diff --git a/.github/workflows/pull-e2e-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/pull-e2e-tests.yml
index 4bee5c4c26..aac5602e6a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pull-e2e-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pull-e2e-tests.yml
@@ -31,32 +31,10 @@ jobs:
           node-version: 24
           cache: pnpm
           cache-dependency-path: pnpm-lock.yaml
-      - run: make deps-backend
-      - run: make backend
-        env:
-          TAGS: bindata sqlite sqlite_unlock_notify
       - run: make deps-frontend
       - run: make frontend
-      - run: |
-          mkdir -p custom/conf
-          cat <<'EOF' > custom/conf/app.ini
-          [database]
-          DB_TYPE = sqlite3
-
-          [server]
-          HTTP_PORT = 3000
-          ROOT_URL = http://localhost:3000
-
-          [service]
-          ENABLE_CAPTCHA = false
-
-          [security]
-          INSTALL_LOCK = true
-          EOF
-      - run: ./gitea web &
-      - run: make playwright
-      - run: E2E_URL=http://localhost:3000 make test-e2e
+      - run: make deps-backend
+      - run: make test-e2e
         timeout-minutes: 10
         env:
           FORCE_COLOR: 1
-          TAGS: bindata sqlite sqlite_unlock_notify
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 87051babc1..45e8e9295f 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ cpu.out
 *.log.*.gz
 
 /gitea
+/gitea-e2e
 /gitea-vet
 /debug
 /integrations.test
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index baa288061f..ad892d6adb 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -184,9 +184,8 @@ Here's how to run the test suite:
 
 |  Variable       | Description                                                                 |
 | :-------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-|``E2E_URL``      | URL of the Gitea server to test against (default: read from ``app.ini``)    |
-|``E2E_DEBUG``    | When set, show Gitea server output (only for auto-started server)           |
-|``E2E_FLAGS``    | Additional flags passed to Playwright (e.g. ``--headed --debug``)           |
+|``GITEA_TEST_E2E_DEBUG``    | When set, show Gitea server output                                          |
+|``GITEA_TEST_E2E_FLAGS``    | Additional flags passed to Playwright (e.g. ``--headed --debug``)           |
 
 ## Translation
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index cf5a54f8ae..2a597790fc 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ clean-all: clean ## delete backend, frontend and integration files
 
 .PHONY: clean
 clean: ## delete backend and integration files
-	rm -rf $(EXECUTABLE) $(DIST) $(BINDATA_DEST_WILDCARD) \
+	rm -rf $(EXECUTABLE) gitea-e2e $(DIST) $(BINDATA_DEST_WILDCARD) \
 		integrations*.test \
 		tests/integration/gitea-integration-* \
 		tests/integration/indexers-* \
@@ -534,8 +534,9 @@ playwright: deps-frontend
 	@$(NODE_VARS) pnpm exec playwright install $(if $(GITHUB_ACTIONS),,--with-deps) chromium $(PLAYWRIGHT_FLAGS)
 
 .PHONY: test-e2e
-test-e2e: playwright $(EXECUTABLE)
-	@EXECUTABLE=$(EXECUTABLE) ./tools/test-e2e.sh $(E2E_FLAGS)
+test-e2e: playwright
+	$(GO) build $(GOFLAGS) $(EXTRA_GOFLAGS) -tags '$(TEST_TAGS)' -ldflags '-s -w $(EXTLDFLAGS) $(LDFLAGS)' -o gitea-e2e
+	@EXECUTABLE=gitea-e2e ./tools/test-e2e.sh $(GITEA_TEST_E2E_FLAGS)
 
 .PHONY: bench-sqlite
 bench-sqlite: integrations.sqlite.test generate-ini-sqlite
diff --git a/playwright.config.ts b/playwright.config.ts
index 4df9213440..68f1dbaa63 100644
--- a/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/playwright.config.ts
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
     timeout: env.CI ? 6000 : 3000,
   },
   use: {
-    baseURL: env.E2E_URL?.replace?.(/\/$/g, ''),
+    baseURL: env.GITEA_TEST_E2E_URL?.replace?.(/\/$/g, ''),
     locale: 'en-US',
     actionTimeout: env.CI ? 6000 : 3000,
     navigationTimeout: env.CI ? 12000 : 6000,
diff --git a/tests/e2e/env.d.ts b/tests/e2e/env.d.ts
index d2cbaf0f6d..ff8898ef0e 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/env.d.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/env.d.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 declare namespace NodeJS {
   interface ProcessEnv {
-    E2E_USER: string;
-    E2E_PASSWORD: string;
-    E2E_URL: string;
+    GITEA_TEST_E2E_USER: string;
+    GITEA_TEST_E2E_EMAIL: string;
+    GITEA_TEST_E2E_PASSWORD: string;
+    GITEA_TEST_E2E_URL: string;
   }
 }
diff --git a/tests/e2e/milestone.test.ts b/tests/e2e/milestone.test.ts
index 68d5e9b3d0..d63aee0cf2 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/milestone.test.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/milestone.test.ts
@@ -6,9 +6,9 @@ test('create a milestone', async ({page}) => {
   const repoName = `e2e-milestone-${Date.now()}`;
   await login(page);
   await apiCreateRepo(page.request, {name: repoName});
-  await page.goto(`/${env.E2E_USER}/${repoName}/milestones/new`);
+  await page.goto(`/${env.GITEA_TEST_E2E_USER}/${repoName}/milestones/new`);
   await page.getByPlaceholder('Title').fill('Test Milestone');
   await page.getByRole('button', {name: 'Create Milestone'}).click();
   await expect(page.locator('.milestone-list')).toContainText('Test Milestone');
-  await apiDeleteRepo(page.request, env.E2E_USER, repoName);
+  await apiDeleteRepo(page.request, env.GITEA_TEST_E2E_USER, repoName);
 });
diff --git a/tests/e2e/readme.test.ts b/tests/e2e/readme.test.ts
index 999a280f1e..9dc291d5c5 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/readme.test.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/readme.test.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import {apiCreateRepo, apiDeleteRepo} from './utils.ts';
 test('README renders on repository page', async ({page}) => {
   const repoName = `e2e-readme-${Date.now()}`;
   await apiCreateRepo(page.request, {name: repoName});
-  await page.goto(`/${env.E2E_USER}/${repoName}`);
+  await page.goto(`/${env.GITEA_TEST_E2E_USER}/${repoName}`);
   await expect(page.locator('#readme')).toContainText(repoName);
-  await apiDeleteRepo(page.request, env.E2E_USER, repoName);
+  await apiDeleteRepo(page.request, env.GITEA_TEST_E2E_USER, repoName);
 });
diff --git a/tests/e2e/register.test.ts b/tests/e2e/register.test.ts
index d854b345d6..dd42d5113e 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/register.test.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/register.test.ts
@@ -51,13 +51,13 @@ test('register then login', async ({page}) => {
 
   // delete via API because of issues related to form-fetch-action
   const response = await page.request.delete(`/api/v1/admin/users/${username}?purge=true`, {
-    headers: {Authorization: `Basic ${btoa(`${env.E2E_USER}:${env.E2E_PASSWORD}`)}`},
+    headers: {Authorization: `Basic ${btoa(`${env.GITEA_TEST_E2E_USER}:${env.GITEA_TEST_E2E_PASSWORD}`)}`},
   });
   expect(response.ok()).toBeTruthy();
 });
 
 test('register with existing username shows error', async ({page}) => {
-  await page.getByLabel('Username').fill('e2e');
+  await page.getByLabel('Username').fill('e2e-user');
   await page.getByLabel('Email Address').fill('e2e-duplicate@e2e.gitea.com');
   await page.getByLabel('Password', {exact: true}).fill('password123!');
   await page.getByLabel('Confirm Password').fill('password123!');
diff --git a/tests/e2e/repo.test.ts b/tests/e2e/repo.test.ts
index 1df024511c..cca59d612d 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/repo.test.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/repo.test.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,6 @@ test('create a repository', async ({page}) => {
   await page.goto('/repo/create');
   await page.locator('input[name="repo_name"]').fill(repoName);
   await page.getByRole('button', {name: 'Create Repository'}).click();
-  await page.waitForURL(new RegExp(`/${env.E2E_USER}/${repoName}$`));
-  await apiDeleteRepo(page.request, env.E2E_USER, repoName);
+  await page.waitForURL(new RegExp(`/${env.GITEA_TEST_E2E_USER}/${repoName}$`));
+  await apiDeleteRepo(page.request, env.GITEA_TEST_E2E_USER, repoName);
 });
diff --git a/tests/e2e/utils.ts b/tests/e2e/utils.ts
index 4ba8cc9d73..6ee16b32f8 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/utils.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/utils.ts
@@ -3,11 +3,11 @@ import {expect} from '@playwright/test';
 import type {APIRequestContext, Locator, Page} from '@playwright/test';
 
 export function apiBaseUrl() {
-  return env.E2E_URL?.replace(/\/$/g, '');
+  return env.GITEA_TEST_E2E_URL?.replace(/\/$/g, '');
 }
 
 export function apiHeaders() {
-  return {Authorization: `Basic ${globalThis.btoa(`${env.E2E_USER}:${env.E2E_PASSWORD}`)}`};
+  return {Authorization: `Basic ${globalThis.btoa(`${env.GITEA_TEST_E2E_USER}:${env.GITEA_TEST_E2E_PASSWORD}`)}`};
 }
 
 async function apiRetry(fn: () => Promise<{ok: () => boolean; status: () => number; text: () => Promise<string>}>, label: string) {
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ export async function clickDropdownItem(page: Page, trigger: Locator, itemText:
   await page.getByText(itemText).click();
 }
 
-export async function login(page: Page, username = env.E2E_USER, password = env.E2E_PASSWORD) {
+export async function login(page: Page, username = env.GITEA_TEST_E2E_USER, password = env.GITEA_TEST_E2E_PASSWORD) {
   await page.goto('/user/login');
   await page.getByLabel('Username or Email Address').fill(username);
   await page.getByLabel('Password').fill(password);
diff --git a/tools/test-e2e.sh b/tools/test-e2e.sh
index b5463d7cf5..616bd04d33 100755
--- a/tools/test-e2e.sh
+++ b/tools/test-e2e.sh
@@ -1,89 +1,90 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 set -euo pipefail
 
-# Determine the Gitea server URL, either from E2E_URL env var or from custom/conf/app.ini
-if [ -z "${E2E_URL:-}" ]; then
-  INI_FILE="custom/conf/app.ini"
-  if [ ! -f "$INI_FILE" ]; then
-    echo "error: $INI_FILE not found and E2E_URL not set" >&2
-    echo "Either start Gitea with a config or set E2E_URL explicitly:" >&2
-    echo "  E2E_URL=http://localhost:3000 make test-e2e" >&2
-    exit 1
-  fi
-  # Note: this does not respect INI sections, assumes ROOT_URL only appears under [server]
-  ROOT_URL=$(sed -n 's/^ROOT_URL\s*=\s*//p' "$INI_FILE" | tr -d '[:space:]')
-  if [ -z "$ROOT_URL" ]; then
-    echo "error: ROOT_URL not found in $INI_FILE" >&2
-    exit 1
-  fi
-  E2E_URL="$ROOT_URL"
-fi
+# Create isolated work directory
+WORK_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
 
-# Normalize URL: trim trailing slash to avoid double slashes when appending paths
-E2E_URL="${E2E_URL%/}"
+# Find a random free port
+FREE_PORT=$(node -e "const s=require('net').createServer();s.listen(0,'127.0.0.1',()=>{console.log(s.address().port);s.close()})")
 
-echo "Using Gitea server: $E2E_URL"
-
-# Disable CAPTCHA for e2e tests
-export GITEA__service__ENABLE_CAPTCHA=false
-
-SERVER_PID=""
 cleanup() {
-  if [ -n "$SERVER_PID" ]; then
-    echo "Stopping temporary Gitea server (PID $SERVER_PID)..."
+  if [ -n "${SERVER_PID:-}" ]; then
     kill "$SERVER_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
     wait "$SERVER_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
   fi
+  rm -rf "$WORK_DIR"
 }
 trap cleanup EXIT
 
-# For local development, if no gitea server is running, start a temporary one.
-if [ -z "${CI:-}" ] && ! curl -sf --max-time 5 "$E2E_URL" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-  if [ ! -x "./$EXECUTABLE" ]; then
-    echo "error: ./$EXECUTABLE not found or not executable, run 'make backend' first" >&2
-    exit 1
-  fi
-  echo "Starting temporary Gitea server..."
-  if [ -n "${E2E_DEBUG:-}" ]; then
-    "./$EXECUTABLE" web &
-  else
-    "./$EXECUTABLE" web > /dev/null 2>&1 &
-  fi
-  SERVER_PID=$!
-fi
+# Write config file for isolated instance
+mkdir -p "$WORK_DIR/custom/conf"
+cat > "$WORK_DIR/custom/conf/app.ini" <<EOF
+[database]
+DB_TYPE = sqlite3
+PATH = $WORK_DIR/data/gitea.db
 
-# Verify server is reachable, retry for up to 2 minutes for slow startup
+[server]
+HTTP_PORT = $FREE_PORT
+ROOT_URL = http://localhost:$FREE_PORT
+STATIC_ROOT_PATH = $(pwd)
+
+[security]
+INSTALL_LOCK = true
+
+[service]
+ENABLE_CAPTCHA = false
+
+[log]
+MODE = console
+LEVEL = Warn
+EOF
+
+export GITEA_WORK_DIR="$WORK_DIR"
+
+# Start Gitea server
+echo "Starting Gitea server on port $FREE_PORT (workdir: $WORK_DIR)..."
+if [ -n "${GITEA_TEST_E2E_DEBUG:-}" ]; then
+  "./$EXECUTABLE" web &
+else
+  "./$EXECUTABLE" web > "$WORK_DIR/server.log" 2>&1 &
+fi
+SERVER_PID=$!
+
+# Wait for server to be reachable
+E2E_URL="http://localhost:$FREE_PORT"
 MAX_WAIT=120
 ELAPSED=0
 while ! curl -sf --max-time 5 "$E2E_URL" > /dev/null 2>&1; do
-  if [ -n "$SERVER_PID" ] && ! kill -0 "$SERVER_PID" 2>/dev/null; then
-    echo "error: Gitea server process exited unexpectedly" >&2
+  if ! kill -0 "$SERVER_PID" 2>/dev/null; then
+    echo "error: Gitea server process exited unexpectedly. Server log:" >&2
+    cat "$WORK_DIR/server.log" 2>/dev/null >&2 || true
     exit 1
   fi
   if [ "$ELAPSED" -ge "$MAX_WAIT" ]; then
-    echo "error: Gitea server at $E2E_URL is not reachable after ${MAX_WAIT}s" >&2
+    echo "error: Gitea server not reachable after ${MAX_WAIT}s. Server log:" >&2
+    cat "$WORK_DIR/server.log" 2>/dev/null >&2 || true
     exit 1
   fi
   sleep 2
   ELAPSED=$((ELAPSED + 2))
 done
 
-# Create e2e test user if it does not already exist
-E2E_USER="e2e"
-E2E_EMAIL="e2e@e2e.gitea.com"
-E2E_PASSWORD="password"
-if ! curl -sf --max-time 5 "$E2E_URL/api/v1/users/$E2E_USER" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-  echo "Creating e2e test user..."
-  if "./$EXECUTABLE" admin user create --username "$E2E_USER" --email "$E2E_EMAIL" --password "$E2E_PASSWORD" --must-change-password=false --admin; then
-    echo "User '$E2E_USER' created"
-  else
-    echo "error: failed to create user '$E2E_USER'" >&2
-    exit 1
-  fi
-fi
+echo "Gitea server is ready at $E2E_URL"
 
-export E2E_URL
-export E2E_USER
-export E2E_PASSWORD
+# Create admin test user
+GITEA_TEST_E2E_USER="e2e-user"
+GITEA_TEST_E2E_EMAIL="e2e-user@e2e.gitea.com"
+GITEA_TEST_E2E_PASSWORD="password"
+"./$EXECUTABLE" admin user create \
+  --username "$GITEA_TEST_E2E_USER" \
+  --email "$GITEA_TEST_E2E_EMAIL" \
+  --password "$GITEA_TEST_E2E_PASSWORD" \
+  --must-change-password=false \
+  --admin
+
+export GITEA_TEST_E2E_URL="$E2E_URL"
+export GITEA_TEST_E2E_USER
+export GITEA_TEST_E2E_EMAIL
+export GITEA_TEST_E2E_PASSWORD
 
 pnpm exec playwright test "$@"