diff --git a/.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml b/.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml
index 894cf794b..e7eaaf69e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml
@@ -29,9 +29,13 @@ permissions:
 
 jobs:
   e2e:
-    name: Playwright Core E2E
+    name: Playwright Core E2E (shard ${{ matrix.shard }}/4)
     runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
     timeout-minutes: 45
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        shard: [1, 2, 3, 4]
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout code
@@ -51,8 +55,10 @@ jobs:
           npx playwright install --with-deps chromium
 
       - name: Build Docker images for test environment
+        # GO_BUILD_TAGS="" drops the release build tag so the suite can enable
+        # mock fixtures; release-tag gating has its own -tags release Go tests.
         run: |
-          docker build -t pulse:test --target runtime .
+          docker build -t pulse:test --target runtime --build-arg GO_BUILD_TAGS="" .
           docker build -t pulse-mock-github:test ./tests/integration/mock-github-server
         env:
           PULSE_LICENSE_PUBLIC_KEY: ${{ secrets.PULSE_LICENSE_PUBLIC_KEY }}
@@ -72,7 +78,7 @@ jobs:
           PULSE_E2E_SKIP_DOCKER: "true"
           PULSE_E2E_SKIP_PLAYWRIGHT_INSTALL: "true"
           PULSE_E2E_PERF: "1"
-        run: npm test
+        run: npm test -- --shard=${{ matrix.shard }}/4
 
       - name: Collect container logs
         if: always()
@@ -89,7 +95,7 @@ jobs:
         if: always()
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a # v7.0.1
         with:
-          name: playwright-report
+          name: playwright-report-shard-${{ matrix.shard }}
           path: tests/integration/playwright-report/
           retention-days: 30
 
@@ -97,6 +103,20 @@ jobs:
         if: failure()
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a # v7.0.1
         with:
-          name: test-failures
+          name: test-failures-shard-${{ matrix.shard }}
           path: tests/integration/test-results/
           retention-days: 7
+
+  e2e-verdict:
+    name: E2E verdict
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    needs: e2e
+    if: always()
+    steps:
+      - name: Check shard results
+        run: |
+          if [ "${{ needs.e2e.result }}" != "success" ]; then
+            echo "E2E shards did not all pass (result: ${{ needs.e2e.result }})"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "All E2E shards passed"
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 85a70ac1b..5a943500e 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -31,6 +31,11 @@ ARG BUILD_AGENT
 ARG VERSION
 ARG PULSE_LICENSE_PUBLIC_KEY_SHA256
 ARG PULSE_UPDATE_SIGNING_PUBLIC_KEY
+# Go build tags for the server binary. Shipped images use "release", which
+# fail-closes mock fixtures, admin bypass, and licensing env overrides. The
+# E2E test image builds with GO_BUILD_TAGS="" so the suite can drive mock
+# fixtures the same way the local dev harness does.
+ARG GO_BUILD_TAGS=release
 WORKDIR /app
 
 # Install build dependencies
@@ -84,13 +89,13 @@ RUN --mount=type=cache,id=pulse-go-mod,target=/go/pkg/mod \
     if [ -n "${PULSE_UPDATE_SIGNING_PUBLIC_KEY:-}" ] && [ "${UPDATE_PUBLIC_KEYS}" != "${PULSE_UPDATE_SIGNING_PUBLIC_KEY}" ]; then echo "Error: mounted update signing key does not match PULSE_UPDATE_SIGNING_PUBLIC_KEY." >&2; echo "Expected public key: ${PULSE_UPDATE_SIGNING_PUBLIC_KEY}" >&2; echo "Actual public key:   ${UPDATE_PUBLIC_KEYS}" >&2; exit 1; fi && \
     SERVER_LDFLAGS="$(./scripts/release_ldflags.sh server --version "${VERSION}" --build-time "${BUILD_TIME}" --git-commit "${GIT_COMMIT}" $(if [ -n "${LICENSE_PUBLIC_KEY}" ]; then printf '%s %s' --license-public-key "${LICENSE_PUBLIC_KEY}"; fi) $(if [ -n "${UPDATE_PUBLIC_KEYS}" ]; then printf '%s %s' --update-public-keys "${UPDATE_PUBLIC_KEYS}"; fi))" && \
     CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build \
-      -tags release \
+      -tags "${GO_BUILD_TAGS}" \
       -ldflags="${SERVER_LDFLAGS}" \
       -buildvcs=false \
       -trimpath \
       -o pulse-linux-amd64 ./cmd/pulse && \
     CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm64 go build \
-      -tags release \
+      -tags "${GO_BUILD_TAGS}" \
       -ldflags="${SERVER_LDFLAGS}" \
       -buildvcs=false \
       -trimpath \
diff --git a/tests/integration/playwright.config.ts b/tests/integration/playwright.config.ts
index c8d09bc1f..328ca9383 100644
--- a/tests/integration/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/tests/integration/playwright.config.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@ export default defineConfig({
   /* Retry on CI only */
   retries: process.env.CI ? 2 : 0,
 
+  /* On CI, a broken test environment fails most of the suite; abort early so
+     the run produces a red completed verdict with a report instead of
+     grinding until the job timeout cancels it with no verdict at all. */
+  maxFailures: process.env.CI ? 20 : 0,
+
   /* Opt out of parallel tests on CI */
   workers: 1, // Update tests modify global state
 
diff --git a/tests/integration/scripts/run-tests.sh b/tests/integration/scripts/run-tests.sh
index 09ec968c0..8519d4557 100755
--- a/tests/integration/scripts/run-tests.sh
+++ b/tests/integration/scripts/run-tests.sh
@@ -44,7 +44,9 @@ ensure_test_images() {
 
     if ! docker image inspect pulse:test >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         echo "Building missing image: pulse:test"
-        docker build -t pulse:test -f "$REPO_ROOT/Dockerfile" "$REPO_ROOT"
+        # Test image drops the release build tag so the suite can enable mock
+        # fixtures without a demo entitlement.
+        docker build -t pulse:test --build-arg GO_BUILD_TAGS="" -f "$REPO_ROOT/Dockerfile" "$REPO_ROOT"
     fi
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/integration/scripts/setup.sh b/tests/integration/scripts/setup.sh
index 995795bb7..1cb3a53a4 100755
--- a/tests/integration/scripts/setup.sh
+++ b/tests/integration/scripts/setup.sh
@@ -86,7 +86,9 @@ echo "✅ Mock GitHub server image built"
 # Build Pulse test image (from root of repo)
 cd "$TEST_ROOT/../.."
 if [ -f "Dockerfile" ]; then
-    docker build -t pulse:test -f Dockerfile .
+    # Test image drops the release build tag so the suite can enable mock
+    # fixtures without a demo entitlement.
+    docker build -t pulse:test --build-arg GO_BUILD_TAGS="" -f Dockerfile .
     echo "✅ Pulse test image built"
 else
     echo "⚠️  Pulse Dockerfile not found. Using published image instead."