diff --git a/bin/refresh-node-cookies.py b/bin/refresh-node-cookies.py
index e149c14..6f2da02 100755
--- a/bin/refresh-node-cookies.py
+++ b/bin/refresh-node-cookies.py
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ instance inside its isolated network namespace and save to ~/.config/muse-cli/<n
 import sys
 import os
 import json
+import time
+import subprocess
 import urllib.request
 from pathlib import Path
 
@@ -36,6 +38,27 @@ def export_cookies(node):
         print("websocket-client not installed", file=sys.stderr)
         return False
 
+    # Check if CDP port is responding; if not, attempt background browser launch
+    try:
+        urllib.request.urlopen(f"http://127.0.0.1:{port}/json", timeout=2)
+    except Exception:
+        print(f"CDP unreachable on port {port}. Attempting background browser launch for {node}...", file=sys.stderr)
+        try:
+            subprocess.Popen([
+                str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent / "netvm-chrome.sh"),
+                "--headless", node, "https://muse.ai"
+            ], stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL, stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL)
+            # Give it up to 6 seconds to bind
+            for _ in range(12):
+                time.sleep(0.5)
+                try:
+                    urllib.request.urlopen(f"http://127.0.0.1:{port}/json", timeout=1)
+                    break
+                except Exception:
+                    pass
+        except Exception as e:
+            print(f"Failed to launch browser: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
+
     try:
         req = urllib.request.urlopen(f"http://127.0.0.1:{port}/json", timeout=3)
         tabs = json.loads(req.read().decode())