diff --git a/packages/core/src/tools/mcp-client.test.ts b/packages/core/src/tools/mcp-client.test.ts
index d25203a7c4c..ca375e74f3b 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tools/mcp-client.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/tools/mcp-client.test.ts
@@ -528,6 +528,34 @@ describe('mcp-client', () => {
       });
     });
 
+    it('skips OAuth without opening a browser in non-interactive mode on 401', async () => {
+      const { authenticate, connect, workspaceContext } = setupHttpOAuthRetry(
+        new Error(
+          'HTTP 401 Unauthorized\nwww-authenticate: Bearer realm="example", resource_metadata="https://example.com/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource"',
+        ),
+      );
+
+      await expect(
+        connectToMcpServer(
+          'http-server',
+          { httpUrl: 'http://test-server/mcp' },
+          false,
+          workspaceContext,
+          undefined,
+          false, // non-interactive (`-p`)
+        ),
+      ).rejects.toThrow(
+        // Pin the non-interactive branch specifically: the dialog-instruction
+        // substring alone appears in many OAuth error paths.
+        /non-interactive mode/,
+      );
+
+      // The interactive OAuth flow (which opens a browser) must not run.
+      expect(authenticate).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      // Only the initial connect attempt happens; no retry after OAuth.
+      expect(connect).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+
     it('falls back to base-url OAuth discovery when www-authenticate lacks resource metadata', async () => {
       const { authenticate, connect, discoverOAuthConfig, workspaceContext } =
         setupHttpOAuthRetry(
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tools/mcp-client.ts b/packages/core/src/tools/mcp-client.ts
index 18291e1d53a..2e97ad1b02e 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tools/mcp-client.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/tools/mcp-client.ts
@@ -901,6 +901,7 @@ export async function connectAndDiscover(
       debugMode,
       workspaceContext,
       sendSdkMcpMessage,
+      cliConfig.isInteractive(),
     );
 
     mcpClient.onerror = (error) => {
@@ -1291,6 +1292,7 @@ export function hasNetworkTransport(config: MCPServerConfig): boolean {
  * @param mcpServerName The name of the MCP server, used for logging and identification.
  * @param mcpServerConfig The configuration specifying how to connect to the server.
  * @param sendSdkMcpMessage Optional callback for SDK MCP servers to route messages via control plane.
+ * @param interactive When false (non-interactive/headless `-p` mode), skip OAuth flows that open a browser; the connection is rejected instead of blocking on a callback.
  * @returns A promise that resolves to a connected MCP `Client` instance.
  * @throws An error if the connection fails or the configuration is invalid.
  */
@@ -1300,6 +1302,10 @@ export async function connectToMcpServer(
   debugMode: boolean,
   workspaceContext: WorkspaceContext,
   sendSdkMcpMessage?: SendSdkMcpMessage,
+  // When false (non-interactive `-p` mode), never open a browser for MCP OAuth.
+  // A server that would require an interactive OAuth flow is skipped instead of
+  // blocking startup on a browser callback.
+  interactive: boolean = true,
 ): Promise<Client> {
   const mcpClient = new Client({
     name: 'qwen-code-mcp-client',
@@ -1439,6 +1445,18 @@ export async function connectToMcpServer(
         throw new Error(oauthMessage);
       }
 
+      // In non-interactive mode (`-p`) we must never open a browser for OAuth,
+      // as it would block startup on a callback the user can't complete. Skip
+      // this server instead — it surfaces via the normal failed-connection path.
+      if (!interactive) {
+        const oauthMessage =
+          `The MCP server '${mcpServerName}' requires OAuth authentication, ` +
+          `but Qwen Code is running in non-interactive mode. Skipping this server. ` +
+          getMcpOAuthDialogInstruction('authenticate', mcpServerName);
+        debugLogger.warn(oauthMessage);
+        throw new Error(oauthMessage);
+      }
+
       // Try to extract www-authenticate header from the error
       let wwwAuthenticate = extractWWWAuthenticateHeader(errorString);