diff --git a/browse/src/port-allocator.ts b/browse/src/port-allocator.ts
index a564c20ff..0365b5ef9 100644
--- a/browse/src/port-allocator.ts
+++ b/browse/src/port-allocator.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 /**
  * Shared loopback port allocation (#2314, decision 8).
  *
- * One fixed scan range (10000-60000) for EVERY long-lived gstack listener:
+ * One fixed scan range (10000-49151) for EVERY long-lived gstack listener:
  * the main browse daemon and the terminal-agent. Binding `port: 0` instead
  * hands out a port from the OS EPHEMERAL range (49152-65535 on macOS) — the
  * same pool every short-lived test server draws from — so a daemon that
  * lives for weeks ends up squatting ports that `app.listen(0)` test servers
- * expect to receive, silently absorbing their traffic as phantom 404s.
+ * expect to receive, silently absorbing their traffic as phantom 404s. The
+ * range therefore ends AT 49151: a max above it would put a fraction of
+ * picks back inside the pool this module exists to avoid (the original
+ * 60000 cap left ~22% of allocations in 49152-59999).
  *
  * Extracted from server.ts (which had this logic since #486) so
  * terminal-agent.ts can reuse it without importing the whole server module.
@@ -24,7 +27,7 @@ export type FailedPortAttempt = {
 };
 
 export const RANDOM_PORT_MIN = 10000;
-export const RANDOM_PORT_MAX = 60000;
+export const RANDOM_PORT_MAX = 49151; // last port BELOW the macOS ephemeral pool (49152-65535)
 export const RANDOM_PORT_RETRIES = 5;
 
 export function normalizePortError(err: unknown): Extract<PortCheckResult, { available: false }> {
diff --git a/browse/src/terminal-agent.ts b/browse/src/terminal-agent.ts
index ca7cde701..21ce5581a 100644
--- a/browse/src/terminal-agent.ts
+++ b/browse/src/terminal-agent.ts
@@ -952,10 +952,25 @@ function readBrowseToken(): string {
 // Boot.
 async function main() {
   writeClaudeAvailable();
-  // #2314: allocate from the shared fixed scan range, then bind. Same
-  // probe-then-bind semantics as the main server's findPort.
-  const allocatedPort = await findAvailablePort();
-  const server = buildServer(allocatedPort);
+  // #2314: allocate from the shared fixed scan range, then bind. Probe-then-
+  // bind has a TOCTOU window — a concurrent process can take the port between
+  // the probe and Bun.serve, which throws and would kill the boot with no
+  // retry (main().catch → exit 1). Re-allocate and retry a few times; each
+  // iteration probes fresh, so only a genuine race lands here.
+  let server: ReturnType<typeof buildServer> | undefined;
+  let lastBindErr: unknown;
+  for (let attempt = 0; attempt < 5 && !server; attempt++) {
+    const allocatedPort = await findAvailablePort();
+    try {
+      server = buildServer(allocatedPort);
+    } catch (err) {
+      lastBindErr = err;
+    }
+  }
+  if (!server) {
+    console.error(`[terminal-agent] failed to bind after 5 attempts: ${lastBindErr}`);
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
   const port = (server as any).port || (server as any).address?.port;
   if (!port) {
     console.error('[terminal-agent] failed to bind: no port');
diff --git a/browse/test/terminal-agent-port-range.test.ts b/browse/test/terminal-agent-port-range.test.ts
index ec32b0029..9fcf0e1fe 100644
--- a/browse/test/terminal-agent-port-range.test.ts
+++ b/browse/test/terminal-agent-port-range.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /**
  * #2314: the terminal-agent must allocate its port from the SAME fixed
- * 10000-60000 scan range the main server uses (port-allocator.ts,
+ * 10000-49151 scan range the main server uses (port-allocator.ts,
  * decision 8) — never `port: 0`. Binding 0 drew from the OS ephemeral range
  * (49152-65535 on macOS), where the weeks-lived agent squatted ports that
  * short-lived `app.listen(0)` test servers expected to receive, absorbing
@@ -26,8 +26,10 @@ describe('shared port allocator (#2314)', () => {
       const port = await findAvailablePort();
       expect(port).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(RANDOM_PORT_MIN);
       expect(port).toBeLessThan(RANDOM_PORT_MAX);
-      // The load-bearing property: below the ephemeral floor (49152).
-      expect(RANDOM_PORT_MAX).toBeLessThanOrEqual(60000);
+      // The load-bearing property: the WHOLE range sits below the ephemeral
+      // floor (49152). The original 60000 cap left ~22% of picks inside the
+      // pool this allocator exists to avoid.
+      expect(RANDOM_PORT_MAX).toBeLessThan(49152);
       expect(RANDOM_PORT_MIN).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(1024);
     }
   });