diff --git a/vite.config.ts b/vite.config.ts
index 97adb6081..806fb0a36 100644
--- a/vite.config.ts
+++ b/vite.config.ts
@@ -139,6 +139,9 @@ export default defineConfig(({ mode }) => ({
   server: {
     port: 4000,
     headers: devHeaders,
+    // agent notes under .claude can be HTML, and any HTML change in the root
+    // triggers a full page reload
+    watch: { ignored: ['**/.claude/**'] },
     // these only get hit when MSW doesn't intercept the request
     proxy: {
       '/v1': {