diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index bd65eb185..78afd6de8 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -72,15 +72,15 @@ watch: watch-js
 build-all: build-go build-js
 pull: docker-pull
 test: test-js test-go
-test-go: reset-sqlite run-test-go
-test-pkg: reset-sqlite run-test-pkg
-test-ai: reset-sqlite run-test-ai
-test-api: reset-sqlite run-test-api
-test-video: reset-sqlite run-test-video
-test-entity: reset-sqlite run-test-entity
-test-commands: reset-sqlite run-test-commands
-test-photoprism: reset-sqlite run-test-photoprism
-test-short: reset-sqlite run-test-short
+test-go: run-test-go
+test-pkg: run-test-pkg
+test-ai: run-test-ai
+test-api: run-test-api
+test-video: run-test-video
+test-entity: run-test-entity
+test-commands: run-test-commands
+test-photoprism: run-test-photoprism
+test-short: run-test-short
 test-mariadb: reset-acceptance run-test-mariadb
 acceptance-run-chromium: storage/acceptance acceptance-auth-sqlite-restart wait acceptance-auth acceptance-auth-sqlite-stop acceptance-sqlite-restart wait-2 acceptance acceptance-sqlite-stop
 acceptance-run-chromium-short: storage/acceptance acceptance-auth-sqlite-restart wait acceptance-auth-short acceptance-auth-sqlite-stop acceptance-sqlite-restart wait-2 acceptance-short acceptance-sqlite-stop
diff --git a/internal/api/api_auth_jwt.go b/internal/api/api_auth_jwt.go
index e96db76cc..a1ffb2024 100644
--- a/internal/api/api_auth_jwt.go
+++ b/internal/api/api_auth_jwt.go
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 package api
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"net"
 	"net/http"
 	"strings"
 
@@ -16,78 +18,132 @@ import (
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/clean"
 )
 
-// authAnyJWT attempts to authenticate a Portal-issued JWT when a cluster
-// node receives a request without an existing session. It verifies the token
-// against the node's cached JWKS, ensures the issuer/audience/scope match the
-// expected portal values, and, if valid, returns a client session mirroring the
-// JWT claims. It returns nil on any validation failure so the caller can fall
-// back to existing auth flows. Currently cluster and vision resources are
-// eligible for JWT-based authorization; vision access requires the `vision`
-// scope whereas cluster access requires the `cluster` scope.
+// authAnyJWT attempts to authenticate a Portal-issued JWT when a cluster node
+// receives a request without an existing session. It verifies the token against
+// the node's cached JWKS, ensures the issuer/audience/scope match the expected
+// portal values, and, if valid, returns a client session mirroring the JWT
+// claims. It returns nil on any validation failure so the caller can fall back
+// to existing auth flows. By default, only cluster and vision resources are
+// eligible, but nodes may opt in to additional scopes via PHOTOPRISM_JWT_SCOPE.
 func authAnyJWT(c *gin.Context, clientIP, authToken string, resource acl.Resource, perms acl.Permissions) *entity.Session {
-	if c == nil || authToken == "" {
-		return nil
-	}
-
-	_ = perms
-
-	if resource != acl.ResourceCluster && resource != acl.ResourceVision {
-		return nil
-	}
-
-	// Basic sanity check for JWT structure.
-	if strings.Count(authToken, ".") != 2 {
+	// Check if token may be a JWT.
+	if !shouldAttemptJWT(c, authToken) {
 		return nil
 	}
 
 	conf := get.Config()
 
-	if conf == nil || conf.IsPortal() {
+	// Determine whether JWT authentication is possible
+	// based on the local config and client IP address.
+	if !shouldAllowJWT(conf, clientIP) {
 		return nil
 	}
 
+	requiredScope := resource.String()
+	expected := expectedClaimsFor(conf, requiredScope)
+
+	// verifyTokenFromPortal handles cryptographic validation (signature, issuer,
+	// audience, temporal claims) and enforces that the token includes any scopes
+	// listed in expected.Scope. Local authorization still happens below so nodes
+	// can apply their own allow-list semantics.
+	claims := verifyTokenFromPortal(c.Request.Context(), authToken, expected, jwtIssuerCandidates(conf))
+
+	if claims == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	// Check if config allows resource access to be authorized with JWT.
+	allowedScopes := conf.JWTAllowedScopes()
+	if !acl.ScopeAttrPermits(allowedScopes, resource, perms) {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	// Check if token allows access to specified resource.
+	tokenScopes := acl.ScopeAttr(claims.Scope)
+	if !acl.ScopeAttrPermits(tokenScopes, resource, perms) {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	claims.Scope = tokenScopes.String()
+
+	return sessionFromJWTClaims(claims, clientIP)
+}
+
+// shouldAttemptJWT reports whether JWT verification should run for the supplied
+// request context and token.
+func shouldAttemptJWT(c *gin.Context, token string) bool {
+	if c == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	if token == "" || strings.Count(token, ".") != 2 {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	return true
+}
+
+// shouldAllowJWT reports whether the current node configuration permits JWT
+// authentication for the request originating from clientIP.
+func shouldAllowJWT(conf *config.Config, clientIP string) bool {
+	if conf == nil || conf.IsPortal() {
+		return false
+	}
+
 	if conf.JWKSUrl() == "" {
-		return nil
+		return false
 	}
 
-	requiredScopes := []string{"cluster"}
-	if resource == acl.ResourceVision {
-		requiredScopes = []string{"vision"}
+	cidr := strings.TrimSpace(conf.ClusterCIDR())
+	if cidr == "" {
+		return true
 	}
 
+	ip := net.ParseIP(clientIP)
+	_, block, err := net.ParseCIDR(cidr)
+	if err != nil || ip == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	return block.Contains(ip)
+}
+
+// expectedClaimsFor builds the ExpectedClaims used to validate JWTs for the
+// current node and required scope.
+func expectedClaimsFor(conf *config.Config, requiredScope string) clusterjwt.ExpectedClaims {
 	expected := clusterjwt.ExpectedClaims{
 		Audience: fmt.Sprintf("node:%s", conf.NodeUUID()),
-		Scope:    requiredScopes,
 		JWKSURL:  conf.JWKSUrl(),
 	}
 
-	issuers := jwtIssuerCandidates(conf)
+	if requiredScope != "" {
+		expected.Scope = []string{requiredScope}
+	}
 
+	return expected
+}
+
+// verifyTokenFromPortal checks the token against each candidate issuer and
+// returns the verified claims on success.
+func verifyTokenFromPortal(ctx context.Context, token string, expected clusterjwt.ExpectedClaims, issuers []string) *clusterjwt.Claims {
 	if len(issuers) == 0 {
 		return nil
 	}
 
-	var (
-		claims *clusterjwt.Claims
-		err    error
-	)
-
-	ctx := c.Request.Context()
-
 	for _, issuer := range issuers {
 		expected.Issuer = issuer
-		claims, err = get.VerifyJWT(ctx, authToken, expected)
+		claims, err := get.VerifyJWT(ctx, token, expected)
 		if err == nil {
-			break
+			return claims
 		}
 	}
 
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil
-	} else if claims == nil {
-		return nil
-	}
+	return nil
+}
 
+// sessionFromJWTClaims constructs a Session populated with fields derived from
+// the verified JWT claims.
+func sessionFromJWTClaims(claims *clusterjwt.Claims, clientIP string) *entity.Session {
 	sess := &entity.Session{
 		Status:       http.StatusOK,
 		ClientUID:    claims.Subject,
diff --git a/internal/api/api_auth_jwt_test.go b/internal/api/api_auth_jwt_test.go
index 2db684397..2281a6a78 100644
--- a/internal/api/api_auth_jwt_test.go
+++ b/internal/api/api_auth_jwt_test.go
@@ -1,17 +1,22 @@
 package api
 
 import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/http/httptest"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
+	gojwt "github.com/golang-jwt/jwt/v5"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/internal/auth/acl"
+	clusterjwt "github.com/photoprism/photoprism/internal/auth/jwt"
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/internal/config"
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/internal/photoprism/get"
+	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/clean"
 )
 
 func TestAuthAnyJWT(t *testing.T) {
@@ -35,7 +40,149 @@ func TestAuthAnyJWT(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.Contains(t, session.AuthScope, "cluster")
 		assert.Equal(t, spec.Issuer, session.AuthIssuer)
 	})
+	t.Run("ClusterCIDRAllowed", func(t *testing.T) {
+		fx := newPortalJWTFixture(t, "cluster-jwt-cidr-allow")
+		spec := fx.defaultClaimsSpec()
+		token := fx.issue(t, spec)
 
+		origCIDR := fx.nodeConf.Options().ClusterCIDR
+		fx.nodeConf.Options().ClusterCIDR = "192.0.2.0/24"
+		get.SetConfig(fx.nodeConf)
+		t.Cleanup(func() {
+			fx.nodeConf.Options().ClusterCIDR = origCIDR
+			get.SetConfig(fx.nodeConf)
+		})
+
+		gin.SetMode(gin.TestMode)
+		w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		c, _ := gin.CreateTestContext(w)
+		req, _ := http.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/api/v1/cluster/theme", nil)
+		req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+token)
+		req.RemoteAddr = "192.0.2.10:2222"
+		c.Request = req
+
+		session := authAnyJWT(c, "192.0.2.10", token, acl.ResourceCluster, nil)
+		require.NotNil(t, session)
+		assert.Equal(t, spec.Subject, session.ClientUID)
+	})
+	t.Run("ClusterCIDRBlocked", func(t *testing.T) {
+		fx := newPortalJWTFixture(t, "cluster-jwt-cidr-block")
+		spec := fx.defaultClaimsSpec()
+		token := fx.issue(t, spec)
+
+		origCIDR := fx.nodeConf.Options().ClusterCIDR
+		fx.nodeConf.Options().ClusterCIDR = "192.0.2.0/24"
+		get.SetConfig(fx.nodeConf)
+		t.Cleanup(func() {
+			fx.nodeConf.Options().ClusterCIDR = origCIDR
+			get.SetConfig(fx.nodeConf)
+		})
+
+		gin.SetMode(gin.TestMode)
+		w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		c, _ := gin.CreateTestContext(w)
+		req, _ := http.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/api/v1/cluster/theme", nil)
+		req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+token)
+		req.RemoteAddr = "203.0.113.10:2222"
+		c.Request = req
+
+		assert.Nil(t, authAnyJWT(c, "203.0.113.10", token, acl.ResourceCluster, nil))
+	})
+	t.Run("JWTScopeDefaultRejectsOtherResources", func(t *testing.T) {
+		fx := newPortalJWTFixture(t, "cluster-jwt-scope-default-reject")
+		spec := fx.defaultClaimsSpec()
+		spec.Scope = []string{"photos"}
+		token := fx.issue(t, spec)
+
+		gin.SetMode(gin.TestMode)
+		w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		c, _ := gin.CreateTestContext(w)
+		req, _ := http.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/api/v1/photos", nil)
+		req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+token)
+		req.RemoteAddr = "192.0.2.60:1001"
+		c.Request = req
+
+		assert.Nil(t, authAnyJWT(c, "192.0.2.60", token, acl.ResourcePhotos, nil))
+	})
+	t.Run("JWTScopeAllowed", func(t *testing.T) {
+		fx := newPortalJWTFixture(t, "cluster-jwt-scope-allow")
+		token := fx.issue(t, fx.defaultClaimsSpec())
+
+		orig := fx.nodeConf.Options().JWTScope
+		fx.nodeConf.Options().JWTScope = "cluster vision"
+		get.SetConfig(fx.nodeConf)
+		t.Cleanup(func() {
+			fx.nodeConf.Options().JWTScope = orig
+			get.SetConfig(fx.nodeConf)
+		})
+
+		gin.SetMode(gin.TestMode)
+		w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		c, _ := gin.CreateTestContext(w)
+		req, _ := http.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/api/v1/cluster/theme", nil)
+		req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+token)
+		req.RemoteAddr = "192.0.2.30:1001"
+		c.Request = req
+
+		sess := authAnyJWT(c, "192.0.2.30", token, acl.ResourceCluster, nil)
+		require.NotNil(t, sess)
+	})
+	t.Run("JWTScopeAllowsSuperset", func(t *testing.T) {
+		fx := newPortalJWTFixture(t, "cluster-jwt-scope-reject")
+		token := fx.issue(t, fx.defaultClaimsSpec())
+
+		orig := fx.nodeConf.Options().JWTScope
+		fx.nodeConf.Options().JWTScope = "cluster"
+		get.SetConfig(fx.nodeConf)
+		t.Cleanup(func() {
+			fx.nodeConf.Options().JWTScope = orig
+			get.SetConfig(fx.nodeConf)
+		})
+
+		gin.SetMode(gin.TestMode)
+		w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		c, _ := gin.CreateTestContext(w)
+		req, _ := http.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/api/v1/cluster/theme", nil)
+		req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+token)
+		req.RemoteAddr = "192.0.2.40:1001"
+		c.Request = req
+
+		sess := authAnyJWT(c, "192.0.2.40", token, acl.ResourceCluster, nil)
+		require.NotNil(t, sess)
+	})
+	t.Run("JWTScopeCustomResource", func(t *testing.T) {
+		fx := newPortalJWTFixture(t, "cluster-jwt-scope-custom")
+		spec := fx.defaultClaimsSpec()
+		spec.Scope = []string{"photos"}
+		token := fx.issue(t, spec)
+
+		origScope := fx.nodeConf.Options().JWTScope
+		fx.nodeConf.Options().JWTScope = "photos"
+		get.SetConfig(fx.nodeConf)
+		t.Cleanup(func() {
+			fx.nodeConf.Options().JWTScope = origScope
+			get.SetConfig(fx.nodeConf)
+		})
+
+		gin.SetMode(gin.TestMode)
+		w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		c, _ := gin.CreateTestContext(w)
+		req, _ := http.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/api/v1/photos", nil)
+		req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+token)
+		req.RemoteAddr = "192.0.2.50:2001"
+		c.Request = req
+
+		_, verifyErr := get.VerifyJWT(c.Request.Context(), token, clusterjwt.ExpectedClaims{
+			Issuer:   fmt.Sprintf("portal:%s", fx.clusterUUID),
+			Audience: fmt.Sprintf("node:%s", fx.nodeUUID),
+			Scope:    []string{"photos"},
+			JWKSURL:  fx.nodeConf.JWKSUrl(),
+		})
+		require.NoError(t, verifyErr)
+
+		sess := authAnyJWT(c, "192.0.2.50", token, acl.ResourcePhotos, nil)
+		require.NotNil(t, sess)
+	})
 	t.Run("VisionScope", func(t *testing.T) {
 		fx := newPortalJWTFixture(t, "cluster-jwt-vision")
 		spec := fx.defaultClaimsSpec()
@@ -146,3 +293,83 @@ func TestJwtIssuerCandidates(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.Equal(t, []string{"http://localhost:2342"}, jwtIssuerCandidates(conf))
 	})
 }
+
+func TestShouldAttemptJWT(t *testing.T) {
+	gin.SetMode(gin.TestMode)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	c, _ := gin.CreateTestContext(w)
+	req, _ := http.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/ping", nil)
+	c.Request = req
+
+	assert.True(t, shouldAttemptJWT(c, "a.b.c"))
+	assert.False(t, shouldAttemptJWT(nil, "a.b.c"))
+	assert.False(t, shouldAttemptJWT(c, "invalidtoken"))
+	assert.False(t, shouldAttemptJWT(c, ""))
+}
+
+func TestNodeAllowsJWT(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newPortalJWTFixture(t, "node-allows")
+	conf := fx.nodeConf
+
+	assert.True(t, shouldAllowJWT(conf, "192.0.2.9"))
+
+	origCIDR := conf.Options().ClusterCIDR
+	conf.Options().ClusterCIDR = "192.0.2.0/24"
+	assert.True(t, shouldAllowJWT(conf, "192.0.2.25"))
+	assert.False(t, shouldAllowJWT(conf, "203.0.113.1"))
+	conf.Options().ClusterCIDR = origCIDR
+
+	origJWKS := conf.JWKSUrl()
+	conf.SetJWKSUrl("")
+	assert.False(t, shouldAllowJWT(conf, "192.0.2.25"))
+	conf.SetJWKSUrl(origJWKS)
+
+	assert.False(t, shouldAllowJWT(nil, "192.0.2.25"))
+}
+
+func TestExpectedClaimsFor(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newPortalJWTFixture(t, "expected-claims")
+
+	claims := expectedClaimsFor(fx.nodeConf, "cluster")
+	assert.Equal(t, fmt.Sprintf("node:%s", fx.nodeUUID), claims.Audience)
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{"cluster"}, claims.Scope)
+	assert.Equal(t, fx.nodeConf.JWKSUrl(), claims.JWKSURL)
+
+	noScope := expectedClaimsFor(fx.nodeConf, "")
+	assert.Nil(t, noScope.Scope)
+}
+
+func TestVerifyTokenFromPortal(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newPortalJWTFixture(t, "verify-token")
+	spec := fx.defaultClaimsSpec()
+	token := fx.issue(t, spec)
+
+	expected := expectedClaimsFor(fx.nodeConf, clean.Scope("cluster"))
+	claims := verifyTokenFromPortal(context.Background(), token, expected, []string{"wrong", spec.Issuer})
+	require.NotNil(t, claims)
+	assert.Equal(t, spec.Issuer, claims.Issuer)
+	assert.Equal(t, spec.Subject, claims.Subject)
+
+	nilClaims := verifyTokenFromPortal(context.Background(), token, expected, []string{"wrong"})
+	assert.Nil(t, nilClaims)
+}
+
+func TestSessionFromJWTClaims(t *testing.T) {
+	claims := &clusterjwt.Claims{
+		Scope: "cluster vision",
+		RegisteredClaims: gojwt.RegisteredClaims{
+			Issuer:  "portal:test",
+			Subject: "portal:client",
+			ID:      "token-id",
+		},
+	}
+
+	sess := sessionFromJWTClaims(claims, "192.0.2.100")
+	require.NotNil(t, sess)
+	assert.Equal(t, http.StatusOK, sess.HttpStatus())
+	assert.Equal(t, "portal:client", sess.ClientUID)
+	assert.Equal(t, clean.Scope("cluster vision"), sess.AuthScope)
+	assert.Equal(t, "portal:test", sess.AuthIssuer)
+	assert.Equal(t, "token-id", sess.AuthID)
+	assert.Equal(t, "192.0.2.100", sess.ClientIP)
+}
diff --git a/internal/auth/acl/scopes.go b/internal/auth/acl/scopes.go
index 18d8bfdbc..6219848d2 100644
--- a/internal/auth/acl/scopes.go
+++ b/internal/auth/acl/scopes.go
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 package acl
 
+import (
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/list"
+)
+
 // Permission scopes to Grant multiple Permissions for a Resource.
 const (
 	ScopeRead  Permission = "read"
@@ -35,3 +41,60 @@ var (
 		ActionManageOwn: true,
 	}
 )
+
+// ScopeAttr parses an authentication scope string and returns it as list.Attr.
+func ScopeAttr(s string) list.Attr {
+	if s == "" {
+		return list.Attr{}
+	}
+
+	return list.ParseAttr(strings.ToLower(s))
+}
+
+// ScopePermits verifies if the authorized scope permits access to the specified resource.
+func ScopePermits(scope string, resource Resource, perms Permissions) bool {
+	if scope == "" {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	// Parse scope to check for resources and permissions.
+	return ScopeAttrPermits(ScopeAttr(scope), resource, perms)
+}
+
+// ScopeAttrPermits verifies if the authorized scope permits access to the specified resource.
+func ScopeAttrPermits(attr list.Attr, resource Resource, perms Permissions) bool {
+	if len(attr) == 0 {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	scope := attr.String()
+
+	// Skip detailed check and allow all if scope is "*".
+	if scope == list.Any {
+		return true
+	}
+
+	// Skip resource check if scope includes all read operations.
+	if scope == ScopeRead.String() {
+		return !GrantScopeRead.DenyAny(perms)
+	}
+
+	// Check if resource is within scope.
+	if granted := attr.Contains(resource.String()); !granted {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	// Check if permission is within scope.
+	if len(perms) == 0 {
+		return true
+	}
+
+	// Check if scope is limited to read or write operations.
+	if a := attr.Find(ScopeRead.String()); a.Value == list.True && GrantScopeRead.DenyAny(perms) {
+		return false
+	} else if a = attr.Find(ScopeWrite.String()); a.Value == list.True && GrantScopeWrite.DenyAny(perms) {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/internal/auth/acl/scopes_test.go b/internal/auth/acl/scopes_test.go
index 8b06d1015..14d65f5a1 100644
--- a/internal/auth/acl/scopes_test.go
+++ b/internal/auth/acl/scopes_test.go
@@ -35,3 +35,136 @@ func TestGrantScopeWrite(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.False(t, GrantScopeWrite.DenyAny(Permissions{AccessAll}))
 	})
 }
+
+func TestScopePermits(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("AnyScope", func(t *testing.T) {
+		assert.True(t, ScopePermits("*", "", nil))
+	})
+	t.Run("ReadScope", func(t *testing.T) {
+		assert.True(t, ScopePermits("read", "metrics", nil))
+		assert.True(t, ScopePermits("read", "sessions", nil))
+		assert.True(t, ScopePermits("read", "metrics", Permissions{ActionView, AccessAll}))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read", "metrics", Permissions{ActionUpdate}))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read", "metrics", Permissions{ActionUpdate}))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read", "settings", Permissions{ActionUpdate}))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read", "settings", Permissions{ActionCreate}))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read", "sessions", Permissions{ActionDelete}))
+	})
+	t.Run("ReadAny", func(t *testing.T) {
+		assert.True(t, ScopePermits("read *", "metrics", nil))
+		assert.True(t, ScopePermits("read *", "sessions", nil))
+		assert.True(t, ScopePermits("read *", "metrics", Permissions{ActionView, AccessAll}))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read *", "metrics", Permissions{ActionUpdate}))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read *", "metrics", Permissions{ActionUpdate}))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read *", "settings", Permissions{ActionUpdate}))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read *", "settings", Permissions{ActionCreate}))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read *", "sessions", Permissions{ActionDelete}))
+	})
+	t.Run("ReadSettings", func(t *testing.T) {
+		assert.True(t, ScopePermits("read settings", "settings", Permissions{ActionView}))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read settings", "metrics", nil))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read settings", "sessions", nil))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read settings", "metrics", Permissions{ActionView, AccessAll}))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read settings", "metrics", Permissions{ActionUpdate}))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read settings", "metrics", Permissions{ActionUpdate}))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read settings", "settings", Permissions{ActionUpdate}))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read settings", "sessions", Permissions{ActionDelete}))
+		assert.False(t, ScopePermits("read settings", "sessions", Permissions{ActionDelete}))
+	})
+}
+
+func TestScopeAttr(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		input    string
+		expected []string
+	}{
+		{name: "Empty", input: "", expected: nil},
+		{name: "Lowercase", input: "read metrics", expected: []string{"metrics", "read"}},
+		{name: "Uppercase", input: "READ SETTINGS", expected: []string{"read", "settings"}},
+		{name: "WithNoise", input: "  Read\tSessions\nmetrics", expected: []string{"metrics", "read", "sessions"}},
+		{name: "Deduplicates", input: "metrics metrics", expected: []string{"metrics"}},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			attr := ScopeAttr(tc.input)
+			if len(tc.expected) == 0 {
+				assert.Len(t, attr, 0)
+				return
+			}
+			assert.ElementsMatch(t, tc.expected, attr.Strings())
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestScopePermitsEdgeCases(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		scope    string
+		resource Resource
+		perms    Permissions
+		want     bool
+	}{
+		{name: "EmptyScope", scope: "", resource: "metrics", perms: nil, want: false},
+		{name: "OnlyInvalidChars", scope: "()", resource: "metrics", perms: nil, want: false},
+		{name: "WildcardMixedOrder", scope: "* read metrics", resource: "metrics", perms: Permissions{ActionUpdate}, want: false},
+		{name: "WildcardOverridesReadRestrictions", scope: "read metrics *", resource: "metrics", perms: Permissions{ActionDelete}, want: false},
+		{name: "WildcardWithFalseValueIgnored", scope: "*:false read", resource: "metrics", perms: Permissions{ActionUpdate}, want: false},
+		{name: "ExplicitFalseResource", scope: "metrics:false", resource: "metrics", perms: nil, want: false},
+		{name: "ExplicitTrueResource", scope: "metrics:true", resource: "metrics", perms: nil, want: true},
+		{name: "CaseInsensitiveScopeAndResource", scope: "READ SETTINGS", resource: Resource("Settings"), perms: Permissions{ActionView}, want: true},
+		{name: "WhitespaceAndTabs", scope: "\tread\tsettings\n", resource: "settings", perms: Permissions{ActionView}, want: true},
+		{name: "DefaultResourceRead", scope: "read default", resource: "", perms: Permissions{ActionView}, want: true},
+		{name: "DefaultResourceUpdateDenied", scope: "read default", resource: "", perms: Permissions{ActionUpdate}, want: false},
+		{name: "WriteAllowsMutation", scope: "write settings", resource: "settings", perms: Permissions{ActionUpdate}, want: true},
+		{name: "WriteBlocksReadOnly", scope: "write settings", resource: "settings", perms: Permissions{ActionView}, want: false},
+		{name: "ReadGrantAllowsAccessAll", scope: "read", resource: "metrics", perms: Permissions{AccessAll}, want: true},
+		{name: "ReadGrantDeniesManage", scope: "read metrics", resource: "metrics", perms: Permissions{ActionManage}, want: false},
+		{name: "WriteGrantAllowsManage", scope: "write metrics", resource: "metrics", perms: Permissions{ActionManage}, want: true},
+		{name: "ResourceWildcard", scope: "metrics:*", resource: "metrics", perms: Permissions{ActionDelete}, want: true},
+		{name: "GlobalWildcardWithoutRead", scope: "* metrics", resource: "metrics", perms: Permissions{ActionDelete}, want: true},
+		{name: "ResourceWildcardWithRead", scope: "read metrics:*", resource: "metrics", perms: Permissions{ActionView}, want: true},
+		{name: "ResourceWildcardWriteDenied", scope: "read metrics:*", resource: "metrics", perms: Permissions{ActionUpdate}, want: false},
+		{name: "DuplicateAndNoise", scope: "  read   metrics metrics   ", resource: "metrics", perms: nil, want: true},
+		{name: "FalseOverridesTrue", scope: "metrics metrics:false", resource: "metrics", perms: nil, want: false},
+		{name: "CaseInsensitiveResourceLookup", scope: "read metrics", resource: Resource("METRICS"), perms: Permissions{ActionView}, want: true},
+		{name: "MixedReadWriteConflict", scope: "read write settings", resource: "settings", perms: Permissions{ActionUpdate}, want: false},
+		{name: "PermissionsEmptySlice", scope: "read metrics", resource: "metrics", perms: Permissions{}, want: true},
+		{name: "SimpleNonReadScopeAllows", scope: "cluster vision", resource: "cluster", perms: nil, want: true},
+		{name: "SimpleNonReadScopeRejectsMissing", scope: "cluster vision", resource: "portal", perms: nil, want: false},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got := ScopePermits(tc.scope, tc.resource, tc.perms)
+			assert.Equalf(t, tc.want, got, "scope %q resource %q perms %v", tc.scope, tc.resource, tc.perms)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestScopeAttrPermits(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		scope    string
+		resource Resource
+		perms    Permissions
+		want     bool
+	}{
+		{name: "EmptyAttr", scope: "", resource: "metrics", perms: nil, want: false},
+		{name: "Wildcard", scope: "*", resource: "metrics", perms: Permissions{ActionUpdate}, want: true},
+		{name: "ReadAllowsView", scope: "read", resource: "settings", perms: Permissions{ActionView}, want: true},
+		{name: "ReadBlocksUpdate", scope: "read", resource: "settings", perms: Permissions{ActionUpdate}, want: false},
+		{name: "ResourceMismatch", scope: "read metrics", resource: "settings", perms: nil, want: false},
+		{name: "WriteAllowsManage", scope: "write metrics", resource: "metrics", perms: Permissions{ActionManage}, want: true},
+		{name: "WriteBlocksView", scope: "write metrics", resource: "metrics", perms: Permissions{ActionView}, want: false},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			attr := ScopeAttr(tc.scope)
+			got := ScopeAttrPermits(attr, tc.resource, tc.perms)
+			assert.Equalf(t, tc.want, got, "scope %q resource %q perms %v", tc.scope, tc.resource, tc.perms)
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/commands/clients_add.go b/internal/commands/clients_add.go
index cb9fcd89f..7bebb8e54 100644
--- a/internal/commands/clients_add.go
+++ b/internal/commands/clients_add.go
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ func clientsAddAction(ctx *cli.Context) error {
 
 		// Set a default client name if no specific name has been provided.
 		if frm.AuthScope == "" {
-			frm.AuthScope = list.All
+			frm.AuthScope = list.Any
 		}
 
 		client, addErr := entity.AddClient(frm)
diff --git a/internal/config/config_cluster.go b/internal/config/config_cluster.go
index ba1d923a9..de18c9793 100644
--- a/internal/config/config_cluster.go
+++ b/internal/config/config_cluster.go
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/internal/service/cluster"
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/clean"
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/fs"
+	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/list"
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/rnd"
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/service/http/header"
 )
@@ -278,6 +279,18 @@ func (c *Config) JWTLeeway() int {
 	return c.options.JWTLeeway
 }
 
+// JWTAllowedScopes returns an optional allow-list of accepted JWT scopes.
+func (c *Config) JWTAllowedScopes() list.Attr {
+	if s := strings.TrimSpace(c.options.JWTScope); s != "" {
+		parsed := list.ParseAttr(strings.ToLower(s))
+		if len(parsed) > 0 {
+			return parsed
+		}
+	}
+
+	return list.ParseAttr("cluster vision metrics")
+}
+
 // AdvertiseUrl returns the advertised node URL for intra-cluster calls (scheme://host[:port]).
 func (c *Config) AdvertiseUrl() string {
 	if c.options.AdvertiseUrl != "" {
diff --git a/internal/config/config_cluster_test.go b/internal/config/config_cluster_test.go
index de9baff92..31f281df7 100644
--- a/internal/config/config_cluster_test.go
+++ b/internal/config/config_cluster_test.go
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/internal/service/cluster"
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/fs"
+	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/list"
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/rnd"
 )
 
@@ -145,6 +146,13 @@ func TestConfig_Cluster(t *testing.T) {
 			})
 		}
 	})
+	t.Run("JWTAllowedScopes", func(t *testing.T) {
+		c := NewConfig(CliTestContext())
+		c.options.JWTScope = "cluster vision"
+		assert.Equal(t, list.ParseAttr("cluster vision"), c.JWTAllowedScopes())
+		c.options.JWTScope = ""
+		assert.Equal(t, list.ParseAttr("cluster vision metrics"), c.JWTAllowedScopes())
+	})
 	t.Run("Paths", func(t *testing.T) {
 		c := NewConfig(CliTestContext())
 
diff --git a/internal/config/customize/scope.go b/internal/config/customize/scope.go
index d68d5087e..5011e889f 100644
--- a/internal/config/customize/scope.go
+++ b/internal/config/customize/scope.go
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import (
 
 // ApplyScope updates the current settings based on the authorization scope passed.
 func (s *Settings) ApplyScope(scope string) *Settings {
-	if scope == "" || scope == list.All {
+	if scope == "" || scope == list.Any {
 		return s
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/config/flags.go b/internal/config/flags.go
index 959ce03d9..5d9e2d1b1 100644
--- a/internal/config/flags.go
+++ b/internal/config/flags.go
@@ -731,6 +731,11 @@ var Flags = CliFlags{
 			Value:   300,
 			EnvVars: EnvVars("JWKS_CACHE_TTL"),
 		}}, {
+		Flag: &cli.StringFlag{
+			Name:    "jwt-scope",
+			Usage:   "allowed JWT `SCOPES` (space separated). Leave empty to accept defaults",
+			EnvVars: EnvVars("JWT_SCOPE"),
+		}}, {
 		Flag: &cli.IntFlag{
 			Name:    "jwt-leeway",
 			Usage:   "JWT clock skew allowance in `SECONDS` (default 60, max 300)",
diff --git a/internal/config/options.go b/internal/config/options.go
index ea9895fc3..5e1dc4a46 100644
--- a/internal/config/options.go
+++ b/internal/config/options.go
@@ -154,6 +154,7 @@ type Options struct {
 	NodeClientSecret        string        `yaml:"NodeClientSecret" json:"-" flag:"node-client-secret"`
 	JWKSUrl                 string        `yaml:"JWKSUrl" json:"-" flag:"jwks-url"`
 	JWKSCacheTTL            int           `yaml:"JWKSCacheTTL" json:"-" flag:"jwks-cache-ttl"`
+	JWTScope                string        `yaml:"JWTScope" json:"-" flag:"jwt-scope"`
 	JWTLeeway               int           `yaml:"JWTLeeway" json:"-" flag:"jwt-leeway"`
 	AdvertiseUrl            string        `yaml:"AdvertiseUrl" json:"-" flag:"advertise-url"`
 	HttpsProxy              string        `yaml:"HttpsProxy" json:"HttpsProxy" flag:"https-proxy"`
diff --git a/internal/config/report.go b/internal/config/report.go
index edcf5f31b..2e42fee70 100644
--- a/internal/config/report.go
+++ b/internal/config/report.go
@@ -190,6 +190,7 @@ func (c *Config) Report() (rows [][]string, cols []string) {
 		{"node-client-secret", fmt.Sprintf("%s", strings.Repeat("*", utf8.RuneCountInString(c.NodeClientSecret())))},
 		{"jwks-url", c.JWKSUrl()},
 		{"jwks-cache-ttl", fmt.Sprintf("%d", c.JWKSCacheTTL())},
+		{"jwt-scope", c.JWTAllowedScopes().String()},
 		{"jwt-leeway", fmt.Sprintf("%d", c.JWTLeeway())},
 		{"advertise-url", c.AdvertiseUrl()},
 
diff --git a/internal/entity/auth_session.go b/internal/entity/auth_session.go
index 7c427639e..fad1993e5 100644
--- a/internal/entity/auth_session.go
+++ b/internal/entity/auth_session.go
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/authn"
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/clean"
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/i18n"
-	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/list"
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/rnd"
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/service/http/header"
 	"github.com/photoprism/photoprism/pkg/time/unix"
@@ -492,40 +491,7 @@ func (m *Session) Scope() string {
 
 // ValidateScope checks if the scope does not exclude access to specified resource.
 func (m *Session) ValidateScope(resource acl.Resource, perms acl.Permissions) bool {
-	// Get scope string.
-	scope := m.Scope()
-
-	// Skip detailed check and allow all if scope is "*".
-	if scope == list.All {
-		return true
-	}
-
-	// Skip resource check if scope includes all read operations.
-	if scope == acl.ScopeRead.String() {
-		return !acl.GrantScopeRead.DenyAny(perms)
-	}
-
-	// Parse scope to check for resources and permissions.
-	attr := list.ParseAttr(scope)
-
-	// Check if resource is within scope.
-	if granted := attr.Contains(resource.String()); !granted {
-		return false
-	}
-
-	// Check if permission is within scope.
-	if len(perms) == 0 {
-		return true
-	}
-
-	// Check if scope is limited to read or write operations.
-	if a := attr.Find(acl.ScopeRead.String()); a.Value == list.True && acl.GrantScopeRead.DenyAny(perms) {
-		return false
-	} else if a = attr.Find(acl.ScopeWrite.String()); a.Value == list.True && acl.GrantScopeWrite.DenyAny(perms) {
-		return false
-	}
-
-	return true
+	return acl.ScopePermits(m.AuthScope, resource, perms)
 }
 
 // InsufficientScope checks if the scope does not include access to specified resource.
diff --git a/pkg/list/attribute.go b/pkg/list/attribute.go
index 57a0ac820..acb626977 100644
--- a/pkg/list/attribute.go
+++ b/pkg/list/attribute.go
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ func (f *KeyValue) Parse(s string) *KeyValue {
 	}
 
 	// Default?
-	if f.Key == All {
+	if f.Key == Any {
 		return f
 	} else if v = Value(v); v == "" {
 		f.Value = True
@@ -97,8 +97,8 @@ func (f *KeyValue) String() string {
 		return ""
 	}
 
-	if f.Key == All {
-		return All
+	if f.Key == Any {
+		return Any
 	}
 
 	if Bool[strings.ToLower(f.Value)] == True {
@@ -111,3 +111,8 @@ func (f *KeyValue) String() string {
 
 	return ""
 }
+
+// Any checks if this represents any value (asterisk).
+func (f *KeyValue) Any() bool {
+	return f.Key == Any
+}
diff --git a/pkg/list/attributes.go b/pkg/list/attributes.go
index 77b0b9648..341029d30 100644
--- a/pkg/list/attributes.go
+++ b/pkg/list/attributes.go
@@ -68,9 +68,9 @@ func (list Attr) Sort() Attr {
 	sort.Slice(list, func(i, j int) bool {
 		if list[i].Key == list[j].Key {
 			return list[i].Value < list[j].Value
-		} else if list[i].Key == All {
+		} else if list[i].Key == Any {
 			return false
-		} else if list[j].Key == All {
+		} else if list[j].Key == Any {
 			return true
 		} else {
 			return list[i].Key < list[j].Key
@@ -95,23 +95,25 @@ func (list Attr) Contains(s string) bool {
 func (list Attr) Find(s string) (a KeyValue) {
 	if len(list) == 0 || s == "" {
 		return a
-	} else if s == All {
-		return KeyValue{Key: All, Value: ""}
+	} else if s == Any {
+		return KeyValue{Key: Any, Value: ""}
 	}
 
 	attr := ParseKeyValue(s)
 
-	// Return nil if key is invalid or all.
-	if attr.Key == "" {
+	// Return if key is invalid.
+	if attr == nil {
+		return a
+	} else if attr.Key == "" {
 		return a
 	}
 
 	// Find and return first match.
-	if attr.Value == "" || attr.Value == All {
+	if attr.Value == "" || attr.Value == Any {
 		for i := range list {
 			if strings.EqualFold(attr.Key, list[i].Key) {
 				return *list[i]
-			} else if list[i].Key == All {
+			} else if list[i].Key == Any {
 				a = *list[i]
 			}
 		}
@@ -122,10 +124,10 @@ func (list Attr) Find(s string) (a KeyValue) {
 					return KeyValue{Key: "", Value: ""}
 				} else if attr.Value == list[i].Value {
 					return *list[i]
-				} else if list[i].Value == All {
+				} else if list[i].Value == Any {
 					a = *list[i]
 				}
-			} else if list[i].Key == All && attr.Value != False {
+			} else if list[i].Key == Any && attr.Value != False {
 				a = *list[i]
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/pkg/list/attributes_test.go b/pkg/list/attributes_test.go
index f8b3de400..38edd6f95 100644
--- a/pkg/list/attributes_test.go
+++ b/pkg/list/attributes_test.go
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ func TestAttr_Find(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.Len(t, attr, 1)
 		result := attr.Find("metrics")
 
-		assert.Equal(t, All, result.Key)
+		assert.Equal(t, Any, result.Key)
 		assert.Equal(t, "", result.Value)
 	})
 	t.Run("Empty", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -182,6 +182,7 @@ func TestAttr_Find(t *testing.T) {
 
 		assert.Len(t, attr, 1)
 		result := attr.Find("*")
+		assert.Equal(t, Any, result.Key)
 		assert.Equal(t, All, result.Key)
 		assert.Equal(t, "", result.Value)
 	})
@@ -191,6 +192,7 @@ func TestAttr_Find(t *testing.T) {
 
 		assert.Len(t, attr, 1)
 		result := attr.Find("6VU:*")
+		assert.Equal(t, Any, result.Key)
 		assert.Equal(t, All, result.Key)
 		assert.Equal(t, "", result.Value)
 	})
@@ -230,7 +232,7 @@ func TestAttr_Find(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.Len(t, attr, 2)
 
 		result := attr.Find("read")
-		assert.Equal(t, All, result.Key)
+		assert.Equal(t, Any, result.Key)
 		assert.Equal(t, "", result.Value)
 
 		result = attr.Find("read:other")
@@ -238,7 +240,7 @@ func TestAttr_Find(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.Equal(t, "other", result.Value)
 
 		result = attr.Find("read:true")
-		assert.Equal(t, All, result.Key)
+		assert.Equal(t, Any, result.Key)
 		assert.Equal(t, "", result.Value)
 
 		result = attr.Find("read:false")
diff --git a/pkg/list/contains.go b/pkg/list/contains.go
index f45b976b9..8ea88685d 100644
--- a/pkg/list/contains.go
+++ b/pkg/list/contains.go
@@ -1,18 +1,22 @@
 package list
 
-const All = "*"
+// Any matches everything.
+const Any = "*"
+
+// All is kept for backward compatibility, but deprecated.
+const All = Any
 
 // Contains tests if a string is contained in the list.
 func Contains(list []string, s string) bool {
 	if len(list) == 0 || s == "" {
 		return false
-	} else if s == All {
+	} else if s == Any {
 		return true
 	}
 
 	// Find matches.
 	for i := range list {
-		if s == list[i] || list[i] == All {
+		if s == list[i] || list[i] == Any {
 			return true
 		}
 	}
@@ -27,11 +31,11 @@ func ContainsAny(l, s []string) bool {
 	}
 
 	// If second list contains All, it's a wildcard match.
-	if s[0] == All {
+	if s[0] == Any {
 		return true
 	}
 	for j := 1; j < len(s); j++ {
-		if s[j] == All {
+		if s[j] == Any {
 			return true
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/list/remove.go b/pkg/list/remove.go
index fab41e43c..d8b6f4275 100644
--- a/pkg/list/remove.go
+++ b/pkg/list/remove.go
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ package list
 func Remove(list []string, s string) []string {
 	if len(list) == 0 || s == "" {
 		return list
-	} else if s == All {
+	} else if s == Any {
 		return []string{}
 	}