diff --git a/.github/workflows/run-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/run-tests.yml
index 543106a..a813431 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/run-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/run-tests.yml
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ permissions:
 on:
   # Run on every push to the 'main' branch
   push:
-    branches: [ "main", "33-frontend-looks-like-logged-in-even-after-token-expires" ]
+    branches: [ "main" ]
   # Also run on every pull request that targets the 'main' branch
   pull_request:
     branches: [ "main" ]
@@ -30,9 +30,9 @@ jobs:
           MARIADB_DATABASE: group_project # Using the DB name your app expects
           MARIADB_USER: appuser
           MARIADB_PASSWORD: apppass
-        # ADD THIS BLOCK BACK IN
-        # This forces the job to wait until the DB is
-        # actually responding before continuing.
+        ports:
+          - 3306:3306
+        # Healthcheck ensures the job only starts when DB is ready
         options: >-
           --health-cmd="mysqladmin ping -h 127.0.0.1 -u root -prootpw --silent"
           --health-interval=5s
@@ -40,9 +40,9 @@ jobs:
           --health-retries=20
 
     # This is the job-level 'env' block
-    # It will be used by the 'alembic' step
+    # It will be used by all steps (alembic, pytest, etc.)
     env:
-      MARIADB_HOST: mariadb # Use the service label as the host
+      MARIADB_HOST: 127.0.0.1
       MARIADB_PORT: "3306"
       MARIADB_DB: group_project
       MARIADB_USER: appuser
@@ -73,7 +73,8 @@ jobs:
       # file that your pytest setup might be loading
       - name: Run tests with pytest
         env:
-          MARIADB_HOST: mariadb
+          MARIADB_HOST: 127.0.0.1
+          MARIADB_PORT: "3306"
           MARIADB_DB: group_project
           MARIADB_USER: appuser
           MARIADB_PASSWORD: apppass
diff --git a/7project/backend/alembic/env.py b/7project/backend/alembic/env.py
index ec52aab..f910b91 100644
--- a/7project/backend/alembic/env.py
+++ b/7project/backend/alembic/env.py
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@ if not DATABASE_URL:
 
 SYNC_DATABASE_URL = DATABASE_URL.replace("+asyncmy", "+pymysql")
 
-ssl_enabled = os.getenv("MARIADB_HOST", "localhost") != "localhost"
+host_env = os.getenv("MARIADB_HOST", "localhost")
+ssl_enabled = host_env not in {"localhost", "127.0.0.1"}
 connect_args = {"ssl": {"ssl": True}} if ssl_enabled else {}
 
 def run_migrations_offline() -> None:
diff --git a/7project/backend/app/core/db.py b/7project/backend/app/core/db.py
index 9c8cad7..1186352 100644
--- a/7project/backend/app/core/db.py
+++ b/7project/backend/app/core/db.py
@@ -19,7 +19,8 @@ from app.models.user import User
 from app.models.transaction import Transaction
 from app.models.categories import Category
 
-ssl_enabled = os.getenv("MARIADB_HOST", "localhost") != "localhost"
+host_env = os.getenv("MARIADB_HOST", "localhost")
+ssl_enabled = host_env not in {"localhost", "127.0.0.1"}
 connect_args = {"ssl": {"ssl": True}} if ssl_enabled else {}
 
 engine = create_async_engine(