diff --git a/.github/workflows/linting.yml b/.github/workflows/linting.yml
index e75349117..4bd0d2a90 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/linting.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/linting.yml
@@ -26,7 +26,10 @@ jobs:
             - name: Set up Node.js
               uses: actions/setup-node@820762786026740c76f36085b0efc47a31fe5020 # v7.0.0
               with:
-                node-version: '24'
+                # Match the version the app ships on (Dockerfile /
+                # Dockerfile.dev both use 24.18.1) rather than floating
+                # to the latest 24.x.
+                node-version: '24.18.1'
 
             - name: Install dependencies
               run: npm ci
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 98798ab06..e53630826 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -19,7 +19,13 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install Node
         uses: actions/setup-node@820762786026740c76f36085b0efc47a31fe5020 # v7.0.0
         with:
-          node-version: '24'
+          # Pin to the version the app actually ships on (Dockerfile /
+          # Dockerfile.dev both use 24.18.1; .nvmrc pins the 24 major).
+          # A bare '24' floats to the latest 24.x; Node >= 24.19.0 added
+          # node::ObjectWrap cleanup hooks that crash better-sqlite3 on teardown
+          # ("Assertion failed: (env) != nullptr" in RemoveEnvironmentCleanupHook),
+          # which intermittently kills `npm run dev` in the step below.
+          node-version: '24.18.1'
 
       - name: Copy config file
         run: cp config/config.example.yml config/config.yml
@@ -43,19 +49,34 @@ jobs:
         run: npx tsc --noEmit
 
       - name: Start app in background
-        run: nohup npm run dev &
+        run: |
+          nohup npm run dev > app.log 2>&1 &
+          echo $! > app.pid
 
       - name: Wait for app availability
         run: |
+          print_log() {
+            if [ -f app.log ]; then cat app.log; else echo "(app.log not found)"; fi
+          }
           for i in {1..5}; do
             if curl --silent --fail http://localhost:3002/auth/login; then
               echo "App is up"
               exit 0
             fi
+            # Fail fast (and show why) if the process is gone. Read the PID
+            # safely: if it's missing/empty (e.g. nohup never started), treat
+            # that as "not running" instead of passing a bad arg to kill.
+            pid="$(cat app.pid 2>/dev/null || true)"
+            if [ -z "$pid" ] || ! kill -0 "$pid" 2>/dev/null; then
+              echo "App process exited before becoming available. Output:"
+              print_log
+              exit 1
+            fi
             echo "Waiting for the app... attempt $i"
             sleep 5
           done
-          echo "App failed to start"
+          echo "App failed to start. Output:"
+          print_log
           exit 1
 
   build-sqlite: