diff --git a/api/routes.py b/api/routes.py
index 7251111e..3403e210 100644
--- a/api/routes.py
+++ b/api/routes.py
@@ -5127,20 +5127,26 @@ def _check_same_origin_browser_request(handler, *, require_provenance: bool = Fa
     return True
 
 
-def preflight_allow_origin(handler) -> str:
-    """CORS preflight: return the Origin value to echo back, or '' to omit.
+def apply_cors_preflight_headers(handler) -> None:
+    """Emit CORS preflight headers on ``handler`` for a same-origin/allowlisted
+    request; emit nothing for a disallowed origin (browser treats the header-less
+    200 as a preflight denial).
 
-    Echo the request Origin only when it is same-origin or explicitly
-    allowlisted via HERMES_WEBUI_ALLOWED_ORIGINS — the exact policy the CSRF
-    gate enforces for real requests. Reuses _check_same_origin_browser_request
-    so the preflight can never advertise wider access (`*`) than an actual
-    request would be granted. A wildcard here would let any site read
-    authenticated responses on a deployment with no password set.
+    Echoes the request Origin only when it is same-origin or explicitly
+    allowlisted via HERMES_WEBUI_ALLOWED_ORIGINS — the exact policy the CSRF gate
+    enforces for real requests. Reuses _check_same_origin_browser_request so the
+    preflight can never advertise wider access (`*`) than an actual request would
+    be granted. A wildcard here would let any site read authenticated responses
+    on a deployment with no password set. Kept in api/ so server.py stays a thin
+    dispatcher.
     """
     origin = handler.headers.get("Origin", "").strip()
-    if not origin:
-        return ""
-    return origin if _check_same_origin_browser_request(handler) else ""
+    if not origin or not _check_same_origin_browser_request(handler):
+        return
+    handler.send_header("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", origin)
+    handler.send_header("Vary", "Origin")
+    handler.send_header("Access-Control-Allow-Methods", "GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, OPTIONS")
+    handler.send_header("Access-Control-Allow-Headers", "Content-Type, Authorization")
 
 
 def _csrf_exempt_path(path: str) -> bool:
diff --git a/server.py b/server.py
index 655cba9c..48129542 100644
--- a/server.py
+++ b/server.py
@@ -109,14 +109,7 @@ from api.helpers import (
     _CLIENT_DISCONNECT_ERRORS,
 )
 from api.profiles import set_request_profile, clear_request_profile
-from api.routes import (
-    handle_delete,
-    handle_get,
-    handle_patch,
-    handle_post,
-    handle_put,
-    preflight_allow_origin,
-)
+from api.routes import handle_delete, handle_get, handle_patch, handle_post, handle_put, apply_cors_preflight_headers
 from api.startup import auto_install_agent_deps, fix_credential_permissions
 from api.updates import WEBUI_VERSION
 from api.crash_visibility import install_crash_visibility
@@ -442,21 +435,10 @@ class Handler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
         self._handle_write(handle_patch)
 
     def do_OPTIONS(self) -> None:
-        """Handle CORS preflight requests.
-
-        Echo the request Origin only when it is same-origin or allowlisted
-        via HERMES_WEBUI_ALLOWED_ORIGINS (same policy as the CSRF gate) —
-        never advertise `*`. A disallowed origin gets a 200 with no CORS
-        headers, which the browser treats as a preflight denial.
-        """
+        """Handle CORS preflight requests (headers emitted by api.routes)."""
         self._req_t0 = time.time()
-        allow_origin = preflight_allow_origin(self)
         self.send_response(200)
-        if allow_origin:
-            self.send_header("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", allow_origin)
-            self.send_header("Vary", "Origin")
-            self.send_header("Access-Control-Allow-Methods", "GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, OPTIONS")
-            self.send_header("Access-Control-Allow-Headers", "Content-Type, Authorization")
+        apply_cors_preflight_headers(self)
         self.end_headers()
 
     def do_DELETE(self) -> None:
diff --git a/tests/test_cors_preflight_allowlist.py b/tests/test_cors_preflight_allowlist.py
index bfbdc401..13521f4f 100644
--- a/tests/test_cors_preflight_allowlist.py
+++ b/tests/test_cors_preflight_allowlist.py
@@ -8,15 +8,35 @@ the same policy enforced for real requests.
 """
 
 from pathlib import Path
-from types import SimpleNamespace
 
-from api.routes import preflight_allow_origin
+from api.routes import apply_cors_preflight_headers
 
 ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
 
 
+class _FakeHandler:
+    """Captures send_header() calls so tests can assert emitted CORS headers."""
+
+    def __init__(self, headers):
+        self.headers = headers
+        self.sent = {}
+
+    def send_header(self, key, value):
+        self.sent[key] = value
+
+
 def _preflight(headers):
-    return preflight_allow_origin(SimpleNamespace(headers=headers))
+    """Return the Access-Control-Allow-Origin value the preflight would emit,
+    or '' when no CORS headers are emitted (disallowed / no-origin)."""
+    h = _FakeHandler(headers)
+    apply_cors_preflight_headers(h)
+    return h.sent.get("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", "")
+
+
+def _preflight_headers(headers):
+    h = _FakeHandler(headers)
+    apply_cors_preflight_headers(h)
+    return h.sent
 
 
 class TestPreflightAllowOrigin:
@@ -92,5 +112,27 @@ class TestServerNoWildcard:
     def test_server_source_has_no_wildcard_allow_origin(self):
         """Regression guard: the literal `*` Allow-Origin must not come back."""
         src = (ROOT / "server.py").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        routes_src = (ROOT / "api" / "routes.py").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
         assert '"Access-Control-Allow-Origin", "*"' not in src
-        assert "preflight_allow_origin" in src
+        assert '"Access-Control-Allow-Origin", "*"' not in routes_src
+        # server.py stays a thin dispatcher: the preflight logic lives in api/routes.
+        assert "apply_cors_preflight_headers" in src
+        assert "def apply_cors_preflight_headers" in routes_src
+
+    def test_allowed_preflight_sets_vary_origin(self):
+        """An allowed preflight must set Vary: Origin (correct for caching an
+        origin-conditional response)."""
+        sent = _preflight_headers({
+            "Origin": "http://127.0.0.1:8787",
+            "Host": "127.0.0.1:8787",
+        })
+        assert sent.get("Vary") == "Origin"
+        assert sent.get("Access-Control-Allow-Origin") == "http://127.0.0.1:8787"
+
+    def test_denied_preflight_emits_no_cors_headers(self):
+        """A disallowed origin gets zero CORS headers (browser preflight denial)."""
+        sent = _preflight_headers({
+            "Origin": "http://evil.com",
+            "Host": "127.0.0.1:8787",
+        })
+        assert sent == {}