diff --git a/frontend/playwright.config.ts b/frontend/playwright.config.ts
index 8b8987d..62c2edd 100644
--- a/frontend/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/frontend/playwright.config.ts
@@ -101,13 +101,16 @@ export default defineConfig({
     /**
      * Use the dev server by default for faster feedback loop.
      * Use the preview server on CI for more realistic testing.
-     * CI mode chains `npm run build` so a fresh clone has dist/ in place
-     * before preview serves it (otherwise page.title() is empty).
+     *
+     * CI mode assumes `dist/` is already built by an upstream node container
+     * (Step 1 of the two-step e2e flow); preview only serves dist here, never
+     * builds. See docs/tmp/deploy-ref/ci-cd/02-frontend-image/design.md §7.0.1
+     * for the two-container workflow contract.
+     *
      * Playwright will re-use the local server if there is already a dev-server running.
      */
-    command: process.env.CI ? 'npm run build && npm run preview' : 'npm run dev',
+    command: process.env.CI ? 'npm run preview' : 'npm run dev',
     port: process.env.CI ? 4173 : 5173,
     reuseExistingServer: !process.env.CI,
-    timeout: 180_000,
   },
 })