diff --git a/ui/desktop/package.json b/ui/desktop/package.json
index 010d412314..4846166524 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/package.json
+++ b/ui/desktop/package.json
@@ -22,8 +22,8 @@
     "bundle:intel": "node scripts/prepare-platform-binaries.js && npm run make -- --arch=x64 && cd out/Goose-darwin-x64 && ditto -c -k --sequesterRsrc --keepParent Goose.app Goose_intel_mac.zip",
     "debug": "echo 'run --remote-debugging-port=8315' && lldb out/Goose-darwin-arm64/Goose.app",
     "test-e2e": "npm run generate-api && playwright test",
-    "test-e2e:packaged": "npm run generate-api && NO_TEST_OVERLAY=1 playwright test tests/e2e/app.spec.ts",
-    "test-e2e:packaged:video": "npm run playwright:install && npm run generate-api && PW_ELECTRON_VIDEO=1 NO_TEST_OVERLAY=1 playwright test tests/e2e/app.spec.ts",
+    "test-e2e:non-video": "npm run generate-api && NO_TEST_OVERLAY=1 playwright test tests/e2e/app.spec.ts",
+    "test-e2e:video": "npm run playwright:install && npm run generate-api && PW_ELECTRON_VIDEO=1 NO_TEST_OVERLAY=1 playwright test tests/e2e/app.spec.ts",
     "test-e2e:dev": "npm run generate-api && playwright test --reporter=list --retries=0 --max-failures=1",
     "test-e2e:ui": "npm run generate-api && playwright test --ui",
     "test-e2e:debug": "npm run generate-api && playwright test --debug",
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/components/Layout/navigation/SessionsList.tsx b/ui/desktop/src/components/Layout/navigation/SessionsList.tsx
index 942473678a..a4299f0d84 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/components/Layout/navigation/SessionsList.tsx
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/components/Layout/navigation/SessionsList.tsx
@@ -54,12 +54,14 @@ export const SessionsList: React.FC<SessionsListProps> = ({
           exit={{ height: 0, opacity: 0 }}
           transition={{ duration: 0.2 }}
           className="overflow-hidden mt-[2px]"
+          data-testid="chat-sessions-list"
         >
           <div className="bg-background-primary rounded-lg py-1 flex flex-col gap-[2px]">
             {/* New Chat button as first item */}
             {onNewChat && (
               <div
                 onClick={onNewChat}
+                data-testid="chat-start-new"
                 className={cn(
                   'w-full text-left py-1.5 px-2 text-xs rounded-md',
                   'hover:bg-background-tertiary transition-colors',
@@ -126,6 +128,7 @@ export const SessionsList: React.FC<SessionsListProps> = ({
             {onShowAll && sessions.length > 0 && (
               <div
                 onClick={onShowAll}
+                data-testid="chat-show-all"
                 className={cn(
                   'w-full text-left py-1.5 px-2 text-xs rounded-md',
                   'hover:bg-background-tertiary transition-colors',
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/components/alerts/AlertBox.tsx b/ui/desktop/src/components/alerts/AlertBox.tsx
index f5723d0df8..b51ff74ffe 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/components/alerts/AlertBox.tsx
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/components/alerts/AlertBox.tsx
@@ -98,6 +98,7 @@ export const AlertBox = ({ alert, className }: AlertBoxProps) => {
 
   return (
     <div
+      data-testid="alert-box"
       className={cn('flex flex-col gap-2 px-3 py-3', alertStyles[alert.type], className)}
       onMouseDown={(e) => {
         // Prevent popover from closing when clicking inside the alert box
@@ -251,14 +252,17 @@ export const AlertBox = ({ alert, className }: AlertBoxProps) => {
           </div>
           <div className="flex justify-between items-baseline text-[11px]">
             <div className="flex gap-1 items-baseline">
-              <span className={'dark:text-black/60 text-white/60'}>
+              <span
+                className={'dark:text-black/60 text-white/60'}
+                data-testid="alert-progress-current"
+              >
                 {formatTokenCount(alert.progress!.current)}
               </span>
               <span className={'dark:text-black/40 text-white/40'}>
                 {Math.round((alert.progress!.current / alert.progress!.total) * 100)}%
               </span>
             </div>
-            <span className={'dark:text-black/60 text-white/60'}>
+            <span className={'dark:text-black/60 text-white/60'} data-testid="alert-progress-total">
               {formatTokenCount(alert.progress!.total)}
             </span>
           </div>
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/components/bottom_menu/BottomMenuAlertPopover.tsx b/ui/desktop/src/components/bottom_menu/BottomMenuAlertPopover.tsx
index 95cf5a0be0..56676802f0 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/components/bottom_menu/BottomMenuAlertPopover.tsx
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/components/bottom_menu/BottomMenuAlertPopover.tsx
@@ -205,6 +205,7 @@ export default function BottomMenuAlertPopover({ alerts }: AlertPopoverProps) {
       <div className="relative">
         <button
           ref={triggerRef}
+          data-testid="bottom-menu-alert-trigger"
           className="cursor-pointer flex items-center justify-center min-w-5 min-h-5 rounded hover:bg-background-secondary"
           onClick={() => {
             setIsOpen(true);
diff --git a/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/app.spec.ts b/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/app.spec.ts
index 73d1b491b7..fd939d1cb5 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/app.spec.ts
+++ b/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/app.spec.ts
@@ -98,8 +98,8 @@ async function selectProvider(mainWindow: Page, provider: Provider) {
 
   // Navigate to home/chat after provider configuration
   console.log('Navigating to home/chat...');
-  const homeButton = mainWindow.getByTestId('sidebar-home-button');
-  if (await homeButton.isVisible().catch(() => false)) {
+  const homeButton = mainWindow.getByRole('button', { name: /^home$/i }).first();
+  if (await homeButton.isVisible({ timeout: 3000 }).catch(() => false)) {
     await homeButton.click();
   }
 
@@ -108,6 +108,24 @@ async function selectProvider(mainWindow: Page, provider: Provider) {
 
 }
 
+async function openSettings(mainWindow: Page) {
+  const settingsButton = mainWindow.getByRole('button', { name: /^settings$/i }).first();
+  await expect(settingsButton).toBeVisible({ timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT });
+  await settingsButton.click();
+}
+
+async function openHome(mainWindow: Page) {
+  const homeButton = mainWindow.getByRole('button', { name: /^home$/i }).first();
+  await expect(homeButton).toBeVisible({ timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT });
+  await homeButton.click();
+}
+
+async function openExtensions(mainWindow: Page) {
+  const extensionsButton = mainWindow.getByRole('button', { name: /^extensions$/i }).first();
+  await expect(extensionsButton).toBeVisible({ timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT });
+  await extensionsButton.click();
+}
+
 test.describe('Goose App', () => {
 
   test.describe('General UI', () => {
@@ -117,7 +135,7 @@ test.describe('Goose App', () => {
       await expect(mainWindow.getByTestId('chat-input')).toBeVisible({ timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT });
 
       // Navigate to Settings via sidebar
-      await mainWindow.getByTestId('sidebar-settings-button').click();
+      await openSettings(mainWindow);
 
       // Navigate to App tab
       await mainWindow.getByTestId('settings-app-tab').click();
@@ -147,7 +165,7 @@ test.describe('Goose App', () => {
       await lightModeButton.click();
 
       // Navigate back to home
-      await mainWindow.getByTestId('sidebar-home-button').click();
+      await openHome(mainWindow);
     });
   });
 
@@ -207,7 +225,7 @@ test.describe('Goose App', () => {
 
       test('MCP integration - add extension and use tool', async () => {
           // Navigate to Extensions via sidebar
-          await mainWindow.getByTestId('sidebar-extensions-button').click();
+          await openExtensions(mainWindow);
 
           // Add custom extension
           await mainWindow.getByRole('button', { name: 'Add custom extension' }).click();
@@ -228,7 +246,7 @@ test.describe('Goose App', () => {
           ).toBeVisible({ timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT });
 
           // Navigate back to home
-          await mainWindow.getByTestId('sidebar-home-button').click();
+          await openHome(mainWindow);
 
           // Send a message requesting a running quote
           const chatInput = mainWindow.getByTestId('chat-input');
diff --git a/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/fixtures.electron.packaged.ts b/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/fixtures.electron.packaged.ts
index 7a4640cb32..fec99bcb77 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/fixtures.electron.packaged.ts
+++ b/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/fixtures.electron.packaged.ts
@@ -157,16 +157,25 @@ function withVisualDelayPage(page: Page): Page {
 
 export const test = base.extend<GooseTestFixtures>({
   goosePage: async ({}, use, testInfo) => {
+    testInfo.setTimeout(Math.max(testInfo.timeout, 120000));
+
     let electronApp: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof electron.launch>> | null = null;
     let page: Page | null = null;
     let videoDir: string | undefined;
     let videoTrimStartMs = 0;
     const appRoot = join(__dirname, '../..');
-    const executablePath = resolvePackagedExecutable(appRoot);
+    const executablePath = resolveDirectElectronExecutable(appRoot);
 
     if (!fs.existsSync(executablePath)) {
       throw new Error(
-        `Packaged app executable not found at ${executablePath}. Build it first (e.g. "cd ui/desktop && npm run package"), or set GOOSE_PACKAGED_EXECUTABLE.`
+        `Electron executable not found at ${executablePath}. Install dependencies in ui/desktop to ensure node_modules/electron exists.`
+      );
+    }
+
+    const viteMainPath = join(appRoot, '.vite', 'build', 'main.js');
+    if (!fs.existsSync(viteMainPath)) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `Direct Electron mode requires Vite build output at ${viteMainPath}. Run "cd ui/desktop && npm run package" (or another build step that generates .vite/build) first.`
       );
     }
 
@@ -175,18 +184,21 @@ export const test = base.extend<GooseTestFixtures>({
     try {
       videoDir = isVideoRecording() ? testInfo.outputPath('videos') : undefined;
       const launchOptions = buildLaunchOptions(executablePath, tempDir, videoDir);
-      debugLog(`Launching packaged Electron for test: ${testInfo.title}`);
-      debugLog(`Using packaged executable: ${executablePath}`);
+      debugLog(`Launching direct Electron for test: ${testInfo.title}`);
+      debugLog(`Using Electron executable: ${executablePath}`);
 
       electronApp = await electron.launch(launchOptions);
       attachAppDebugLogs(electronApp);
 
-      await electronApp.firstWindow({ timeout: 30000 });
+      await electronApp.firstWindow({ timeout: 20000 });
       const recordingStartMs = Date.now();
-      await waitForRootWindow(electronApp, 60000);
+      const rootWindow = await waitForRootWindow(electronApp, 8000).catch(async () => {
+        debugLog('Root-ready window not found quickly; falling back to first window.');
+        return await electronApp!.firstWindow({ timeout: 5000 });
+      });
       const rootReadyElapsedMs = Date.now() - recordingStartMs;
-      page = await waitForReadyAppWindow(electronApp, 60000);
-      await page.waitForLoadState('domcontentloaded', { timeout: 10000 }).catch(() => {});
+      page = rootWindow;
+      await page.waitForLoadState('domcontentloaded', { timeout: 5000 }).catch(() => {});
       debugLog(`Selected app window URL: ${page.url()}`);
       attachPageDebugLogs(page);
       if (isVideoRecording()) {
@@ -218,37 +230,6 @@ export const test = base.extend<GooseTestFixtures>({
   },
 });
 
-async function waitForReadyAppWindow(
-  electronApp: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof electron.launch>>,
-  timeoutMs: number
-): Promise<Page> {
-  const start = Date.now();
-  while (Date.now() - start < timeoutMs) {
-    const windows = electronApp.windows();
-    for (const page of windows) {
-      try {
-        const isReady = await page.evaluate(() => {
-          const root = document.getElementById('root');
-          if (!root) {
-            return false;
-          }
-          const chatInput = document.querySelector('[data-testid="chat-input"]');
-          return !!chatInput;
-        });
-        if (isReady) {
-          return page;
-        }
-      } catch {
-        // Window may not be ready for evaluation yet.
-      }
-    }
-    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
-  }
-
-  const urls = electronApp.windows().map((w) => w.url() || '<empty>');
-  throw new Error(`No app-ready window found within ${timeoutMs}ms. Window URLs: ${urls.join(', ')}`);
-}
-
 async function waitForRootWindow(
   electronApp: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof electron.launch>>,
   timeoutMs: number
@@ -273,20 +254,14 @@ async function waitForRootWindow(
   throw new Error(`No root-ready window found within ${timeoutMs}ms. Window URLs: ${urls.join(', ')}`);
 }
 
-function resolvePackagedExecutable(appRoot: string): string {
-  if (process.env.GOOSE_PACKAGED_EXECUTABLE) {
-    return process.env.GOOSE_PACKAGED_EXECUTABLE;
-  }
-
+function resolveDirectElectronExecutable(appRoot: string): string {
   if (process.platform === 'darwin') {
-    return join(appRoot, 'out', 'Goose-darwin-arm64', 'Goose.app', 'Contents', 'MacOS', 'Goose');
+    return join(appRoot, 'node_modules', 'electron', 'dist', 'Electron.app', 'Contents', 'MacOS', 'Electron');
   }
-
   if (process.platform === 'win32') {
-    return join(appRoot, 'out', 'Goose-win32-x64', 'Goose.exe');
+    return join(appRoot, 'node_modules', 'electron', 'dist', 'electron.exe');
   }
-
-  return join(appRoot, 'out', 'goose-linux-x64', 'goose');
+  return join(appRoot, 'node_modules', 'electron', 'dist', 'electron');
 }
 
 function createIsolatedGoosePathRoot(): string {
@@ -319,10 +294,11 @@ function buildLaunchOptions(
   tempDir: string,
   videoDir?: string
 ): Parameters<typeof electron.launch>[0] {
+  const appRoot = join(__dirname, '../..');
   const launchOptions: Parameters<typeof electron.launch>[0] = {
     executablePath,
-    args: [],
-    timeout: 60000,
+    args: [appRoot],
+    timeout: 30000,
     env: {
       ...process.env,
       GOOSE_ALLOWLIST_BYPASS: 'true',
diff --git a/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/home-history.spec.ts b/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/home-history.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cff9a6ee9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/home-history.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+import { test, expect } from './fixtures.electron.packaged';
+
+const DEFAULT_TIMEOUT = 10000;
+
+test.describe('Goose App', () => {
+  test('history is empty before first session', async ({ goosePage }) => {
+    const mainWindow = goosePage;
+
+    const showAll = mainWindow.getByText('Show All', { exact: true }).first();
+    if (!(await showAll.isVisible().catch(() => false))) {
+      const chatButton = mainWindow.getByRole('button', { name: /^chat$/i }).first();
+      await expect(chatButton).toBeVisible({ timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT });
+      await chatButton.click();
+    }
+
+    await expect(mainWindow.getByTestId('chat-sessions-list')).toBeVisible({
+      timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT,
+    });
+    await expect(mainWindow.getByTestId('chat-start-new')).toBeVisible({ timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT });
+    await expect(mainWindow.getByTestId('chat-show-all')).toHaveCount(0);
+
+    const chatInput = mainWindow.getByTestId('chat-input');
+    if (!(await chatInput.isVisible().catch(() => false))) {
+      const sidebarHomeButton = mainWindow.getByTestId('sidebar-home-button');
+      if (await sidebarHomeButton.isVisible().catch(() => false)) {
+        await sidebarHomeButton.click();
+      } else {
+        const homeButton = mainWindow.getByRole('button', { name: /^home$/i }).first();
+        await expect(homeButton).toBeVisible({ timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT });
+        await homeButton.click();
+      }
+    }
+    await expect(chatInput).toBeVisible({ timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT });
+
+    const alertTrigger = mainWindow.getByTestId('bottom-menu-alert-trigger');
+    await expect(alertTrigger).toBeVisible({ timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT });
+    await alertTrigger.click();
+
+    const contextWindowAlert = mainWindow
+      .getByTestId('alert-box')
+      .filter({ has: mainWindow.getByText('Context window', { exact: true }) })
+      .first();
+    await expect(contextWindowAlert).toBeVisible({ timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT });
+    await expect(contextWindowAlert.getByTestId('alert-progress-current')).toHaveText(/^0$/);
+  });
+});