diff --git a/src/lib/__tests__/api-http-status.test.ts b/src/lib/__tests__/api-http-status.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c0c8b503
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/__tests__/api-http-status.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+import { AxiosError, AxiosHeaders } from 'axios';
+
+import { httpStatusOf } from '@lib/api';
+
+/**
+ * `httpStatusOf` is what lets the SlackConnectScreen poll tell an expected
+ * auth failure (401 expired token / 403 missing scope) apart from a real
+ * exception, without pulling axios into the screen. These lock that in.
+ */
+describe('httpStatusOf', () => {
+  const axiosErrorWithStatus = (status: number): AxiosError => {
+    const err = new AxiosError('request failed');
+    err.response = {
+      status,
+      statusText: '',
+      headers: {},
+      // config/data are unused by httpStatusOf; keep the shape minimal.
+      config: { headers: new AxiosHeaders() },
+      data: {},
+    };
+    return err;
+  };
+
+  it('returns the status code of an axios error with a response', () => {
+    expect(httpStatusOf(axiosErrorWithStatus(401))).toBe(401);
+    expect(httpStatusOf(axiosErrorWithStatus(403))).toBe(403);
+    expect(httpStatusOf(axiosErrorWithStatus(500))).toBe(500);
+  });
+
+  it('returns undefined for an axios error with no response (network failure)', () => {
+    expect(httpStatusOf(new AxiosError('network error'))).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('returns undefined for non-axios errors', () => {
+    expect(httpStatusOf(new Error('boom'))).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(httpStatusOf('boom')).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(httpStatusOf(undefined)).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/lib/api.ts b/src/lib/api.ts
index ba478a82..35c55437 100644
--- a/src/lib/api.ts
+++ b/src/lib/api.ts
@@ -261,6 +261,17 @@ export async function fetchSlackConnected(
   return parsed.data.results.some((i) => i.kind === 'slack');
 }
 
+/**
+ * Extract the HTTP status code from an unknown error, or `undefined` if it
+ * isn't an axios error with a response. Lets callers of the throwing fetchers
+ * (e.g. the SlackConnectScreen poll) distinguish expected auth failures — a
+ * 401 (expired/invalid token) or 403 (missing scope) — from real exceptions
+ * without importing axios themselves.
+ */
+export function httpStatusOf(error: unknown): number | undefined {
+  return axios.isAxiosError(error) ? error.response?.status : undefined;
+}
+
 export function handleApiError(error: unknown, operation: string): ApiError {
   if (axios.isAxiosError(error)) {
     const axiosError = error as AxiosError<{ detail?: string }>;
diff --git a/src/ui/tui/screens/SlackConnectScreen.tsx b/src/ui/tui/screens/SlackConnectScreen.tsx
index 9db8f74d..52f3da1e 100644
--- a/src/ui/tui/screens/SlackConnectScreen.tsx
+++ b/src/ui/tui/screens/SlackConnectScreen.tsx
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ import { Colors, Icons } from '@ui/tui/styles';
 import { PickerMenu, LoadingBox } from '@ui/tui/primitives/index';
 import { useKeyBindings, KeyMatch } from '@ui/tui/hooks/useKeyBindings';
 import { getSlackAppCard } from '@lib/mcp-role-prompts';
-import { fetchSlackConnected } from '@lib/api';
+import { fetchSlackConnected, httpStatusOf } from '@lib/api';
 import { Program } from '@lib/programs/program-registry';
 import { getOrAskForProjectData } from '@utils/setup-utils';
 import { analytics } from '@utils/analytics';
@@ -162,6 +162,23 @@ export const SlackConnectScreen = ({ store }: SlackConnectScreenProps) => {
           if (store.session.slackConnected === null) {
             store.setSlackConnected(false);
           }
+          // A 401 (expired/invalid token) or 403 (missing `integration:read`
+          // scope) is expected here, not a real fault — the graceful
+          // degradation above is the whole handling. Downgrade those to a
+          // breadcrumb-style analytics event + debug log so stale-token
+          // polls stop showing up as exceptions in error tracking. Anything
+          // else is a genuine failure worth capturing.
+          const status = httpStatusOf(err);
+          if (status === 401 || status === 403) {
+            logToFile(
+              `[slack-connect] poll skipped: expected ${status} from integrations check`,
+            );
+            analytics.wizardCapture('slack connect check skipped', {
+              role,
+              status,
+            });
+            return;
+          }
           analytics.captureException(
             err instanceof Error ? err : new Error(String(err)),
             { step: 'slack_connected_check' },