diff --git a/tests/playwright-asyncify.config.ts b/tests/playwright-asyncify.config.ts
index 5093bf3..0664dee 100644
--- a/tests/playwright-asyncify.config.ts
+++ b/tests/playwright-asyncify.config.ts
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ function findFreePort(): number {
   try {
     const result = execSync(
       'python3 -c "import socket; s=socket.socket(); s.bind((\'\',0)); print(s.getsockname()[1]); s.close()"',
-      { encoding: 'utf-8' }
+      { encoding: 'utf-8', timeout: 5000 }
     );
     return parseInt(result.trim());
   } catch {
diff --git a/tests/playwright-coroutine.config.ts b/tests/playwright-coroutine.config.ts
index 416b6f5..5f72841 100644
--- a/tests/playwright-coroutine.config.ts
+++ b/tests/playwright-coroutine.config.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ function findFreePort(): number {
   try {
     const result = execSync(
       'python3 -c "import socket; s=socket.socket(); s.bind((\'\',0)); print(s.getsockname()[1]); s.close()"',
-      { encoding: 'utf-8' }
+      { encoding: 'utf-8', timeout: 5000 }
     );
     return parseInt(result.trim());
   } catch {
diff --git a/tests/playwright-kicad.config.ts b/tests/playwright-kicad.config.ts
index 12435d7..0e76142 100644
--- a/tests/playwright-kicad.config.ts
+++ b/tests/playwright-kicad.config.ts
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ function findFreePort(): number {
   try {
     const result = execSync(
       "python3 -c \"import socket; s=socket.socket(); s.bind(('',0)); print(s.getsockname()[1]); s.close()\"",
-      { encoding: "utf-8" }
+      { encoding: "utf-8", timeout: 5000 }
     );
     return parseInt(result.trim());
   } catch {
diff --git a/tests/playwright.config.ts b/tests/playwright.config.ts
index 68b3dd3..947528b 100644
--- a/tests/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/tests/playwright.config.ts
@@ -51,7 +51,9 @@ function findFreePort(): number {
   try {
     const result = execSync(
       'python3 -c "import socket; s=socket.socket(); s.bind((\'\',0)); print(s.getsockname()[1]); s.close()"',
-      { encoding: 'utf-8' }
+      // timeout: a broken python3 must fall back to the random port below, not
+      // hang the whole run at config-load time.
+      { encoding: 'utf-8', timeout: 5000 }
     );
     return parseInt(result.trim());
   } catch {