diff --git a/.github/instructions/playwright-typescript.instructions.md b/.github/instructions/playwright-typescript.instructions.md
index a0509765..ccb01b5b 100644
--- a/.github/instructions/playwright-typescript.instructions.md
+++ b/.github/instructions/playwright-typescript.instructions.md
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ applyTo: '**'
 - **Locators**: Prioritize user-facing, role-based locators (`getByRole`, `getByLabel`, `getByText`, etc.) for resilience and accessibility. Use `test.step()` to group interactions and improve test readability and reporting.
 - **Assertions**: Use auto-retrying web-first assertions. These assertions start with the `await` keyword (e.g., `await expect(locator).toHaveText()`). Avoid `expect(locator).toBeVisible()` unless specifically testing for visibility changes.
 - **Timeouts**: Rely on Playwright's built-in auto-waiting mechanisms. Avoid hard-coded waits or increased default timeouts.
-- **Switch/Toggle Components**: Use helper functions from `tests/utils/ui-helpers.ts` (`clickSwitch`, `expectSwitchState`, `toggleSwitch`) for reliable interactions. Never use `{ force: true }` or direct clicks on hidden inputs.
 - **Clarity**: Use descriptive test and step titles that clearly state the intent. Add comments only to explain complex logic or non-obvious interactions.
 
 
@@ -30,123 +29,6 @@ applyTo: '**'
 - **Element Counts**: Use `toHaveCount` to assert the number of elements found by a locator.
 - **Text Content**: Use `toHaveText` for exact text matches and `toContainText` for partial matches.
 - **Navigation**: Use `toHaveURL` to verify the page URL after an action.
-- **Switch States**: Use `expectSwitchState(locator, boolean)` to verify toggle states. This is more reliable than `toBeChecked()` directly.
-
-### Switch/Toggle Interaction Patterns
-
-Switch components use a hidden `<input>` with styled siblings, requiring special handling:
-
-```typescript
-import { clickSwitch, expectSwitchState, toggleSwitch } from './utils/ui-helpers';
-
-// ✅ RECOMMENDED: Click switch with helper
-const aclSwitch = page.getByRole('switch', { name: /acl/i });
-await clickSwitch(aclSwitch);
-
-// ✅ RECOMMENDED: Assert switch state
-await expectSwitchState(aclSwitch, true); // Checked
-
-// ✅ RECOMMENDED: Toggle and verify state change
-const newState = await toggleSwitch(aclSwitch);
-console.log(`Switch is now ${newState ? 'enabled' : 'disabled'}`);
-
-// ❌ AVOID: Direct click on hidden input
-await aclSwitch.click(); // May fail in WebKit/Firefox
-
-// ❌ AVOID: Force clicking (anti-pattern)
-await aclSwitch.click({ force: true }); // Bypasses real user behavior
-
-// ❌ AVOID: Hard-coded waits
-await page.waitForTimeout(500); // Non-deterministic, slows tests
-```
-
-**When to Use**:
-- Settings pages with enable/disable toggles
-- Security dashboard module switches (CrowdSec, ACL, WAF, Rate Limiting)
-- Access lists and configuration toggles
-- Any UI component using the `Switch` primitive from shadcn/ui
-
-**References**:
-- [Helper Implementation](../../tests/utils/ui-helpers.ts)
-- [QA Report](../../docs/reports/qa_report.md)
-
-### Testing Scope: E2E vs Integration
-
-**CRITICAL:** Playwright E2E tests verify **UI/UX functionality** on the Charon management interface (port 8080). They should NOT test middleware enforcement behavior.
-
-#### What E2E Tests SHOULD Cover
-
-✅ **User Interface Interactions:**
-- Form submissions and validation
-- Navigation and routing
-- Visual state changes (toggles, badges, status indicators)
-- Authentication flows (login, logout, session management)
-- CRUD operations via the management API
-- Responsive design (mobile vs desktop layouts)
-- Accessibility (ARIA labels, keyboard navigation)
-
-✅ **Example E2E Assertions:**
-```typescript
-// GOOD: Testing UI state
-await expect(aclToggle).toBeChecked();
-await expect(statusBadge).toHaveText('Active');
-await expect(page).toHaveURL('/proxy-hosts');
-
-// GOOD: Testing API responses in management interface
-const response = await request.post('/api/v1/proxy-hosts', { data: hostConfig });
-expect(response.ok()).toBeTruthy();
-```
-
-#### What E2E Tests should NOT Cover
-
-❌ **Middleware Enforcement Behavior:**
-- Rate limiting blocking requests (429 responses)
-- ACL denying access based on IP rules (403 responses)
-- WAF blocking malicious payloads (SQL injection, XSS)
-- CrowdSec IP bans
-
-❌ **Example Wrong E2E Assertions:**
-```typescript
-// BAD: Testing middleware behavior (rate limiting)
-for (let i = 0; i < 6; i++) {
-  await request.post('/api/v1/emergency/reset');
-}
-expect(response.status()).toBe(429); // ❌ This tests Caddy middleware
-
-// BAD: Testing WAF blocking
-await request.post('/api/v1/data', { data: "'; DROP TABLE users--" });
-expect(response.status()).toBe(403); // ❌ This tests Coraza WAF
-```
-
-#### Integration Tests for Middleware
-
-Middleware enforcement is verified by **integration tests** in `backend/integration/`:
-
-- `cerberus_integration_test.go` - Overall security suite behavior
-- `coraza_integration_test.go` - WAF blocking (SQL injection, XSS)
-- `crowdsec_integration_test.go` - IP reputation and bans
-- `rate_limit_integration_test.go` - Request throttling
-
-These tests run in Docker Compose with full Caddy+Cerberus stack and are executed in separate CI workflows.
-
-#### When to Skip Tests
-
-Use `test.skip()` for tests that require middleware enforcement:
-
-```typescript
-test('should rate limit after 5 attempts', async ({ request }) => {
-  test.skip(
-    true,
-    'Rate limiting enforced via Cerberus middleware (port 80). Verified in integration tests (backend/integration/).'
-  );
-  // Test body...
-});
-```
-
-**Skip Reason Template:**
-```
-"[Behavior] enforced via Cerberus middleware (port 80). Verified in integration tests (backend/integration/)."
-```
 
 
 ## Example Test Structure
@@ -194,11 +76,6 @@ test.describe('Movie Search Feature', () => {
 4. **Validate**: Ensure tests pass consistently and cover the intended functionality
 5. **Report**: Provide feedback on test results and any issues discovered
 
-### Execution Constraints
-
-- **No Truncation**: Never pipe Playwright test output through `head`, `tail`, or other truncating commands. Playwright runs interactively and requires user input to quit when piped, causing the command to hang indefinitely.
-- **Full Output**: Always capture the complete test output to analyze failures accurately.
-
 ## Quality Checklist
 
 Before finalizing tests, ensure:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-split.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-split.yml
index 97a9b344..da55242b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-split.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-split.yml
@@ -46,8 +46,8 @@ env:
   REGISTRY: ghcr.io
   IMAGE_NAME: ${{ github.repository_owner }}/charon
   PLAYWRIGHT_COVERAGE: ${{ vars.PLAYWRIGHT_COVERAGE || '0' }}
-  DEBUG: 'charon:*,charon-test:*'
-  PLAYWRIGHT_DEBUG: '1'
+  # Standard Playwright runner debugging - shows test execution flow
+  DEBUG: 'pw:test'
   CI_LOG_LEVEL: 'verbose'
 
 concurrency:
@@ -215,36 +215,19 @@ jobs:
       - name: Run Chromium tests
         timeout-minutes: 4
         run: |
-          echo "═══════════════════════════════════════════="
+          echo "════════════════════════════════════════════"
           echo "Chromium E2E Tests"
           echo "Start Time: $(date -u +'%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')"
           echo "════════════════════════════════════════════"
 
           echo "Node: $(node -v)"
           echo "NPM:  $(npm -v)"
-          echo "Kernel: $(uname -a)"
-          echo "Memory (free -m):"
-          free -m || true
 
           SHARD_START=$(date +%s)
           echo "SHARD_START=$SHARD_START" >> $GITHUB_ENV
 
-          # Enable verbose Playwright output to diagnose browser launch hang
-          # pw:browser* = browser connection and launch
-          # pw:protocol = CDP protocol messages
-          # pw:channel = IPC between Playwright and browser
-          # pw:api = Playwright runner API calls (helps when hang occurs before browser launch)
-          export DEBUG=pw:api,pw:browser*,pw:protocol,pw:channel
-
-          echo "════════════════════════════════════════════"
-          echo "Preflight: listing tests (discovery only)"
-          echo "Time: $(date -u +'%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')"
-          npx playwright test --project=chromium --list
-          echo "════════════════════════════════════════════"
-          echo "Running tests"
-          echo "Time: $(date -u +'%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')"
-
           npx playwright test --project=chromium
+
           echo "════════════════════════════════════════════"
         env:
           PLAYWRIGHT_BASE_URL: http://127.0.0.1:8080
@@ -410,12 +393,6 @@ jobs:
           SHARD_START=$(date +%s)
           echo "SHARD_START=$SHARD_START" >> $GITHUB_ENV
 
-          # Enable verbose Playwright output to diagnose browser launch hang
-          # pw:browser* = browser connection and launch
-          # pw:protocol = CDP protocol messages
-          # pw:channel = IPC between Playwright and browser
-          export DEBUG=pw:browser*,pw:protocol,pw:channel
-
           npx playwright test --project=firefox
 
           SHARD_END=$(date +%s)
@@ -424,7 +401,6 @@ jobs:
           echo "════════════════════════════════════════════"
           echo "Firefox Tests Complete | Duration: ${SHARD_DURATION}s"
           echo "════════════════════════════════════════════"
-          echo "════════════════════════════════════════════"
         env:
           PLAYWRIGHT_BASE_URL: http://127.0.0.1:8080
           CI: true
@@ -589,12 +565,6 @@ jobs:
           SHARD_START=$(date +%s)
           echo "SHARD_START=$SHARD_START" >> $GITHUB_ENV
 
-          # Enable verbose Playwright output to diagnose browser launch hang
-          # pw:browser* = browser connection and launch
-          # pw:protocol = CDP protocol messages
-          # pw:channel = IPC between Playwright and browser
-          export DEBUG=pw:browser*,pw:protocol,pw:channel
-
           npx playwright test --project=webkit
 
           SHARD_END=$(date +%s)
diff --git a/playwright.config.js b/playwright.config.js
index c16cd16d..225576f9 100644
--- a/playwright.config.js
+++ b/playwright.config.js
@@ -20,13 +20,12 @@ const STORAGE_STATE = join(__dirname, 'playwright/.auth/user.json');
 
 /**
  * Coverage reporter configuration for E2E tests
- * Tracks V8 coverage during Playwright test execution
+ * Only loaded when PLAYWRIGHT_COVERAGE=1
  */
-const coverageReporterConfig = defineCoverageReporterConfig({
-  // Root directory for source file resolution
-  sourceRoot: __dirname,
+const enableCoverage = process.env.PLAYWRIGHT_COVERAGE === '1';
 
-  // Exclude non-application code from coverage
+const coverageReporterConfig = enableCoverage ? defineCoverageReporterConfig({
+  sourceRoot: __dirname,
   exclude: [
     '**/node_modules/**',
     '**/playwright/**',
@@ -38,86 +37,60 @@ const coverageReporterConfig = defineCoverageReporterConfig({
     '**/dist/**',
     '**/build/**',
   ],
-
-  // Output directory for coverage reports
   resultDir: join(__dirname, 'coverage/e2e'),
-
-  // Generate multiple report formats
   reports: [
-    // HTML report for visual inspection
     ['html'],
-    // LCOV for Codecov upload
     ['lcovonly', { file: 'lcov.info' }],
-    // JSON for programmatic access
     ['json', { file: 'coverage.json' }],
-    // Text summary in console
     ['text-summary', { file: null }],
   ],
-
-  // Coverage watermarks (visual thresholds in HTML report)
   watermarks: {
     statements: [50, 80],
     branches: [50, 80],
     functions: [50, 80],
     lines: [50, 80],
   },
-  // Path rewriting for source file resolution
-  rewritePath: ({ absolutePath, relativePath }) => {
-    // Handle paths from Docker container
+  rewritePath: ({ absolutePath }) => {
     if (absolutePath.startsWith('/app/')) {
       return absolutePath.replace('/app/', `${__dirname}/`);
     }
-
-    // Handle Vite dev server paths (relative to frontend/src)
-    // Vite serves files like "/src/components/Button.tsx"
     if (absolutePath.startsWith('/src/')) {
       return join(__dirname, 'frontend', absolutePath);
     }
-
-    // If path doesn't start with /, prepend frontend/src
     if (!absolutePath.startsWith('/') && !absolutePath.includes('/')) {
-      // Bare filenames like "Button.tsx" - try to resolve to frontend/src
       return join(__dirname, 'frontend/src', absolutePath);
     }
-
     return absolutePath;
   },
-});
-
-const enableCoverage = process.env.PLAYWRIGHT_COVERAGE === '1';
+}) : null;
 
 /**
  * @see https://playwright.dev/docs/test-configuration
  */
 export default defineConfig({
   testDir: './tests',
-  /* Ignore old/deprecated test directories */
   testIgnore: ['**/frontend/**', '**/node_modules/**', '**/backend/**'],
-  /* Global timeout for each test - increased to 90s for feature flag propagation
-   * CI uses 60s to fail fast in resource-constrained environment (2-core runners)
-   */
+
+  /* Standard globalSetup - runs once before all tests */
+  globalSetup: './tests/global-setup.ts',
+
+  /* Timeouts */
   timeout: process.env.CI ? 60000 : 90000,
-  /* Timeout for expect() assertions */
-  expect: {
-    timeout: 5000,
-  },
-  /* Run tests in files in parallel */
+  expect: { timeout: 5000 },
+
+  /* Parallelization */
   fullyParallel: true,
-  /* Fail the build on CI if you accidentally left test.only in the source code. */
-  forbidOnly: !!process.env.CI,
-  /* Retry on CI only */
-  retries: process.env.CI ? 2 : 0,
-  /* Opt out of parallel tests on CI - single worker to avoid resource starvation */
   workers: process.env.CI ? 1 : undefined,
-  /* Reporter to use. See https://playwright.dev/docs/test-reporters
-   * CI uses per-shard HTML reports (no blob merging needed).
-   * Each shard uploads its own HTML report for easier debugging.
-   */
+
+  /* CI settings */
+  forbidOnly: !!process.env.CI,
+  retries: process.env.CI ? 2 : 0,
+
+  /* Reporters - simplified for CI */
   reporter: [
-    ...(process.env.CI ? [['github']] : [['list']]),
+    process.env.CI ? ['github'] : ['list'],
     ['html', { open: process.env.CI ? 'never' : 'on-failure' }],
     ...(enableCoverage ? [['@bgotink/playwright-coverage', coverageReporterConfig]] : []),
-    ['./tests/reporters/debug-reporter.ts'],
   ],
   /* Shared settings for all the projects below. See https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-testoptions. */
   use: {
@@ -168,25 +141,13 @@ export default defineConfig({
 
   /* Configure projects for major browsers */
   projects: [
-    // 1. Setup project - authentication (runs FIRST)
+    // Setup project - authentication (runs FIRST)
     {
       name: 'setup',
       testMatch: /auth\.setup\.ts/,
     },
 
-    // 2. Preflight setup - runs AFTER auth.setup.ts to ensure storage state exists
-    // This replaces Playwright globalSetup so authenticated setup work can run
-    // deterministically in fresh CI workspaces.
-    {
-      name: 'preflight',
-      testMatch: /preflight\.setup\.ts/,
-      dependencies: ['setup'],
-      fullyParallel: false,
-      workers: 1,
-    },
-
-    // 2. Security Tests - Run WITH security enabled (SEQUENTIAL, headless Chromium)
-    // These tests enable security modules, verify enforcement, then teardown disables all.
+    // Security Tests - Run WITH security enabled (SEQUENTIAL, Chromium only)
     {
       name: 'security-tests',
       testDir: './tests',
@@ -196,33 +157,29 @@ export default defineConfig({
       ],
       dependencies: ['setup'],
       teardown: 'security-teardown',
-      fullyParallel: false, // Force sequential - modules share state
-      workers: 1, // Force single worker to prevent race conditions on security settings
+      fullyParallel: false,
+      workers: 1,
       use: {
         ...devices['Desktop Chrome'],
-        headless: true, // Security tests are API-level, don't need headed
+        headless: true,
         storageState: STORAGE_STATE,
       },
     },
 
-    // 3. Security Teardown - Disable ALL security modules after security-tests
+    // Security Teardown - Disable ALL security modules
     {
       name: 'security-teardown',
       testMatch: /security-teardown\.setup\.ts/,
     },
 
-    // 4. Browser projects - Depend on setup and security-tests (with teardown) for order
-    // Note: Security modules are re-disabled by teardown before these projects execute
-    // TEMPORARY CI FIX: Skip security-tests dependency to unblock pipeline
-    // Re-enable after fixing hanging security test
+    // Browser projects - standard Playwright pattern
     {
       name: 'chromium',
       use: {
         ...devices['Desktop Chrome'],
-        // Use stored authentication state
         storageState: STORAGE_STATE,
       },
-      dependencies: ['preflight'], // Temporarily removed 'security-tests'
+      dependencies: ['setup', 'security-tests'],
     },
 
     {
@@ -231,7 +188,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
         ...devices['Desktop Firefox'],
         storageState: STORAGE_STATE,
       },
-      dependencies: ['preflight'], // Temporarily removed 'security-tests'
+      dependencies: ['setup', 'security-tests'],
     },
 
     {
@@ -240,7 +197,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
         ...devices['Desktop Safari'],
         storageState: STORAGE_STATE,
       },
-      dependencies: ['preflight'], // Temporarily removed 'security-tests'
+      dependencies: ['setup', 'security-tests'],
     },
 
     /* Test against mobile viewports. */
diff --git a/tests/preflight.setup.ts b/tests/preflight.setup.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 692e384c..00000000
--- a/tests/preflight.setup.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,6 +0,0 @@
-import { test } from './fixtures/test';
-import globalSetup from './global-setup';
-
-test('preflight', async () => {
-  await globalSetup();
-});