diff --git a/.changeset/fix-artifact-media-auth.md b/.changeset/fix-artifact-media-auth.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a129a3a072
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fix-artifact-media-auth.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+"@runfusion/fusion": patch
+---
+
+summary: Fix protected image artifacts so previews and links load in authenticated dashboards.
+category: fix
+dev: Artifact media URLs now use the existing same-origin query-token fallback required by browser image and link navigation.
diff --git a/packages/dashboard/app/__tests__/api-artifacts.test.ts b/packages/dashboard/app/__tests__/api-artifacts.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e7731c00b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/dashboard/app/__tests__/api-artifacts.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { artifactMediaUrl } from "../api";
+import { clearAuthToken, setAuthToken } from "../auth";
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  clearAuthToken();
+});
+
+describe("artifactMediaUrl", () => {
+  /*
+   * FNXC:ArtifactMediaAuth 2026-07-15-14:24:
+   * Browser-native image, video, and link requests cannot attach the dashboard's Authorization header. Keep this regression focused on the generated URL contract: encoded artifact id and project scope survive while the existing same-origin fn_token fallback is appended.
+   */
+  it("appends the daemon token for image and link navigation", () => {
+    setAuthToken("daemon-token");
+
+    expect(artifactMediaUrl("artifact/with spaces", "project-1")).toBe(
+      "/api/artifacts/artifact%2Fwith%20spaces/media?projectId=project-1&fn_token=daemon-token",
+    );
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/dashboard/app/api/legacy.ts b/packages/dashboard/app/api/legacy.ts
index 7dd0dcb134..297dc98a34 100644
--- a/packages/dashboard/app/api/legacy.ts
+++ b/packages/dashboard/app/api/legacy.ts
@@ -1738,7 +1738,11 @@ export async function fetchArtifacts(
 }
 
 export function artifactMediaUrl(id: string, projectId?: string): string {
-  return buildApiUrl(withProjectId(`/artifacts/${encodeURIComponent(id)}/media`, projectId));
+  /*
+   * FNXC:ArtifactMediaAuth 2026-07-15-14:24:
+   * Artifact previews and links use browser-native navigation, which cannot send the bearer header used by fetch. Reuse appendTokenQuery so authenticated media loads while its dashboard-owned URL guard prevents leaking the daemon token cross-origin.
+   */
+  return appendTokenQuery(buildApiUrl(withProjectId(`/artifacts/${encodeURIComponent(id)}/media`, projectId)));
 }
 
 /*