diff --git a/client/src/App.tsx b/client/src/App.tsx
index 59d15ba06..4440ab5a4 100644
--- a/client/src/App.tsx
+++ b/client/src/App.tsx
@@ -90,6 +90,8 @@ import {
   initializeInspectorConfig,
   saveInspectorConfig,
   getMCPTaskTtl,
+  getAutoConnect,
+  stripAutoConnectParam,
 } from "./utils/configUtils";
 import ElicitationTab, {
   PendingElicitationRequest,
@@ -584,6 +586,19 @@ const App = () => {
     saveInspectorConfig(CONFIG_LOCAL_STORAGE_KEY, config);
   }, [config]);
 
+  // Auto-connect when ?autoConnect=true is present in the URL.
+  // One-shot: the param is stripped after consumption so refreshes
+  // and disconnect/reconnect cycles don't re-trigger it.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (getAutoConnect()) {
+      stripAutoConnectParam();
+      void connectMcpServer();
+    }
+    // Only run once on mount — intentionally omitting connectMcpServer
+    // from deps so this doesn't re-fire on reconnects.
+    // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
+  }, []);
+
   const onOAuthConnect = useCallback(
     (serverUrl: string) => {
       setSseUrl(serverUrl);
diff --git a/client/src/__tests__/App.autoConnect.test.tsx b/client/src/__tests__/App.autoConnect.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7adeb877e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/src/__tests__/App.autoConnect.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+import { render, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
+import App from "../App";
+import { DEFAULT_INSPECTOR_CONFIG } from "../lib/constants";
+import { InspectorConfig } from "../lib/configurationTypes";
+import * as configUtils from "../utils/configUtils";
+
+// Mock auth dependencies first
+jest.mock("@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/auth.js", () => ({
+  auth: jest.fn(),
+}));
+
+jest.mock("../lib/oauth-state-machine", () => ({
+  OAuthStateMachine: jest.fn(),
+}));
+
+jest.mock("../lib/auth", () => ({
+  InspectorOAuthClientProvider: jest.fn().mockImplementation(() => ({
+    tokens: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(null),
+    clear: jest.fn(),
+  })),
+  DebugInspectorOAuthClientProvider: jest.fn(),
+}));
+
+// Mock the config utils — keep the real implementations but allow overriding
+jest.mock("../utils/configUtils", () => ({
+  ...jest.requireActual("../utils/configUtils"),
+  getMCPProxyAddress: jest.fn(() => "http://localhost:6277"),
+  getMCPProxyAuthToken: jest.fn((config: InspectorConfig) => ({
+    token: config.MCP_PROXY_AUTH_TOKEN.value,
+    header: "X-MCP-Proxy-Auth",
+  })),
+  getInitialTransportType: jest.fn(() => "stdio"),
+  getInitialSseUrl: jest.fn(() => "http://localhost:3001/sse"),
+  getInitialCommand: jest.fn(() => "mcp-server-everything"),
+  getInitialArgs: jest.fn(() => ""),
+  initializeInspectorConfig: jest.fn(() => DEFAULT_INSPECTOR_CONFIG),
+  saveInspectorConfig: jest.fn(),
+  getAutoConnect: jest.fn(() => false),
+  stripAutoConnectParam: jest.fn(),
+}));
+
+const mockGetAutoConnect = configUtils.getAutoConnect as jest.Mock;
+const mockStripAutoConnectParam =
+  configUtils.stripAutoConnectParam as jest.Mock;
+
+// Mock useConnection to capture the connect function
+const mockConnect = jest.fn();
+jest.mock("../lib/hooks/useConnection", () => ({
+  useConnection: () => ({
+    connectionStatus: "disconnected",
+    serverCapabilities: null,
+    mcpClient: null,
+    requestHistory: [],
+    clearRequestHistory: jest.fn(),
+    makeRequest: jest.fn(),
+    sendNotification: jest.fn(),
+    handleCompletion: jest.fn(),
+    completionsSupported: false,
+    connect: mockConnect,
+    disconnect: jest.fn(),
+  }),
+}));
+
+jest.mock("../lib/hooks/useDraggablePane", () => ({
+  useDraggablePane: () => ({
+    height: 300,
+    handleDragStart: jest.fn(),
+  }),
+  useDraggableSidebar: () => ({
+    width: 320,
+    isDragging: false,
+    handleDragStart: jest.fn(),
+  }),
+}));
+
+jest.mock("../components/Sidebar", () => ({
+  __esModule: true,
+  default: () => <div>Sidebar</div>,
+}));
+
+// Mock fetch
+global.fetch = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+  json: () => Promise.resolve({}),
+});
+
+describe("App - autoConnect query param", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    jest.clearAllMocks();
+    (global.fetch as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue({
+      json: () => Promise.resolve({}),
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("calls connectMcpServer on mount when autoConnect=true", async () => {
+    mockGetAutoConnect.mockReturnValue(true);
+
+    render(<App />);
+
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(mockConnect).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("strips autoConnect param from URL after consuming it", async () => {
+    mockGetAutoConnect.mockReturnValue(true);
+
+    render(<App />);
+
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(mockStripAutoConnectParam).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("does not call connectMcpServer when autoConnect is not set", async () => {
+    mockGetAutoConnect.mockReturnValue(false);
+
+    render(<App />);
+
+    // Wait for initial render effects to settle
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(mockGetAutoConnect).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
+    expect(mockConnect).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(mockStripAutoConnectParam).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/client/src/utils/configUtils.ts b/client/src/utils/configUtils.ts
index bc081b8f8..b0f7b8323 100644
--- a/client/src/utils/configUtils.ts
+++ b/client/src/utils/configUtils.ts
@@ -92,6 +92,22 @@ export const getInitialArgs = (): string => {
   return localStorage.getItem("lastArgs") || "";
 };
 
+export const getAutoConnect = (): boolean => {
+  return getSearchParam("autoConnect") === "true";
+};
+
+export const stripAutoConnectParam = (): void => {
+  try {
+    const url = new URL(window.location.href);
+    if (url.searchParams.has("autoConnect")) {
+      url.searchParams.delete("autoConnect");
+      window.history.replaceState({}, "", url.toString());
+    }
+  } catch {
+    // Ignore URL parsing errors
+  }
+};
+
 // Returns a map of config key -> value from query params if present
 export const getConfigOverridesFromQueryParams = (
   defaultConfig: InspectorConfig,