diff --git a/global-setup.ts b/global-setup.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..71a2737
--- /dev/null
+++ b/global-setup.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+import { chromium } from '@playwright/test';
+
+const WIZARD_URL = process.env.WIZARD_URL || 'http://wizard:8080/wizard';
+const WIZARD_API_URL = process.env.WIZARD_API_URL || 'http://wizard:8080';
+
+async function setupWizard() {
+  console.log('🔧 Running global setup: Configure wizard...');
+  
+  const browser = await chromium.launch();
+  const page = await browser.newPage();
+  
+  try {
+    // Navigate to frontend - should redirect to wizard since not configured
+    const frontendURL = process.env.FRONTEND_URL || 'http://frontend:3000';
+    console.log(`📱 Navigating to ${frontendURL}...`);
+    
+    await page.goto(frontendURL);
+    await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle');
+    
+    // Step 0: Welcome
+    await page.waitForSelector('h1:has-text("HarborForge")', { timeout: 10000 });
+    
+    const connectButton = page.locator('button:has-text("Connect to Wizard")');
+    if (await connectButton.isVisible().catch(() => false)) {
+      console.log('🔗 Clicking Connect to Wizard...');
+      await connectButton.click();
+      
+      // Wait for step 1: Database
+      console.log('📝 Filling Database configuration...');
+      await page.waitForSelector('h2:has-text("Database configuration")', { timeout: 10000 });
+      await page.locator('label:has-text("Host") input').fill('mysql');
+      await page.locator('label:has-text("Port") input').fill('3306');
+      await page.locator('label:has-text("Username") input').fill('harborforge');
+      await page.locator('label:has-text("Password") input').fill('harborforge_pass');
+      await page.locator('label:has-text("Database") input').fill('harborforge');
+      await page.click('button:has-text("Next")');
+      
+      // Wait for step 2: Admin
+      console.log('📝 Filling Admin account...');
+      await page.waitForSelector('h2:has-text("Admin account")', { timeout: 10000 });
+      await page.locator('label:has-text("Password") input').fill('admin123');
+      await page.locator('label:has-text("Email") input').fill('admin@test.com');
+      await page.locator('label:has-text("Full name") input').fill('Test Admin');
+      await page.click('button:has-text("Next")');
+      
+      // Wait for step 3: Backend URL
+      console.log('📝 Filling Backend URL...');
+      await page.waitForSelector('h2:has-text("Backend URL")', { timeout: 10000 });
+      const backendURL = process.env.BACKEND_URL || 'http://backend:8000';
+      await page.locator('label:has-text("Backend Base URL") input').fill(backendURL);
+      await page.click('button:has-text("Finish setup")');
+      
+      // Wait for step 4: Complete
+      console.log('✅ Waiting for setup complete...');
+      await page.waitForSelector('h2:has-text("Setup complete!")', { timeout: 10000 });
+      
+      console.log('✅ Wizard configured successfully!');
+    } else {
+      console.log('⚠️ Wizard already configured or on main page');
+    }
+    
+    await browser.close();
+    return;
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('❌ Wizard setup failed:', error);
+    await browser.close();
+    throw error;
+  }
+}
+
+export default setupWizard;
diff --git a/playwright.config.ts b/playwright.config.ts
index 216fee0..3dd484b 100644
--- a/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/playwright.config.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { defineConfig, devices } from '@playwright/test';
+import path from 'path';
 
 const baseURL = process.env.FRONTEND_URL || 'http://frontend:3000';
 
@@ -19,5 +20,8 @@ export default defineConfig({
       use: { ...devices['Desktop Chrome'] },
     },
   ],
-  // Don't start webServer - services are started via docker-compose
+  // Global setup runs before all tests - configure wizard once
+  globalSetup: path.join(__dirname, 'global-setup.ts'),
+  // Global teardown runs after all tests
+  globalTeardown: undefined,
 });
diff --git a/tests/wizard.spec.ts b/tests/wizard.spec.ts
index 5079d02..783de1c 100644
--- a/tests/wizard.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/wizard.spec.ts
@@ -3,52 +3,13 @@ import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
 const FRONTEND_URL = process.env.FRONTEND_URL || 'http://frontend:3000';
 
 test.describe('Setup Wizard', () => {
-  test('complete wizard flow through frontend', async ({ page }) => {
-    // Navigate to frontend
-    await page.goto(FRONTEND_URL); 
+  test('frontend loads and shows main page after wizard configuration', async ({ page }) => {
+    // Navigate to frontend - wizard should be configured by globalSetup
+    await page.goto(FRONTEND_URL);
     await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle');
     
-    // Step 0: Welcome
+    // Should now show main page (not wizard redirect)
+    // After wizard config, frontend should load normally
     await expect(page.locator('h1')).toContainText('HarborForge', { timeout: 10000 });
-    
-    const connectButton = page.locator('button:has-text("Connect to Wizard")');
-    if (await connectButton.isVisible().catch(() => false)) {
-      await connectButton.click();
-      
-      // Wait for step 1: Database
-      await page.waitForSelector('h2:has-text("Database configuration")', { timeout: 10000 });
-      await page.locator('label:has-text("Host") input').fill('mysql');
-      await page.locator('label:has-text("Port") input').fill('3306');
-      await page.locator('label:has-text("Username") input').fill('harborforge');
-      await page.locator('label:has-text("Password") input').fill('harborforge_pass');
-      await page.locator('label:has-text("Database") input').fill('harborforge');
-      await page.click('button:has-text("Next")');
-      
-      // Wait for step 2: Admin
-      await page.waitForSelector('h2:has-text("Admin account")', { timeout: 10000 });
-      
-      // Debug: print page content before filling
-      console.log('Page URL at Admin step:', page.url());
-      console.log('Page content:', await page.content());
-      
-      await page.locator('label:has-text("Password") input').fill('admin123');
-      await page.locator('label:has-text("Email") input').fill('admin@test.com');
-      await page.locator('label:has-text("Full name") input').fill('Test Admin');
-      
-      // Click Next - might fail if password is empty (validation)
-      await page.click('button:has-text("Next")');
-      
-      // Wait for step 3: Backend URL
-      await page.waitForSelector('h2:has-text("Backend URL")', { timeout: 15000 });
-      
-      await page.locator('label:has-text("Backend Base URL") input').fill('http://backend:8000');
-      await page.click('button:has-text("Finish setup")');
-      
-      // Wait for step 4: Complete
-      await expect(page.locator('h2')).toContainText('Setup complete!', { timeout: 10000 });
-    } else {
-      // Wizard was already configured
-      await expect(page.locator('h1')).toContainText('HarborForge');
-    }
   });
 });