diff --git a/app/test/e2e/helpers/shared-flows.ts b/app/test/e2e/helpers/shared-flows.ts
index 16d0348be..2b54b840b 100644
--- a/app/test/e2e/helpers/shared-flows.ts
+++ b/app/test/e2e/helpers/shared-flows.ts
@@ -248,7 +248,8 @@ export async function navigateToConversations() {
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Onboarding walkthrough (Onboarding.tsx — 5 steps, indices 0–4)
+// Onboarding walkthrough
+// Current flow: Welcome → Local AI → Screen & Accessibility → Tools → Skills (5 steps, indices 0–4).
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 /** Labels used to detect the onboarding overlay (same strings as Onboarding copy). */
@@ -319,12 +320,14 @@ export async function walkOnboarding(logPrefix = '[E2E]') {
 }
 
 /**
- * If onboarding is showing, walk through it. Safe no-op when already on Home / no overlay.
+ * Walk through onboarding if it is visible, or no-op if already on Home.
+ *
+ * Delegates to walkOnboarding, which polls up to 8 × 400 ms for the overlay
+ * to appear before giving up — safe to call unconditionally after auth so
+ * timing races do not cause the helper to skip onboarding prematurely.
  */
 export async function completeOnboardingIfVisible(logPrefix = '[E2E]') {
-  if (await onboardingOverlayLikelyVisible()) {
-    await walkOnboarding(logPrefix);
-  }
+  await walkOnboarding(logPrefix);
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/app/test/e2e/specs/conversations-web-channel-flow.spec.ts b/app/test/e2e/specs/conversations-web-channel-flow.spec.ts
index df336fa46..2768501a9 100644
--- a/app/test/e2e/specs/conversations-web-channel-flow.spec.ts
+++ b/app/test/e2e/specs/conversations-web-channel-flow.spec.ts
@@ -9,7 +9,11 @@ import {
   waitForWebView,
   waitForWindowVisible,
 } from '../helpers/element-helpers';
-import { navigateToConversations, navigateViaHash, walkOnboarding } from '../helpers/shared-flows';
+import {
+  completeOnboardingIfVisible,
+  navigateToConversations,
+  navigateViaHash,
+} from '../helpers/shared-flows';
 import { clearRequestLog, getRequestLog, startMockServer, stopMockServer } from '../mock-server';
 
 function stepLog(message: string, context?: unknown) {
@@ -70,7 +74,7 @@ suiteRunner('Conversations web channel flow', () => {
     }
 
     stepLog('complete onboarding');
-    await walkOnboarding('[ConversationsE2E]');
+    await completeOnboardingIfVisible('[ConversationsE2E]');
 
     stepLog('open conversations');
     // Navigate via hash — "Message OpenHuman" button may not reliably open conversations
diff --git a/e2e/Dockerfile b/e2e/Dockerfile
index d5128775c..74a0eb346 100644
--- a/e2e/Dockerfile
+++ b/e2e/Dockerfile
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
   libgtk-3-dev libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev libappindicator3-dev \
   librsvg2-dev patchelf libssl-dev \
   xvfb at-spi2-core dbus-x11 webkit2gtk-driver \
+  clang libclang-dev cmake \
   git ca-certificates \
   && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*