diff --git a/extensions/positron-python/src/client/positron/extension.ts b/extensions/positron-python/src/client/positron/extension.ts
index 78daf96047b..de50ad93ee4 100644
--- a/extensions/positron-python/src/client/positron/extension.ts
+++ b/extensions/positron-python/src/client/positron/extension.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 // eslint-disable-next-line import/no-unresolved
 import * as positron from 'positron';
+import * as vscode from 'vscode';
 import { PythonExtension } from '../api/types';
 import { IDisposableRegistry } from '../common/types';
 import { IInterpreterService } from '../interpreter/contracts';
@@ -11,13 +12,7 @@ import { IServiceContainer } from '../ioc/types';
 import { traceError, traceInfo } from '../logging';
 import { PythonRuntimeManager } from './manager';
 import { createPythonRuntimeMetadata } from './runtime';
-import * as vscode from 'vscode';
-
-export const UrlRegex = /(http|https):\/\/([\w_-]+(?:(?:\.[\w_-]+)+)|(localhost))([\w.,@?^=%&:\/~+#-]*[\w@?^=%&\/~+#-])/gi;
-
-interface CustomTerminalLink extends vscode.TerminalLink {
-    data: string;
-}
+import { provider } from './linkProvider';
 
 export async function activatePositron(
     activatedPromise: Promise<void>,
@@ -36,35 +31,7 @@ export async function activatePositron(
         traceInfo('activatePositron: awaiting extension activation');
         await activatedPromise;
 
-        vscode.window.registerTerminalLinkProvider({
-            provideTerminalLinks: (context: vscode.TerminalLinkContext, _token: vscode.CancellationToken) => {
-                // Detect the first instance of the word "link" if it exists and linkify it
-                const matches = [...context.line.matchAll(UrlRegex)];
-                if (matches.length === 0) {
-                    return [];
-                }
-
-                return matches.map((match) => {
-                    const line = context.line;
-
-                    const startIndex = line.indexOf(match[0]);
-
-                    const uri = vscode.Uri.parse(match[0]);
-                    positron.window.previewUrl(uri);
-
-                    return {
-                        startIndex,
-                        length: match[0].length,
-                        tooltip: 'Open in Viewer',
-                        data: match[0],
-                    };
-                });
-            },
-            handleTerminalLink: (link: CustomTerminalLink) => {
-                const uri = vscode.Uri.parse(link.data);
-                positron.window.previewUrl(uri);
-            },
-        });
+        vscode.window.registerTerminalLinkProvider(provider);
 
         const registerRuntime = async (interpreterPath: string) => {
             if (!manager.registeredPythonRuntimes.has(interpreterPath)) {
diff --git a/extensions/positron-python/src/client/positron/linkProvider.ts b/extensions/positron-python/src/client/positron/linkProvider.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8b3075f314d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/extensions/positron-python/src/client/positron/linkProvider.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+/*---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ *  Copyright (C) 2023 Posit Software, PBC. All rights reserved.
+ *--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
+
+// eslint-disable-next-line import/no-unresolved
+import * as positron from 'positron';
+import * as vscode from 'vscode';
+
+const UrlRegex = /(http|https):\/\/([\w_-]+(?:(?:\.[\w_-]+)+)|(localhost))([\w.,@?^=%&:\/~+#-]*[\w@?^=%&\/~+#-])/gi;
+
+interface PositronTerminalLink extends vscode.TerminalLink {
+    data: string;
+}
+
+const _links: string[] = [];
+
+export const provider = {
+    provideTerminalLinks: (context: vscode.TerminalLinkContext, _token: vscode.CancellationToken) => {
+        const matches = [...context.line.matchAll(UrlRegex)];
+        if (matches.length === 0) {
+            return [];
+        }
+
+        return matches.map((match) => {
+            const startIndex = context.line.indexOf(match[0]);
+
+            if (!_links.includes(match[0])) {
+                const uri = vscode.Uri.parse(match[0]);
+                positron.window.previewUrl(uri);
+            }
+            // fix, people will want to open the same link multiple times
+            // are we able to get context of the viewer?
+            // or use some sort of other context from link/application/process lifespan?
+            _links.push(match[0]);
+
+            return {
+                startIndex,
+                length: match[0].length,
+                tooltip: 'Open in Viewer',
+                data: match[0],
+            } as PositronTerminalLink;
+        });
+    },
+    handleTerminalLink: (link: PositronTerminalLink) => {
+        const uri = vscode.Uri.parse(link.data);
+        positron.window.previewUrl(uri);
+    },
+};