diff --git a/ci/e2e-smoke-driver.js b/ci/e2e-smoke-driver.js
index 9f3613c..c8e554b 100644
--- a/ci/e2e-smoke-driver.js
+++ b/ci/e2e-smoke-driver.js
@@ -97,12 +97,11 @@ async function discoverSurfaces(page) {
   const browser = await chromium.launch({ headless: true });
   const context = await browser.newContext();
 
-  // Set auth cookie
+  // Set auth cookie — use url instead of domain for reliable matching
   await context.addCookies([{
     name: 'arm_token',
     value: TOKEN,
-    domain: new URL(SERVER).hostname,
-    path: '/',
+    url: SERVER,
   }]);
 
   const page = await context.newPage();
@@ -145,10 +144,11 @@ async function discoverSurfaces(page) {
       process.stdout.write(`  ${surface.id} (${surface.route}) ... `);
       await page.goto(url, { waitUntil: 'networkidle', timeout: 30000 });
 
-      // Assert 1: Shell topbar exists
-      const topbar = await page.$('.sw-topbar');
+      // Assert 1: Shell topbar renders (Preact SPA — wait for it to mount)
+      const topbar = await page.waitForSelector('.sw-topbar', { timeout: 15000 })
+        .catch(() => null);
       if (!topbar) {
-        throw new Error('Shell topbar (.sw-topbar) not found');
+        throw new Error('Shell topbar (.sw-topbar) not found after 15s');
       }
 
       // Assert 2: Home link exists (favicon link or any link to /)
diff --git a/ci/surface-test-driver.js b/ci/surface-test-driver.js
index abe6fcd..13e3789 100644
--- a/ci/surface-test-driver.js
+++ b/ci/surface-test-driver.js
@@ -33,12 +33,12 @@ if (!TOKEN) {
   const browser = await chromium.launch({ headless: true });
   const context = await browser.newContext();
 
-  // Set auth cookie — name must match server's SetCookie ("arm_token")
+  // Set auth cookie — use url instead of domain for reliable matching
+  // in Docker/CI where hostname is a Docker DNS name (e.g. "armature")
   await context.addCookies([{
     name: 'arm_token',
     value: TOKEN,
-    domain: new URL(SERVER).hostname,
-    path: '/',
+    url: SERVER,
   }]);
 
   const page = await context.newPage();