diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 27b2c30295..0a401d85d2 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ DIST_DIRS := $(DIST)/binaries $(DIST)/release
 export GOEXPERIMENT ?= jsonv2
 
 GO ?= go
+CONTAINER_RUNTIME ?= docker
 SHASUM ?= shasum -a 256
 COMMA := ,
 
@@ -468,12 +469,11 @@ migrations.individual.test\#%:
 
 .PHONY: playwright
 playwright: deps-frontend
-	@# on GitHub Actions VMs, playwright's system deps are pre-installed
-	@pnpm exec playwright install $(if $(GITHUB_ACTIONS),,--with-deps) chromium firefox $(PLAYWRIGHT_FLAGS)
+	@./tools/test-e2e.sh install
 
 .PHONY: test-e2e
 test-e2e: playwright frontend backend
-	@EXECUTABLE=$(EXECUTABLE) ./tools/test-e2e.sh $(GITEA_TEST_E2E_FLAGS)
+	@CONTAINER_RUNTIME=$(CONTAINER_RUNTIME) EXECUTABLE=$(EXECUTABLE) ./tools/test-e2e.sh run $(GITEA_TEST_E2E_FLAGS)
 
 .PHONY: build
 build: frontend backend ## build everything
diff --git a/tools/test-e2e.sh b/tools/test-e2e.sh
index 39405387b5..5328ddc4f1 100755
--- a/tools/test-e2e.sh
+++ b/tools/test-e2e.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,79 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 set -euo pipefail
 
+# Extract Playwright version from package.json
+PLAYWRIGHT_VERSION=$(node -e "process.stdout.write(require('./package.json').devDependencies['@playwright/test'])")
+
+detect_playwright_mode() {
+    # If PLAYWRIGHT_MODE is already set to local or container, use it
+    if [ "${PLAYWRIGHT_MODE:-auto}" = "local" ] || [ "${PLAYWRIGHT_MODE:-auto}" = "container" ]; then
+        return
+    fi
+
+    # Default to local
+    PLAYWRIGHT_MODE="local"
+
+    if [ "$(uname -s)" = "Linux" ]; then
+        if [ -f /etc/os-release ]; then
+            # Check ID and ID_LIKE for ubuntu or debian
+            if ! grep -qE '^ID(_LIKE)?=.*(ubuntu|debian)' /etc/os-release; then
+                PLAYWRIGHT_MODE="container"
+            fi
+        else
+            PLAYWRIGHT_MODE="container"
+        fi
+    fi
+}
+
+wait_for_container() {
+    local max_attempts=$1
+    local attempt=1
+    local wait_time=1
+    echo "Waiting for container to start..."
+    sleep 5 # give the container some time to start listening.
+
+    while [ $attempt -le $max_attempts ]; do
+        if ${CONTAINER_RUNTIME:-docker} logs gitea-e2e-runner 2>&1 | grep -q "Listening on"; then
+            echo "Container is ready."
+            return 0  # Success
+        fi
+
+        if [ $attempt -eq $max_attempts ]; then
+            echo "Error: Container did not become ready after $max_attempts attempts."
+            return 1  # Failure
+        fi
+
+        echo "Attempt $attempt: Container not ready, waiting $wait_time second(s)..."
+        sleep $wait_time
+        ((attempt++))
+        ((wait_time*=2))  # Exponential backoff
+    done
+}
+
+CMD="${1:-run}"
+if [ "$CMD" = "install" ] || [ "$CMD" = "run" ]; then
+    shift
+else
+    CMD="run"
+fi
+
+detect_playwright_mode
+
+if [ "$CMD" = "install" ]; then
+    if [ "$PLAYWRIGHT_MODE" = "local" ]; then
+        # on Github Actions VMs, playwright's system deps are preinstalled
+        if [ -z "${GITHUB_ACTIONS:-}" ]; then
+          pnpm exec playwright install --with-deps chromium firefox ${PLAYWRIGHT_FLAGS:-}
+        else
+          pnpm exec playwright install chromium firefox ${PLAYWRIGHT_FLAGS:-}
+        fi
+    else
+        echo "Running playwright in container as host distro is not supported by playwright directly"
+        ${CONTAINER_RUNTIME:-docker} pull "mcr.microsoft.com/playwright:v${PLAYWRIGHT_VERSION}-noble"
+    fi
+    exit 0
+fi
+
 # Create isolated work directory
 WORK_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
 
@@ -8,6 +81,9 @@ WORK_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
 FREE_PORT=$(node -e "const s=require('net').createServer();s.listen(0,'127.0.0.1',()=>{process.stdout.write(String(s.address().port));s.close()})")
 
 cleanup() {
+  if [ "${PLAYWRIGHT_MODE:-}" = "container" ]; then
+    ${CONTAINER_RUNTIME:-docker} stop gitea-e2e-runner
+  fi
   if [ -n "${SERVER_PID:-}" ]; then
     kill "$SERVER_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
     wait "$SERVER_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
@@ -16,6 +92,16 @@ cleanup() {
 }
 trap cleanup EXIT
 
+if [ "${PLAYWRIGHT_MODE:-}" = "container" ]; then
+  # Start playwright worker
+  ${CONTAINER_RUNTIME:-docker} run --network=host --name gitea-e2e-runner -d --rm --init -it --workdir /home/pwuser --user pwuser "mcr.microsoft.com/playwright:v${PLAYWRIGHT_VERSION}-noble" /bin/sh -c "npx -y playwright@${PLAYWRIGHT_VERSION} run-server --port 4000 --host 0.0.0.0"
+
+  if ! wait_for_container 5; then
+      exit 1
+  fi
+fi
+
+
 # Write config file for isolated instance
 mkdir -p "$WORK_DIR/custom/conf"
 cat > "$WORK_DIR/custom/conf/app.ini" <<EOF
@@ -100,6 +186,9 @@ GITEA_TEST_E2E_EMAIL="$GITEA_TEST_E2E_USER@$GITEA_TEST_E2E_DOMAIN"
 if [ -z "${GITEA_TEST_E2E_TIMEOUT_FACTOR:-}" ]; then
   if [ -n "${CI:-}" ]; then
     GITEA_TEST_E2E_TIMEOUT_FACTOR=4
+  # Container based runs seem slower so bump the default timeout to avoid failing tests
+  elif [ "${PLAYWRIGHT_MODE}" = "container" ]; then
+    GITEA_TEST_E2E_TIMEOUT_FACTOR=1.5
   else
     GITEA_TEST_E2E_TIMEOUT_FACTOR=1
   fi
@@ -112,4 +201,7 @@ export GITEA_TEST_E2E_PASSWORD
 export GITEA_TEST_E2E_EMAIL
 export GITEA_TEST_E2E_TIMEOUT_FACTOR
 
+if [ "$PLAYWRIGHT_MODE" = "container" ]; then
+  export PW_TEST_CONNECT_WS_ENDPOINT=ws://127.0.0.1:4000/
+fi
 pnpm exec playwright test "$@"