diff --git a/.github/workflows/run-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/run-tests.yml
index b71a6d1..eb7f488 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", "30-create-tests-and-set-up-a-github-pipeline" ]
+    branches: [ "main", "33-frontend-looks-like-logged-in-even-after-token-expires" ]
   # Also run on every pull request that targets the 'main' branch
   pull_request:
     branches: [ "main" ]
@@ -24,6 +24,33 @@ jobs:
     # Specifies the virtual machine to run the job on. 'ubuntu-latest' is a common and cost-effective choice.
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
+    # 1) Start a MariaDB service container for tests
+    services:
+      mariadb:
+        image: mariadb:11.4
+        env:
+          MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: rootpw
+          MARIADB_DATABASE: group_project_test
+          MARIADB_USER: appuser
+          MARIADB_PASSWORD: apppass
+        ports:
+          - 3306:3306
+        options: >-
+          --health-cmd="mysqladmin ping -h 127.0.0.1 -u root -prootpw --silent"
+          --health-interval=5s
+          --health-timeout=2s
+          --health-retries=20
+
+    # 2) Expose DB connection settings to steps so your app picks them up
+    env:
+      MARIADB_HOST: 127.0.0.1
+      MARIADB_PORT: "3306"
+      MARIADB_DB: group_project_test
+      MARIADB_USER: appuser
+      MARIADB_PASSWORD: apppass
+      # Optional: enable SQL echo logs in CI for debugging
+      # SQL_ECHO: "1"
+
     # -----------------
     # ----- Steps -----
     # -----------------
@@ -41,14 +68,19 @@ jobs:
         with:
           python-version: '3.11' # Use the Python version that matches your project
 
-      # Step 3: Install project dependencies
-      # Runs shell commands to install the libraries listed in your requirements.txt.
+      # Step 3: Install project dependencies (from repo root)
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: |
           python -m pip install --upgrade pip
           pip install -r requirements.txt
-      
-      # Step 4: Run your tests!
+
+      # Step 4: Apply DB migrations before running tests
+      - name: Run Alembic migrations
+        run: |
+          alembic upgrade head
+        working-directory: ./7project/backend
+
+      # Step 5: Run your tests!
       # Executes the pytest command to run your test suite.
       - name: Run tests with pytest
         run: pytest
diff --git a/7project/backend/tests/test_unit_user_service.py b/7project/backend/tests/test_unit_user_service.py
index 7e89962..dedff0e 100644
--- a/7project/backend/tests/test_unit_user_service.py
+++ b/7project/backend/tests/test_unit_user_service.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ def test_get_oauth_provider_known_unknown():
 def test_get_jwt_strategy_lifetime():
     strategy = user_service.get_jwt_strategy()
     assert strategy is not None
-    # Basic smoke check: strategy has a lifetime set to 3600
+    # Basic smoke check: strategy has a lifetime set to 604800
     assert getattr(strategy, "lifetime_seconds", None) in (604800,)