diff --git a/apps/vscode/src/test/e2e/utils/helpers.ts b/apps/vscode/src/test/e2e/utils/helpers.ts
index 63ea21d649..784c35b0ec 100644
--- a/apps/vscode/src/test/e2e/utils/helpers.ts
+++ b/apps/vscode/src/test/e2e/utils/helpers.ts
@@ -420,6 +420,8 @@ export const e2e = test
 						TEMP_PROFILE: "true",
 						E2E_TEST: "true",
 						CLINE_ENVIRONMENT: "local",
+						// Prevent OAuth E2E from launching a browser that can outlive VS Code on Linux.
+						CLINE_CAPTURE_BROWSER: "true",
 						CLINE_DIR: clineTestDir, // Isolate test data from user's ~/.cline
 						CLINE_DATA_DIR: clineDataDir, // Keep SDK/shared storage off the user's real Cline data dir
 						GRPC_RECORDER_FILE_NAME: E2ETestHelper.generateTestFileName(testInfo.title, testInfo.project.name),