diff --git a/news/1 Enhancements/19102.md b/news/1 Enhancements/19102.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..0632716cd6de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/news/1 Enhancements/19102.md	
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Only trigger auto environment discovery once in the first session for a particular scope (a workspace folder or globally).
diff --git a/src/client/pythonEnvironments/index.ts b/src/client/pythonEnvironments/index.ts
index 691710504f9d..3f2b1748d095 100644
--- a/src/client/pythonEnvironments/index.ts
+++ b/src/client/pythonEnvironments/index.ts
@@ -12,7 +12,10 @@ import { PythonEnvsReducer } from './base/locators/composite/envsReducer';
 import { PythonEnvsResolver } from './base/locators/composite/envsResolver';
 import { WindowsPathEnvVarLocator } from './base/locators/lowLevel/windowsKnownPathsLocator';
 import { WorkspaceVirtualEnvironmentLocator } from './base/locators/lowLevel/workspaceVirtualEnvLocator';
-import { initializeExternalDependencies as initializeLegacyExternalDependencies } from './common/externalDependencies';
+import {
+    initializeExternalDependencies as initializeLegacyExternalDependencies,
+    normCasePath,
+} from './common/externalDependencies';
 import { ExtensionLocators, WatchRootsArgs, WorkspaceLocators } from './base/locators/wrappers';
 import { CustomVirtualEnvironmentLocator } from './base/locators/lowLevel/customVirtualEnvLocator';
 import { CondaEnvironmentLocator } from './base/locators/lowLevel/condaLocator';
@@ -52,20 +55,44 @@ export async function initialize(ext: ExtensionState): Promise<IDiscoveryAPI> {
 /**
  * Make use of the component (e.g. register with VS Code).
  */
-export async function activate(api: IDiscoveryAPI, _ext: ExtensionState): Promise<ActivationResult> {
+export async function activate(api: IDiscoveryAPI, ext: ExtensionState): Promise<ActivationResult> {
     /**
      * Force an initial background refresh of the environments.
      *
-     * Note API is ready to be queried only after a refresh has been triggered, and extension activation is blocked on API. So,
-     * * If discovery was never triggered, we need to block extension activation on the refresh trigger.
-     * * If discovery was already triggered, it maybe the case that this is a new workspace for which it hasn't been triggered yet.
-     * So always trigger discovery as part of extension activation for now.
-     *
-     * TODO: https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-python/issues/17498
-     * Once `onInterpretersChanged` event is exposed via API, we can probably expect extensions to rely on that and
-     * discovery can be triggered after activation, especially in the second case.
+     * Note API is ready to be queried only after a refresh has been triggered, and extension activation is
+     * blocked on API being ready. So if discovery was never triggered for a scope, we need to block
+     * extension activation on the "refresh trigger".
      */
-    api.triggerRefresh().ignoreErrors();
+    const folders = vscode.workspace.workspaceFolders;
+    const wasTriggered = getGlobalStorage<boolean>(ext.context, 'PYTHON_WAS_DISCOVERY_TRIGGERED', false);
+    if (!wasTriggered.get()) {
+        api.triggerRefresh().ignoreErrors();
+        wasTriggered.set(true).then(() => {
+            folders?.forEach(async (folder) => {
+                const wasTriggeredForFolder = getGlobalStorage<boolean>(
+                    ext.context,
+                    `PYTHON_WAS_DISCOVERY_TRIGGERED_${normCasePath(folder.uri.fsPath)}`,
+                    false,
+                );
+                await wasTriggeredForFolder.set(true);
+            });
+        });
+    } else {
+        // Figure out which workspace folders need to be activated.
+        folders?.forEach(async (folder) => {
+            const wasTriggeredForFolder = getGlobalStorage<boolean>(
+                ext.context,
+                `PYTHON_WAS_DISCOVERY_TRIGGERED_${normCasePath(folder.uri.fsPath)}`,
+                false,
+            );
+            if (!wasTriggeredForFolder.get()) {
+                api.triggerRefresh({
+                    searchLocations: { roots: [folder.uri], doNotIncludeNonRooted: true },
+                }).ignoreErrors();
+                await wasTriggeredForFolder.set(true);
+            }
+        });
+    }
 
     return {
         fullyReady: Promise.resolve(),