diff --git a/app/__init__.py b/app/__init__.py
index 50d0c050..7b2eb502 100644
--- a/app/__init__.py
+++ b/app/__init__.py
@@ -575,6 +575,16 @@ def create_app(config=None):
         except Exception:
             pass
 
+    @app.before_request
+    def handle_api_cors_preflight():
+        if request.method == "OPTIONS" and request.path.startswith("/api/v1/"):
+            response = app.response_class(status=204)
+            response.headers["Access-Control-Allow-Origin"] = request.headers.get("Origin") or "*"
+            response.headers["Access-Control-Allow-Methods"] = "GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, OPTIONS"
+            response.headers["Access-Control-Allow-Headers"] = "Authorization, Content-Type, Accept, X-Request-ID"
+            response.headers["Access-Control-Max-Age"] = "600"
+            return response
+
     # Start timer for Prometheus metrics
     @app.before_request
     def prom_start_timer():
@@ -746,6 +756,15 @@ def create_app(config=None):
         # CSRF cookie/token handling
         # If CSRF is enabled, ensure CSRF cookie exists for HTML GET responses
         # If CSRF is disabled, explicitly clear any existing CSRF cookie to avoid confusion
+        try:
+            if request.path.startswith("/api/v1/"):
+                response.headers["Access-Control-Allow-Origin"] = request.headers.get("Origin") or "*"
+                response.headers["Vary"] = "Origin"
+                response.headers["Access-Control-Allow-Methods"] = "GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, OPTIONS"
+                response.headers["Access-Control-Allow-Headers"] = "Authorization, Content-Type, Accept, X-Request-ID"
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
         if app.config.get("WTF_CSRF_ENABLED"):
             try:
                 # Only for safe, HTML page responses
diff --git a/app/routes/api_v1.py b/app/routes/api_v1.py
index b6c157d1..dbbd6d7b 100644
--- a/app/routes/api_v1.py
+++ b/app/routes/api_v1.py
@@ -218,11 +218,11 @@ def health_check():
 @api_v1_bp.route("/auth/login", methods=["POST"])
 @limiter.limit("5 per minute", methods=["POST"])
 def auth_login():
-    """Login with username and password; returns an API token for mobile/app use.
+    """Login with username and password; returns an API token for app use.
 
     Accepts JSON: { "username": "...", "password": "..." }.
     Returns 200 with { "token": "tt_..." } or 401 with { "error": "..." }.
-    The token has scopes for basics: read:projects, read:tasks, read:time_entries, write:time_entries.
+    Admin users receive admin scope; regular users receive broad read/write API scopes.
     """
     current_app.logger.info(
         "POST /api/v1/auth/login from %s",
@@ -239,12 +239,12 @@ def auth_login():
     if not user or not user.check_password(password):
         return jsonify({"error": "Invalid username or password"}), 401
 
-    scopes = "read:projects,read:tasks,read:time_entries,write:time_entries"
+    scopes = "admin:all" if user.is_admin else "read:*,write:*"
     expiry_days = current_app.config.get("API_TOKEN_DEFAULT_EXPIRY_DAYS", 90)
     api_token, plain_token = ApiToken.create_token(
         user_id=user.id,
-        name=f"Mobile app - {user.username}",
-        description="Token issued via mobile/app login",
+        name=f"App login - {user.username}",
+        description="Token issued via desktop/mobile app login",
         scopes=scopes,
         expires_days=expiry_days if expiry_days else None,
     )