diff --git a/app/utils/e2e.ts b/app/utils/e2e.ts
index 50006f1e8..17e4fddc0 100644
--- a/app/utils/e2e.ts
+++ b/app/utils/e2e.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
-// import.meta.env is undefined when Playwright bundles test code,
-// so we need to check if it exists before accessing it
+// import.meta.env is undefined when Playwright bundles test code, so we need to
+// check if it exists before accessing it. There the flag comes from process.env
+// instead (set by playwright.config.ts), as app modules run in the test process too.
 export const IS_E2E_TEST_RUN =
-	typeof import.meta.env !== "undefined" &&
-	import.meta.env.VITE_E2E_TEST_RUN === "true";
+	(typeof import.meta.env !== "undefined" &&
+		import.meta.env.VITE_E2E_TEST_RUN === "true") ||
+	(typeof process !== "undefined" && process.env.VITE_E2E_TEST_RUN === "true");
diff --git a/playwright.config.ts b/playwright.config.ts
index cec1819df..e4068c4b4 100644
--- a/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/playwright.config.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@ import os from "node:os";
 import type { PlaywrightTestConfig } from "@playwright/test";
 import { devices } from "@playwright/test";
 
+// app modules are imported by the test process itself (factories), and they read
+// this flag at import time. Workers inherit it from this process.
+process.env.VITE_E2E_TEST_RUN = "true";
+
 const WORKER_COUNT =
 	Number(process.env.E2E_WORKERS) ||
 	Math.min(8, Math.max(4, os.cpus().length - 2));