diff --git a/artifacts/api-server/package.json b/artifacts/api-server/package.json
index 6b590436..4ba7be39 100644
--- a/artifacts/api-server/package.json
+++ b/artifacts/api-server/package.json
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
     "build": "node ./build.mjs",
     "start": "node --enable-source-maps ./dist/index.mjs",
     "typecheck": "tsc -p tsconfig.json --noEmit",
+    "test:wait": "node ./scripts/wait-for-server.mjs",
     "test": "node --test 'tests/**/*.test.mjs'"
   },
   "dependencies": {
diff --git a/artifacts/api-server/scripts/wait-for-server.mjs b/artifacts/api-server/scripts/wait-for-server.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..20ad5bc3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/artifacts/api-server/scripts/wait-for-server.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+const API_BASE = process.env.TEST_API_BASE ?? "http://localhost:8080";
+const TIMEOUT_MS = Number(process.env.TEST_API_WAIT_TIMEOUT_MS ?? 30_000);
+const INTERVAL_MS = Number(process.env.TEST_API_WAIT_INTERVAL_MS ?? 500);
+const URL = `${API_BASE.replace(/\/$/, "")}/api/healthz`;
+
+const started = Date.now();
+let attempt = 0;
+let lastError = null;
+
+while (Date.now() - started < TIMEOUT_MS) {
+  attempt += 1;
+  try {
+    const controller = new AbortController();
+    const timer = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 2_000);
+    const res = await fetch(URL, { signal: controller.signal });
+    clearTimeout(timer);
+    if (res.ok) {
+      const body = await res.json().catch(() => ({}));
+      if (body && body.status === "ok") {
+        const elapsed = Date.now() - started;
+        console.log(
+          `API server ready at ${URL} after ${elapsed}ms (attempt ${attempt})`,
+        );
+        process.exit(0);
+      }
+      lastError = new Error(
+        `Unexpected health payload: ${JSON.stringify(body)}`,
+      );
+    } else {
+      lastError = new Error(`HTTP ${res.status} from ${URL}`);
+    }
+  } catch (err) {
+    lastError = err;
+  }
+  await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, INTERVAL_MS));
+}
+
+console.error(
+  `API server not reachable at ${URL} after ${TIMEOUT_MS}ms (${attempt} attempts).`,
+);
+console.error(
+  `Last error: ${lastError ? lastError.message ?? String(lastError) : "unknown"}`,
+);
+console.error(
+  `Start the API Server workflow (or set TEST_API_BASE) before running tests.`,
+);
+process.exit(1);