diff --git a/clients/web/server/vite-base-config.ts b/clients/web/server/vite-base-config.ts
index 5d4345a3..9a0a4609 100644
--- a/clients/web/server/vite-base-config.ts
+++ b/clients/web/server/vite-base-config.ts
@@ -59,14 +59,43 @@ export function getViteBaseConfig() {
       // That was one instance of a class, not the class: any package a story
       // or component starts importing after the cache was written is
       // discovered the same way, and pinning each one here would chase the
-      // symptom. The `storybook` project in `vite.config.ts` now sets
-      // `optimizeDeps.force` so every run re-scans the story entries up front
-      // (#2340); this entry stays as the explicit include it always was.
+      // symptom. `getStorybookOptimizeDeps` below adds `force` so every run
+      // re-scans the story entries up front (#2340); this entry stays as the
+      // explicit include it always was.
       include: ["@modelcontextprotocol/client"],
     },
   };
 }
 
+/**
+ * Storybook (browser Vitest project) optimizeDeps: the base set, re-bundled
+ * on every run instead of read from the cache (#2340).
+ *
+ * Vite keys that cache on the lockfile and on the config, never on what the
+ * story graph imports, so a cached bundle stays "valid" after a story or
+ * component gains an import of a package that is already installed. With a
+ * valid cache Vite skips the scan, and the first request for the new package
+ * re-runs the optimizer mid-run: the shared chunks are rewritten, the `?v=`
+ * browser hash is bumped, and Vite sends a `full-reload` that the Vitest
+ * tester iframes do not act on. The `@storybook/react` renderer already loaded
+ * in a live iframe still holds the old hash for its lazy
+ * `import("@storybook/react-dom-shim")`, so every story that iframe renders
+ * from then on fails with "Failed to fetch dynamically imported module" — and
+ * the next run is green, because the cache has caught up. `force` discards the
+ * cache up front so the scanner crawls every story entry before the browser
+ * opens: the same cold path CI takes on every PR. Cost: ~0.8s per run.
+ *
+ * Spread from `getViteBaseConfig()` rather than left to Vitest's project merge
+ * so the include/exclude the base set carries are the helper's own claim, and
+ * tested as such.
+ */
+export function getStorybookOptimizeDeps() {
+  return {
+    ...getViteBaseConfig().optimizeDeps,
+    force: true,
+  };
+}
+
 /**
  * Dev-server optimizeDeps: rebuild from scratch each launch — no stale
  * pre-bundles carried across restarts (avoids 504 Outdated Optimize Dep).
diff --git a/clients/web/src/test/integration/server/vite-base-config.test.ts b/clients/web/src/test/integration/server/vite-base-config.test.ts
index 90c39abd..2fcb88d9 100644
--- a/clients/web/src/test/integration/server/vite-base-config.test.ts
+++ b/clients/web/src/test/integration/server/vite-base-config.test.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import { join } from "node:path";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import {
   clearViteDepsCache,
+  getStorybookOptimizeDeps,
   getViteBaseConfig,
   getViteDevOptimizeDeps,
 } from "../../../../server/vite-base-config.js";
@@ -54,6 +55,30 @@ describe("getViteDevOptimizeDeps", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("getStorybookOptimizeDeps", () => {
+  it("forces a re-bundle on every run so a stale cache cannot re-optimize mid-run (#2340)", () => {
+    const config = getStorybookOptimizeDeps();
+    expect(config.force).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the base include and exclude sets", () => {
+    const config = getStorybookOptimizeDeps();
+    const base = getViteBaseConfig().optimizeDeps;
+    expect(config.include).toEqual(base.include);
+    expect(config.exclude).toEqual(base.exclude);
+    expect(config.include).toContain("@modelcontextprotocol/client");
+  });
+
+  it("does not carry the dev server's stale-request tolerance", () => {
+    // `ignoreOutdatedRequests` belongs to `vite dev`, where a full page reload
+    // follows a re-optimization; under Vitest a request for an outdated dep
+    // must fail loudly, since nothing reloads the tester iframe.
+    expect(getStorybookOptimizeDeps()).not.toHaveProperty(
+      "ignoreOutdatedRequests",
+    );
+  });
+});
+
 describe("clearViteDepsCache", () => {
   let tempRoot: string;
 
diff --git a/clients/web/vite.config.ts b/clients/web/vite.config.ts
index 85ec909f..ac7f541b 100644
--- a/clients/web/vite.config.ts
+++ b/clients/web/vite.config.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { storybookTest } from "@storybook/addon-vitest/vitest-plugin";
 import { playwright } from "@vitest/browser-playwright";
 import { honoMiddlewarePlugin } from "./server/vite-hono-plugin";
 import {
+  getStorybookOptimizeDeps,
   getViteBaseConfig,
   getViteDevOptimizeDeps,
 } from "./server/vite-base-config";
@@ -391,24 +392,10 @@ export default defineConfig(({ command }) => {
               configDir: path.join(dirname, ".storybook"),
             }),
           ],
-          optimizeDeps: {
-            // Re-bundle the browser dep pre-bundle on every run instead of
-            // trusting the cached one (#2340). Vite keys that cache on the
-            // lockfile and on this config, never on what the story graph
-            // imports, so a cached bundle stays "valid" after a story or
-            // component gains an import of a package that is already
-            // installed. The first request for it then re-runs the optimizer
-            // mid-run, which bumps the `?v=` browser hash and rewrites the
-            // shared chunks; the `@storybook/react` renderer already loaded in
-            // a live test iframe still holds the old hash for its lazy
-            // `import("@storybook/react-dom-shim")`, so every story that
-            // iframe renders from then on fails with "Failed to fetch
-            // dynamically imported module", and the next run is green because
-            // the cache has caught up. `force` discards the cache up front, so
-            // the scanner crawls every story entry before the browser opens —
-            // the same cold path CI takes on every PR. Cost: ~0.8s per run.
-            force: true,
-          },
+          // Re-bundled on every run rather than read from the cache — the
+          // stale-cache failure it prevents, and why `force` is the lever, are
+          // on the helper (#2340).
+          optimizeDeps: getStorybookOptimizeDeps(),
           test: {
             name: "storybook",
             // Vitest's default is 5000ms, which is the whole budget a play