diff --git a/apps/desktop-e2e/playwright.config.ts b/apps/desktop-e2e/playwright.config.ts
index 5c909978e..d1b7c40f2 100644
--- a/apps/desktop-e2e/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop-e2e/playwright.config.ts
@@ -1,18 +1,14 @@
 import { defineConfig, devices } from '@playwright/test';
-import { nxE2EPreset } from '@nx/playwright/preset';
 
 require('dotenv').config({
     path: __dirname + "/" + ".env"
 });
 
-// For CI, you may want to set BASE_URL to the deployed application.
-const port = process.env['TRILIUM_PORT'];
 
 /**
  * See https://playwright.dev/docs/test-configuration.
  */
 export default defineConfig({
-  ...nxE2EPreset(__filename, { testDir: './src' }),
   /* Shared settings for all the projects below. See https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-testoptions. */
   use: {
     /* Collect trace when retrying the failed test. See https://playwright.dev/docs/trace-viewer */
diff --git a/apps/desktop-e2e/src/example.spec.ts b/apps/desktop-e2e/src/example.spec.ts
index 1e3e4181d..e4f929b26 100644
--- a/apps/desktop-e2e/src/example.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop-e2e/src/example.spec.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,34 @@
-import { test, expect, _electron as electron } from '@playwright/test';
+import { test, expect, _electron as electron, type ElectronApplication } from '@playwright/test';
 import { join } from 'path';
 
-test('Electron app should display correct title', async () => {
-  // Launch Electron app
-  const distPath = join(__dirname, '../../desktop/dist/main.cjs');
-  const app = await electron.launch({ args: [ distPath ] });
+let app: ElectronApplication;
 
+test.beforeAll(async () => {
+    const distPath = join(__dirname, '../../desktop/dist/main.cjs');
+    app = await electron.launch({ args: [ distPath ] });
+});
+
+test.afterAll(async () => {
+    try {
+      const pid = app.process().pid;
+      await app.close();
+
+      if (pid) {
+          // Double-check process is dead
+          try {
+            process.kill(pid, 0); // throws if process doesn't exist
+            process.kill(pid, 'SIGKILL'); // force kill if still alive
+          } catch (e) {
+            // Process already dead
+          }
+      }
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.warn('Failed to close Electron app cleanly:', err);
+    }
+});
+
+test('Electron app should display correct title', async () => {
   // Get the main window
   const window = await app.firstWindow();
   await expect(window).toHaveTitle("Setup");
-  await app.close();
 });