chore: update CI configuration and enhance test stability

- Added deterministic API key and environment variables in e2e-tests.yml to ensure consistent test behavior.
- Refactored CodexProvider tests to improve type safety and mock handling, ensuring reliable test execution.
- Updated provider-factory tests to mock installation detection for CodexProvider, enhancing test isolation.
- Adjusted Playwright configuration to conditionally use external backend, improving flexibility in test environments.
- Enhanced kill-test-servers script to handle external server scenarios, ensuring proper cleanup of test processes.

These changes improve the reliability and maintainability of the testing framework, leading to a more stable development experience.

apps/ui/tests/utils/api/client.ts

@@ -282,28 +282,40 @@ export async function apiListBranches(
  */
 export async function authenticateWithApiKey(page: Page, apiKey: string): Promise<boolean> {
   try {
+    // Ensure the backend is up before attempting login (especially in local runs where
+    // the backend may be started separately from Playwright).
+    const start = Date.now();
+    while (Date.now() - start < 15000) {
+      try {
+        const health = await page.request.get(`${API_BASE_URL}/api/health`, {
+          timeout: 3000,
+        });
+        if (health.ok()) break;
+      } catch {
+        // Retry
+      }
+      await page.waitForTimeout(250);
+    }
+
     // Ensure we're on a page (needed for cookies to work)
     const currentUrl = page.url();
     if (!currentUrl || currentUrl === 'about:blank') {
       await page.goto('http://localhost:3007', { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
     }
 
-    // Use browser context fetch to ensure cookies are set in the browser
-    const response = await page.evaluate(
-      async ({ url, apiKey }) => {
-        const res = await fetch(url, {
-          method: 'POST',
-          headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
-          credentials: 'include',
-          body: JSON.stringify({ apiKey }),
-        });
-        const data = await res.json();
-        return { success: data.success, token: data.token };
-      },
-      { url: `${API_BASE_URL}/api/auth/login`, apiKey }
-    );
+    // Use Playwright request API (tied to this browser context) to avoid flakiness
+    // with cross-origin fetch inside page.evaluate.
+    const loginResponse = await page.request.post(`${API_BASE_URL}/api/auth/login`, {
+      data: { apiKey },
+      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+      timeout: 15000,
+    });
+    const response = (await loginResponse.json().catch(() => null)) as {
+      success?: boolean;
+      token?: string;
+    } | null;
 
-    if (response.success && response.token) {
+    if (response?.success && response.token) {
       // Manually set the cookie in the browser context
       // The server sets a cookie named 'automaker_session' (see SESSION_COOKIE_NAME in auth.ts)
       await page.context().addCookies([
@@ -322,22 +334,19 @@ export async function authenticateWithApiKey(page: Page, apiKey: string): Promis
       let attempts = 0;
       const maxAttempts = 10;
       while (attempts < maxAttempts) {
-        const statusResponse = await page.evaluate(
-          async ({ url }) => {
-            const res = await fetch(url, {
-              credentials: 'include',
-            });
-            return res.json();
-          },
-          { url: `${API_BASE_URL}/api/auth/status` }
-        );
+        const statusRes = await page.request.get(`${API_BASE_URL}/api/auth/status`, {
+          timeout: 5000,
+        });
+        const statusResponse = (await statusRes.json().catch(() => null)) as {
+          authenticated?: boolean;
+        } | null;
 
-        if (statusResponse.authenticated === true) {
+        if (statusResponse?.authenticated === true) {
           return true;
         }
         attempts++;
         // Use a very short wait between polling attempts (this is acceptable for polling)
-        await page.waitForFunction(() => true, { timeout: 50 });
+        await page.waitForTimeout(50);
       }
 
       return false;