diff --git a/src/ServerProcess.cpp b/src/ServerProcess.cpp
index 923776d..06bdd30 100644
--- a/src/ServerProcess.cpp
+++ b/src/ServerProcess.cpp
@@ -4,12 +4,14 @@
 #include <QJsonObject>
 #include <QJsonArray>
 #include <QDir>
+#include <QFile>
 #include <QFileInfo>
 #include <QHostAddress>
 
 namespace {
 constexpr int kDefaultAdminPort = 7779;
 constexpr int kAdminTimeoutMs = 3000;
+constexpr auto kAdminTokenFileName = ".admin-token";
 }
 
 ServerProcess::ServerProcess(QObject *parent)
@@ -86,8 +88,33 @@ void ServerProcess::stop() {
 }
 
 QJsonObject ServerProcess::sendAdminCommand(const QJsonObject &request) {
+    if (serverDir.isEmpty()) {
+        return QJsonObject{
+            {QStringLiteral("ok"), false},
+            {QStringLiteral("error"), QStringLiteral("Server directory is unavailable for admin authentication")}
+        };
+    }
+
+    QFile tokenFile(QDir(serverDir).absoluteFilePath(QString::fromLatin1(kAdminTokenFileName)));
+    if (!tokenFile.open(QIODevice::ReadOnly | QIODevice::Text)) {
+        return QJsonObject{
+            {QStringLiteral("ok"), false},
+            {QStringLiteral("error"), QStringLiteral("Admin authentication token is not available yet")}
+        };
+    }
+    const QByteArray token = tokenFile.readAll().trimmed();
+    tokenFile.close();
+    if (token.isEmpty()) {
+        return QJsonObject{
+            {QStringLiteral("ok"), false},
+            {QStringLiteral("error"), QStringLiteral("Admin authentication token is empty")}
+        };
+    }
+
+    QJsonObject authenticatedRequest = request;
+    authenticatedRequest.insert(QStringLiteral("adminToken"), QString::fromUtf8(token));
+
     QTcpSocket socket;
-    // Force IPv4 loopback — matches server admin bind on 127.0.0.1.
     socket.connectToHost(QStringLiteral("127.0.0.1"), static_cast<quint16>(m_adminPort));
     if (!socket.waitForConnected(kAdminTimeoutMs)) {
         return QJsonObject{
@@ -99,7 +126,7 @@ QJsonObject ServerProcess::sendAdminCommand(const QJsonObject &request) {
         };
     }
 
-    const QByteArray payload = QJsonDocument(request).toJson(QJsonDocument::Compact) + '\n';
+    const QByteArray payload = QJsonDocument(authenticatedRequest).toJson(QJsonDocument::Compact) + '\n';
     if (socket.write(payload) < 0 || !socket.waitForBytesWritten(kAdminTimeoutMs)) {
         return QJsonObject{
             {QStringLiteral("ok"), false},
@@ -140,7 +167,6 @@ void ServerProcess::fetchStats() {
         emit statsUpdated(statsResponse.value(QStringLiteral("data")).toObject());
     } else {
         ++adminFailCount;
-        // Avoid spamming the log every second while the admin port is still starting.
         if (adminFailCount == 3 || adminFailCount == 10 || (adminFailCount % 30) == 0) {
             emit logMessage(QStringLiteral("[ADMIN] %1")
                                 .arg(statsResponse.value(QStringLiteral("error"))
@@ -315,8 +341,6 @@ QString ServerProcess::findServerDirectory() {
         }
     }
 
-    // Fallback: accept server dirs without admin_server.py so older layouts still launch,
-    // but prefer ones that include the admin channel when present.
     dir = QDir(QCoreApplication::applicationDirPath());
     for (int i = 0; i < 8; ++i) {
         const QString candidate = dir.absoluteFilePath(QStringLiteral("server"));