diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index d3da90d0a..c998c9003 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -112,6 +112,13 @@ CLOUDFRONT_DOMAIN=
 # attribute and browsers silently drop such cookies.
 COOKIE_DOMAIN=
 
+# AUTH_TOKEN_TTL — auth token lifetime. Accepts Go duration strings (e.g.
+# "8760h", "720h30m") or plain integer seconds.
+# Default: 2592000 (30 days). Self-hosted deployments on trusted networks can
+# set a longer value to reduce re-authentication frequency.
+# Note: longer TTL = longer exposure window if a cookie is leaked.
+# AUTH_TOKEN_TTL=2592000
+
 # Local file storage (fallback when S3_BUCKET is not set)
 LOCAL_UPLOAD_DIR=./data/uploads
 LOCAL_UPLOAD_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080
diff --git a/server/internal/auth/cookie.go b/server/internal/auth/cookie.go
index 5f3330535..8634e0cd8 100644
--- a/server/internal/auth/cookie.go
+++ b/server/internal/auth/cookie.go
@@ -6,22 +6,87 @@ import (
 	"crypto/sha256"
 	"encoding/hex"
 	"log/slog"
+	"math"
 	"net"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/url"
 	"os"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 )
 
 const (
-	AuthCookieName   = "multica_auth"
-	CSRFCookieName   = "multica_csrf"
-	authCookieMaxAge = 30 * 24 * 60 * 60 // 30 days in seconds
+	AuthCookieName      = "multica_auth"
+	CSRFCookieName      = "multica_csrf"
+	defaultAuthTokenTTL = 30 * 24 * time.Hour // 30 days
 )
 
-var ipCookieDomainWarnOnce sync.Once
+var (
+	ipCookieDomainWarnOnce sync.Once
+	authTokenTTLOnce       sync.Once
+	authTokenTTLCached     time.Duration
+)
+
+// parseAuthTokenTTL parses a raw AUTH_TOKEN_TTL value into a duration.
+// It first tries time.ParseDuration (e.g. "8760h", "720h30m"), then falls
+// back to parsing as integer seconds. Returns the parsed duration and true
+// on success; zero and false when the input is empty or invalid.
+func parseAuthTokenTTL(raw string) (time.Duration, bool) {
+	raw = strings.TrimSpace(raw)
+	if raw == "" {
+		return 0, false
+	}
+
+	// Try Go duration string first (e.g. "8760h", "720h30m").
+	if d, err := time.ParseDuration(raw); err == nil {
+		if d <= 0 {
+			return 0, false
+		}
+		if d > 10*365*24*time.Hour {
+			slog.Warn("AUTH_TOKEN_TTL exceeds 10 years; accepting but verify this is intentional",
+				"value", raw, "hours", d.Hours())
+		}
+		return d, true
+	}
+
+	// Fall back to plain integer seconds.
+	secs, err := strconv.ParseInt(raw, 10, 64)
+	if err != nil || secs <= 0 {
+		return 0, false
+	}
+	if secs > int64(math.MaxInt64/int64(time.Second)) {
+		return 0, false
+	}
+	d := time.Duration(secs) * time.Second
+	if d > 10*365*24*time.Hour {
+		slog.Warn("AUTH_TOKEN_TTL exceeds 10 years; accepting but verify this is intentional",
+			"value", raw, "hours", d.Hours())
+	}
+	return d, true
+}
+
+// AuthTokenTTL returns the configured auth token lifetime. It reads the
+// AUTH_TOKEN_TTL environment variable (Go duration string or integer seconds) on first call and caches
+// the result. When the variable is unset or invalid the default of 30 days
+// is used.
+func AuthTokenTTL() time.Duration {
+	authTokenTTLOnce.Do(func() {
+		raw := os.Getenv("AUTH_TOKEN_TTL")
+		if ttl, ok := parseAuthTokenTTL(raw); ok {
+			authTokenTTLCached = ttl
+			slog.Info("auth token TTL configured", "seconds", int(ttl.Seconds()))
+			return
+		}
+		authTokenTTLCached = defaultAuthTokenTTL
+		if strings.TrimSpace(raw) != "" {
+			slog.Warn("AUTH_TOKEN_TTL is not a valid duration or positive integer; using default",
+				"value", raw, "default_seconds", int(defaultAuthTokenTTL.Seconds()))
+		}
+	})
+	return authTokenTTLCached
+}
 
 // cookieDomain returns the trimmed COOKIE_DOMAIN env value, or "" if it looks
 // like an IP address. RFC 6265 §4.1.2.3 forbids IP literals in the cookie
@@ -84,14 +149,16 @@ func generateCSRFToken(authToken string) (string, error) {
 func SetAuthCookies(w http.ResponseWriter, token string) error {
 	secure := isSecureCookie()
 	domain := cookieDomain()
+	ttl := AuthTokenTTL()
+	now := time.Now()
 
 	http.SetCookie(w, &http.Cookie{
 		Name:     AuthCookieName,
 		Value:    token,
 		Path:     "/",
 		Domain:   domain,
-		MaxAge:   authCookieMaxAge,
-		Expires:  time.Now().Add(30 * 24 * time.Hour),
+		MaxAge:   int(ttl.Seconds()),
+		Expires:  now.Add(ttl),
 		HttpOnly: true,
 		Secure:   secure,
 		SameSite: http.SameSiteStrictMode,
@@ -107,8 +174,8 @@ func SetAuthCookies(w http.ResponseWriter, token string) error {
 		Value:    csrfToken,
 		Path:     "/",
 		Domain:   domain,
-		MaxAge:   authCookieMaxAge,
-		Expires:  time.Now().Add(30 * 24 * time.Hour),
+		MaxAge:   int(ttl.Seconds()),
+		Expires:  now.Add(ttl),
 		HttpOnly: false,
 		Secure:   secure,
 		SameSite: http.SameSiteStrictMode,
diff --git a/server/internal/auth/cookie_test.go b/server/internal/auth/cookie_test.go
index 40ec49a28..775eeb362 100644
--- a/server/internal/auth/cookie_test.go
+++ b/server/internal/auth/cookie_test.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package auth
 import (
 	"net/http/httptest"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 )
 
 func TestIsSecureCookie(t *testing.T) {
@@ -81,6 +82,37 @@ func TestSetAuthCookies_HTTPSelfHost(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestParseAuthTokenTTL(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name    string
+		raw     string
+		wantDur time.Duration
+		wantOK  bool
+	}{
+		{"empty string", "", 0, false},
+		{"valid 3600", "3600", time.Hour, true},
+		{"valid 86400", "86400", 24 * time.Hour, true},
+		{"negative", "-100", 0, false},
+		{"zero", "0", 0, false},
+		{"non-numeric", "abc", 0, false},
+		{"whitespace trimmed", " 7200 ", 2 * time.Hour, true},
+		{"duration hours", "8760h", 8760 * time.Hour, true},
+		{"duration compound", "720h30m", 720*time.Hour + 30*time.Minute, true},
+		{"duration minutes", "90m", 90 * time.Minute, true},
+		{"duration negative", "-1h", 0, false},
+		{"duration zero", "0s", 0, false},
+		{"integer overflow", "9999999999", 0, false},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got, ok := parseAuthTokenTTL(tc.raw)
+			if ok != tc.wantOK || got != tc.wantDur {
+				t.Errorf("parseAuthTokenTTL(%q) = (%v, %v), want (%v, %v)", tc.raw, got, ok, tc.wantDur, tc.wantOK)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func TestSetAuthCookies_HTTPSProduction(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Setenv("FRONTEND_ORIGIN", "https://app.example.com")
 	t.Setenv("COOKIE_DOMAIN", "app.example.com")
diff --git a/server/internal/handler/auth.go b/server/internal/handler/auth.go
index d40a50b4b..aa0ef233d 100644
--- a/server/internal/handler/auth.go
+++ b/server/internal/handler/auth.go
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ func (h *Handler) issueJWT(user db.User) (string, error) {
 		"sub":   uuidToString(user.ID),
 		"email": user.Email,
 		"name":  user.Name,
-		"exp":   time.Now().Add(30 * 24 * time.Hour).Unix(),
+		"exp":   time.Now().Add(auth.AuthTokenTTL()).Unix(),
 		"iat":   time.Now().Unix(),
 	})
 	return token.SignedString(auth.JWTSecret())
@@ -393,7 +393,7 @@ func (h *Handler) VerifyCode(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 
 	// Set CloudFront signed cookies for CDN access.
 	if h.CFSigner != nil {
-		for _, cookie := range h.CFSigner.SignedCookies(time.Now().Add(30 * 24 * time.Hour)) {
+		for _, cookie := range h.CFSigner.SignedCookies(time.Now().Add(auth.AuthTokenTTL())) {
 			http.SetCookie(w, cookie)
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/server/internal/middleware/cloudfront.go b/server/internal/middleware/cloudfront.go
index b6a27d751..79621b5ef 100644
--- a/server/internal/middleware/cloudfront.go
+++ b/server/internal/middleware/cloudfront.go
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ func RefreshCloudFrontCookies(signer *auth.CloudFrontSigner) func(http.Handler)
 		}
 		return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 			if _, err := r.Cookie("CloudFront-Policy"); err != nil {
-				for _, cookie := range signer.SignedCookies(time.Now().Add(30 * 24 * time.Hour)) {
+				ttl := auth.AuthTokenTTL()
+				for _, cookie := range signer.SignedCookies(time.Now().Add(ttl)) {
 					http.SetCookie(w, cookie)
 				}
 			}
diff --git a/server/internal/middleware/cloudfront_test.go b/server/internal/middleware/cloudfront_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..060713f1f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/internal/middleware/cloudfront_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+package middleware
+
+import (
+	"crypto/rand"
+	"crypto/rsa"
+	"crypto/x509"
+	"encoding/base64"
+	"encoding/pem"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/multica-ai/multica/server/internal/auth"
+)
+
+// testSigner sets up env vars and creates a CloudFrontSigner with a throwaway RSA key.
+func testSigner(t *testing.T) *auth.CloudFrontSigner {
+	t.Helper()
+	key, err := rsa.GenerateKey(rand.Reader, 2048)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	pkcs8Bytes, err := x509.MarshalPKCS8PrivateKey(key)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	pemBlock := pem.EncodeToMemory(&pem.Block{Type: "PRIVATE KEY", Bytes: pkcs8Bytes})
+	b64Key := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(pemBlock)
+
+	t.Setenv("CLOUDFRONT_KEY_PAIR_ID", "TESTKEY")
+	t.Setenv("CLOUDFRONT_DOMAIN", "cdn.example.com")
+	t.Setenv("COOKIE_DOMAIN", ".example.com")
+	t.Setenv("CLOUDFRONT_PRIVATE_KEY", b64Key)
+
+	signer := auth.NewCloudFrontSignerFromEnv()
+	if signer == nil {
+		t.Fatal("failed to create test CloudFrontSigner")
+	}
+	return signer
+}
+
+func TestRefreshCloudFrontCookies_UsesAuthTokenTTL(t *testing.T) {
+	// Set a short TTL (1 hour) so we can verify the middleware does NOT use
+	// the old hardcoded 30-day value.
+	t.Setenv("AUTH_TOKEN_TTL", "1h")
+
+	signer := testSigner(t)
+	handler := RefreshCloudFrontCookies(signer)(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+	}))
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/", nil)
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+
+	handler.ServeHTTP(rec, req)
+
+	cookies := rec.Result().Cookies()
+	if len(cookies) == 0 {
+		t.Fatal("expected CloudFront cookies to be set")
+	}
+
+	for _, c := range cookies {
+		// Cookie expiry should be ~1 hour from now, not ~30 days.
+		untilExpiry := time.Until(c.Expires)
+		if untilExpiry > 2*time.Hour {
+			t.Errorf("cookie %q expires in %v; expected ~1h (AUTH_TOKEN_TTL), got what looks like 30-day hardcode", c.Name, untilExpiry)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRefreshCloudFrontCookies_NilSigner(t *testing.T) {
+	handler := RefreshCloudFrontCookies(nil)(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+	}))
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/", nil)
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+
+	handler.ServeHTTP(rec, req)
+
+	if len(rec.Result().Cookies()) != 0 {
+		t.Error("nil signer should not set any cookies")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRefreshCloudFrontCookies_SkipsWhenCookiePresent(t *testing.T) {
+	signer := testSigner(t)
+	handler := RefreshCloudFrontCookies(signer)(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+	}))
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/", nil)
+	req.AddCookie(&http.Cookie{Name: "CloudFront-Policy", Value: "existing"})
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+
+	handler.ServeHTTP(rec, req)
+
+	if len(rec.Result().Cookies()) != 0 {
+		t.Error("should not refresh cookies when CloudFront-Policy is already present")
+	}
+}