diff --git a/backend/services/agent_shell_ws_token.py b/backend/services/agent_shell_ws_token.py
index 9653b98..72ec452 100644
--- a/backend/services/agent_shell_ws_token.py
+++ b/backend/services/agent_shell_ws_token.py
@@ -13,25 +13,31 @@ _store: dict[str, float] = {}
 _lock = Lock()
 
 
-def _purge_expired(*, force: bool = False) -> None:
+def _purge_expired_locked(now: float) -> None:
+    """Drop expired tokens while the caller holds ``_lock``."""
+    expired = [token for token, expires in _store.items() if expires <= now]
+    for token in expired:
+        _store.pop(token, None)
+
+
+def _purge_expired() -> None:
     now = time.time()
     with _lock:
-        expired = [token for token, expires in _store.items() if expires <= now]
-        for token in expired:
-            _store.pop(token, None)
-        if force and len(_store) > _MAX_ACTIVE_TOKENS:
-            for token in list(_store.keys())[: len(_store) - _MAX_ACTIVE_TOKENS]:
-                _store.pop(token, None)
+        _purge_expired_locked(now)
 
 
 def mint_agent_shell_ws_token() -> tuple[str, int]:
-    """Return (token, expires_in_seconds)."""
-    _purge_expired()
+    """Return (token, expires_in_seconds) without exceeding the store bound."""
     token = secrets.token_urlsafe(32)
-    expires_at = time.time() + _TOKEN_TTL_SECONDS
+    now = time.time()
+    expires_at = now + _TOKEN_TTL_SECONDS
     with _lock:
+        _purge_expired_locked(now)
         if len(_store) >= _MAX_ACTIVE_TOKENS:
-            _purge_expired(force=True)
+            # Evict the token that will expire soonest. This keeps the store
+            # bounded without recursively acquiring the non-reentrant lock.
+            oldest = min(_store, key=_store.get)
+            _store.pop(oldest, None)
         _store[token] = expires_at
     return token, int(_TOKEN_TTL_SECONDS)
 
@@ -43,6 +49,7 @@ def consume_agent_shell_ws_token(token: str) -> bool:
         return False
     now = time.time()
     with _lock:
+        _purge_expired_locked(now)
         expires_at = _store.pop(cleaned, None)
     return expires_at is not None and expires_at > now