diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/test_pr.yml b/.gitea/workflows/test_pr.yml
index 4be7bc2..0992795 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/test_pr.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/test_pr.yml
@@ -34,30 +34,31 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Start container (background)
         run: |
-          docker run -d --name semapform-test -p 8001:8001 semapform-api:test-pr sleep infinity
+          # do NOT bind the container port to the host to avoid port conflicts on the runner
+          docker run -d --name semapform-test semapform-api:test-pr sleep infinity
 
       - name: Verify python module imports
         run: |
           docker exec semapform-test python -c "import api_service; print('import ok')"
 
-      - name: Start server in container and smoke test HTTP
-        env:
-          PORT: 8001
+      - name: Start server in container and smoke test HTTP (in-container)
         run: |
-          # start uvicorn inside the container (background)
-          docker exec -d semapform-test uv run uvicorn api_service:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port $PORT
+          # start the server inside the container
+          docker exec -d semapform-test uv run uvicorn api_service:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8001
 
-          # wait for up to 20s for the server to respond
-          SECONDS=0
-          until curl -sS "http://localhost:${PORT}/" -o /dev/null; do
-            sleep 1
-            SECONDS=$((SECONDS+1))
-            if [ $SECONDS -ge 20 ]; then
-              echo "server failed to respond within timeout" >&2
-              docker logs semapform-test || true
-              exit 1
-            fi
-          done
+          # perform an in-container HTTP check using Python stdlib (avoids requiring curl)
+            docker exec semapform-test python - << 'PY'
+            import time,urllib.request,sys
+            for _ in range(20):
+              try:
+                urllib.request.urlopen('http://127.0.0.1:8001/health', timeout=2)
+                print('ok')
+                sys.exit(0)
+              except Exception:
+                time.sleep(1)
+            print('failed')
+            sys.exit(1)
+            PY
 
       - name: Cleanup container
         if: always()