@ -182,8 +182,8 @@ async function loadFiles(options = { insertHistory: true }) {
         // not required anymore
         clearTimeout(loadingFiles);
 
-        if (response.status === 401 || response.status === 403) {
-            console.warn('Auth error when loading files, showing empty list');
+        if (response.status === 403) {
+            console.warn('Forbidden when loading files');
             // FIXME: i18n
             ui.showError(`<p>Could not load files</p>`);
             return;
diff --git a/static/js/app/main.js b/static/js/app/main.js
index 10621899..5a59521f 100644
--- a/static/js/app/main.js
+++ b/static/js/app/main.js
@@ -3,6 +3,10 @@
  * This file contains the core functionality, initialization and state management
  */
 
+import { installFetchInterceptor } from '../core/fetchWrapper.js';
+
+installFetchInterceptor();
+
 import { formatFileSize, formatQuotaSize } from '../core/formatters.js';
 import { i18n } from '../core/i18n.js';
 import { Modal } from '../core/modal.js';
diff --git a/static/js/core/fetchWrapper.js b/static/js/core/fetchWrapper.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..13839d33
--- /dev/null
+++ b/static/js/core/fetchWrapper.js
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+/**
+ * Global fetch interceptor for transparent 401 → token-refresh → retry.
+ *
+ * WHY a global interceptor instead of a per-call wrapper:
+ *   Every authenticated API call in the app needs the same 401 handling.
+ *   Replacing each `fetch(...)` call individually is error-prone (easy to
+ *   miss one) and creates noise across every module. Patching `window.fetch`
+ *   once here means all existing and future calls are covered automatically.
+ *
+ * WHY _originalFetch must be used everywhere inside this module:
+ *   `_refresh()` itself calls `/api/auth/refresh`. If it used `window.fetch`
+ *   (the patched version), a 401 on the refresh endpoint would call `_refresh()`
+ *   again, which would call `window.fetch` again — infinite recursion. The same
+ *   applies to the interceptor's own initial call and the retry: they must all
+ *   bypass the interceptor by using the captured `_originalFetch` directly.
+ *
+ * WHY /api/auth/ endpoints are excluded from the retry logic:
+ *   login, logout, refresh, and /me are the auth primitives themselves.
+ *   A 401 on these means credentials are genuinely invalid — retrying after
+ *   a refresh makes no sense and would loop.
+ *
+ * WHY cross-origin requests bypass the interceptor entirely:
+ *   A 401 from an external service (e.g. a third-party library calling its own
+ *   API) has nothing to do with OxiCloud's session. Attempting a token refresh
+ *   and redirecting to /login in response would be catastrophic. Only same-origin
+ *   requests go through the refresh-and-retry path.
+ *
+ * Call `installFetchInterceptor()` once at app startup (before any fetch).
+ */
+
+import { getCsrfHeaders } from './csrf.js';
+
+const REFRESH_ENDPOINT = '/api/auth/refresh';
+const USER_DATA_KEY = 'oxicloud_user';
+
+/** Captured before patching — the only safe fetch inside this module. */
+let _originalFetch = window.fetch.bind(window);
+
+/** Deduplicates concurrent refresh attempts into a single in-flight promise. */
+let _refreshInFlight = null;
+
+async function _refresh() {
+    if (_refreshInFlight) return _refreshInFlight;
+
+    console.log(`requesting a refresh token`);
+
+    // Must use _originalFetch to avoid re-entering the interceptor.
+    _refreshInFlight = (async () => {
+        try {
+            const r = await _originalFetch(REFRESH_ENDPOINT, {
+                method: 'POST',
+                credentials: 'same-origin',
+                headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', ...getCsrfHeaders() },
+                body: '{}'
+            });
+            return r.ok;
+        } catch {
+            return false;
+        } finally {
+            _refreshInFlight = null;
+        }
+    })();
+
+    return _refreshInFlight;
+}
+
+function installFetchInterceptor() {
+    // Capture the real fetch before overwriting it.
+    _originalFetch = window.fetch.bind(window);
+
+    window.fetch = async (url, options) => {
+        // Use _originalFetch for the actual network call — NOT window.fetch —
+        // so this interceptor does not call itself recursively.
+        const response = await _originalFetch(url, options);
+
+        if (response.status !== 401) return response;
+
+        const urlStr = typeof url === 'string' ? url : url instanceof URL ? url.href : (url.url ?? '');
+
+        // Cross-origin: a 401 from an external service is none of our business.
+        // Pass it through untouched so the caller can handle it themselves.
+        try {
+            if (new URL(urlStr, window.location.origin).origin !== window.location.origin) {
+                return response;
+            }
+        } catch {
+            return response;
+        }
+
+        // Auth endpoints must bypass retry: a 401 on /api/auth/* means the
+        // credentials themselves are invalid; retrying would cause a loop.
+        // Public share endpoints (/api/s/) use 401 to mean "password required",
+        // not "session expired" — intercepting them would wrongly redirect to login.
+        if (urlStr.includes('/api/auth/') || urlStr.includes('/api/s/')) return response;
+
+        const refreshed = await _refresh();
+        if (!refreshed) {
+            localStorage.removeItem(USER_DATA_KEY);
+            window.location.href = '/login?source=session_expired';
+            throw new Error('Session expired');
+        }
+
+        // Retry with _originalFetch for the same reason as above.
+        return _originalFetch(url, options);
+    };
+}
+
+export { installFetchInterceptor };
diff --git a/static/js/features/library/favorites.js b/static/js/features/library/favorites.js
index 7fb19e63..4a8281c1 100644
--- a/static/js/features/library/favorites.js
+++ b/static/js/features/library/favorites.js
@@ -64,7 +64,6 @@ const favorites = {
 
             if (!response.ok) {
                 console.warn(`Favorites API returned ${response.status}`);
-                this._ready = true;
                 return;
             }
 
@@ -78,7 +77,6 @@ const favorites = {
             console.log(`Favorites cache loaded: ${this._cache.size} items`);
         } catch (err) {
             console.error('Error fetching favorites:', err);
-            this._ready = true;
         }
     },
 
@@ -161,10 +159,7 @@ const favorites = {
      */
     async displayFavorites() {
         try {
-            // Ensure cache is fresh
-            if (!this._ready) {
-                await this._fetchFromServer();
-            }
+            await this._fetchFromServer();
 
             ui.resetFilesList(); // ensure also list visible & error hidden
             // wire buttons & select-all-checkbox as list header has changed in ui.resetFilesList()