diff --git a/packages/vitest/rollup.config.js b/packages/vitest/rollup.config.js
index ae411c9ddcb3..ce0da7b0cabe 100644
--- a/packages/vitest/rollup.config.js
+++ b/packages/vitest/rollup.config.js
@@ -109,6 +109,7 @@ const plugins = [
       define: {
         // __VITEST_GENERATE_UI_TOKEN__ is set as a global to catch accidental leaking,
         // in the release version the "if" with this condition should not be present
+        // To test strict token locally, build by e.g. `VITEST_GENERATE_UI_TOKEN=true pnpm build`
         __VITEST_GENERATE_UI_TOKEN__: process.env.VITEST_GENERATE_UI_TOKEN === 'true' ? 'true' : 'false',
         ...(process.env.VITE_TEST_WATCHER_DEBUG === 'false'
           ? {
diff --git a/packages/vitest/src/node/project.ts b/packages/vitest/src/node/project.ts
index 4601e8a2f02a..fd71c929eb30 100644
--- a/packages/vitest/src/node/project.ts
+++ b/packages/vitest/src/node/project.ts
@@ -544,6 +544,7 @@ export class TestProject {
       },
       server.config,
     )
+    this._config.api.token = this.vitest.config.api.token
     this._setHash()
     for (const _providedKey in this.config.provide) {
       const providedKey = _providedKey as keyof ProvidedContext