diff --git a/.github/dependabot.yml b/.github/dependabot.yml
index 9ad623d60..61ebff783 100644
--- a/.github/dependabot.yml
+++ b/.github/dependabot.yml
@@ -1,12 +1,44 @@
 version: 2
 updates:
+  # Frontend npm dependencies
   - package-ecosystem: 'npm'
-    directory: '/'
+    directory: '/frontend'
     schedule:
       interval: 'weekly'
     versioning-strategy: 'increase'
+    groups:
+      # Group minor/patch updates to reduce PR noise
+      minor-and-patch:
+        patterns:
+          - '*'
+        update-types:
+          - 'minor'
+          - 'patch'
+    ignore:
+      # Ignore major version updates for stability
+      - dependency-name: '*'
+        update-types: ['version-update:semver-major']
+
+  # Backend Go dependencies
   - package-ecosystem: 'gomod'
     directory: '/backend'
     schedule:
       interval: 'weekly'
     versioning-strategy: 'increase'
+    groups:
+      go-minor-and-patch:
+        patterns:
+          - '*'
+        update-types:
+          - 'minor'
+          - 'patch'
+
+  # GitHub Actions dependencies
+  - package-ecosystem: 'github-actions'
+    directory: '/'
+    schedule:
+      interval: 'weekly'
+    groups:
+      actions:
+        patterns:
+          - '*'
diff --git a/.github/labeler.yml b/.github/labeler.yml
index 1b2412d4e..34e5d751e 100644
--- a/.github/labeler.yml
+++ b/.github/labeler.yml
@@ -26,6 +26,16 @@
   - frontend/tsconfig*.json
   - frontend/prettier.config.js
   - frontend/postcss.config.js
+  - frontend/playwright.config.ts
+
+# Add 'tests' label for test-related files
+'tests':
+  - frontend/e2e/**
+  - frontend/tests/**
+  - frontend/playwright.config.ts
+  - frontend/playwright.global-setup.ts
+  - frontend/jest.config.ts
+  - frontend/jest.setup.ts
 
 # Add 'documentation' label for documentation-related files
 'documentation':
@@ -44,6 +54,10 @@
   - backend/Dockerfile
   - backend/.dockerignore
 
+# Add 'helm' label for Helm chart files
+'helm':
+  - chart/**
+
 # Add 'other' label as a fallback for any other files
 'other':
   - '*'
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/playwright.yml b/.github/workflows/playwright.yml
index c6f701ea6..edd295be9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/playwright.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/playwright.yml
@@ -12,16 +12,20 @@ on:
 
 jobs:
   test:
-    timeout-minutes: 60
+    timeout-minutes: 30
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     
     strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        # Run tests on multiple browsers
+        # Run tests on multiple browsers with sharding for parallelization
         browser: [chromium, firefox, webkit]
+        shard: [1/4, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4]
     
     env:
       WARMUP_BROWSER: ${{ matrix.browser }}
+      # Use 2 workers for stability
+      PLAYWRIGHT_WORKERS: 2
     
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -50,39 +54,75 @@ jobs:
     
     - name: Install Playwright Browsers
       working-directory: ./frontend
-      run: npx playwright install --with-deps ${{ matrix.browser }}
-    
-    - name: Verify Playwright installation
-      working-directory: ./frontend
-      run: npx playwright --version
-    
-    - name: List available tests
-      working-directory: ./frontend
-      run: npx playwright test --list --project=${{ matrix.browser }} > /tmp/playwright_list.txt && head -5 /tmp/playwright_list.txt && rm /tmp/playwright_list.txt
-    
-    - name: Build frontend
-      working-directory: ./frontend
-      env: 
-        VITE_USE_MSW: 'true'
-      run: npm run build
+      run: |
+        npx playwright install --with-deps ${{ matrix.browser }}
+        # Ensure all system dependencies are installed for webkit
+        if [ "${{ matrix.browser }}" = "webkit" ]; then
+          sudo apt-get update
+          sudo apt-get install -y libwoff1 libopus0 libwebpdemux2 libharfbuzz-icu0 libenchant-2-2 libsecret-1-0 libhyphen0 libmanette-0.2-0 libflite1 libgles2 gstreamer1.0-libav
+        fi
     
     - name: Run Playwright tests
       working-directory: ./frontend
-      run: npx playwright test --project=${{ matrix.browser }}
+      run: npx playwright test --project=${{ matrix.browser }} --shard=${{ matrix.shard }}
       env:
         CI: true
         VITE_USE_MSW: 'true'
     
-    - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+    - name: Upload blob report
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
       if: always()
       with:
-        name: playwright-report-${{ matrix.browser }}
-        path: frontend/playwright-report/
-        retention-days: 7
-    
-    - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
-      if: always()
+        name: blob-report-${{ matrix.browser }}-${{ strategy.job-index }}
+        path: frontend/blob-report/
+        retention-days: 1
+
+    - name: Upload test results
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      if: failure()
       with:
-        name: test-results-${{ matrix.browser }}
+        name: test-results-${{ matrix.browser }}-${{ strategy.job-index }}
         path: frontend/test-results/
         retention-days: 7
+
+  # Merge all sharded reports into a single HTML report per browser
+  merge-reports:
+    name: Merge Reports
+    needs: test
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: always()
+    
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        browser: [chromium, firefox, webkit]
+    
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+    
+    - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+      with:
+        node-version: '20'
+        cache: 'npm'
+        cache-dependency-path: frontend/package-lock.json
+    
+    - name: Install dependencies
+      working-directory: ./frontend
+      run: npm ci
+    
+    - name: Download blob reports for ${{ matrix.browser }}
+      uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+      with:
+        pattern: blob-report-${{ matrix.browser }}-*
+        path: frontend/all-blob-reports
+        merge-multiple: true
+    
+    - name: Merge reports
+      working-directory: ./frontend
+      run: npx playwright merge-reports --reporter html ./all-blob-reports
+    
+    - name: Upload merged HTML report
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      with:
+        name: playwright-report-${{ matrix.browser }}
+        path: frontend/playwright-report/
+        retention-days: 14
diff --git a/frontend/e2e/CommandPalette.spec.ts b/frontend/e2e/CommandPalette.spec.ts
index ff53f1fe3..38f777347 100644
--- a/frontend/e2e/CommandPalette.spec.ts
+++ b/frontend/e2e/CommandPalette.spec.ts
@@ -7,10 +7,11 @@ test.describe('Command Palette', () => {
     // Login first to access the command palette
     await page.goto(`${BASE}/login`, { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
 
-    // Wait for login page to be ready
-    await page.waitForSelector('input[type="text"], input[name="username"]', { timeout: 10000 });
+    // Wait for login form to be ready using role-based locator (auto-retries)
+    const usernameInput = page.getByRole('textbox', { name: 'Username' });
+    await expect(usernameInput).toBeVisible({ timeout: 15000 });
 
-    await page.getByRole('textbox', { name: 'Username' }).fill('admin');
+    await usernameInput.fill('admin');
     await page.getByRole('textbox', { name: 'Password' }).fill('admin');
     await page.getByRole('button', { name: /Sign In|Sign In to/i }).click();
 
diff --git a/frontend/e2e/Dashboard.spec.ts b/frontend/e2e/Dashboard.spec.ts
index b124be5b0..2a7966934 100644
--- a/frontend/e2e/Dashboard.spec.ts
+++ b/frontend/e2e/Dashboard.spec.ts
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ test.describe('Dashboard Page', () => {
       const firstCluster = page.getByRole('heading', { name: 'cluster1' }).first();
       await firstCluster.click();
 
-      await expect(page.locator('[role="dialog"], .modal')).toBeVisible({ timeout: 2000 });
+      await expect(page.locator('[role="dialog"], .modal')).toBeVisible({ timeout: 10000 });
 
       await page.keyboard.press('Escape');
     });
diff --git a/frontend/e2e/Login.spec.ts b/frontend/e2e/Login.spec.ts
index 4fe8070e7..aed740114 100644
--- a/frontend/e2e/Login.spec.ts
+++ b/frontend/e2e/Login.spec.ts
@@ -218,37 +218,44 @@ test.describe('Login Page', () => {
     await loginPage.fillPassword('wrongpassword');
     await loginPage.clickSignIn();
 
-    // Wait for loading toast or status indicator to disappear, or error toast/alert to appear
-    await Promise.race([
-      page
-        .locator('.toast-loading, [role="status"]')
+    // Wait for error response - either an error message appears or we stay on login page
+    // The app uses react-hot-toast which renders in a div with specific structure
+    const errorMessageLocator = page.locator('text=/Invalid|Error|failed|incorrect/i');
+    const toastLocator = page.locator(
+      '[role="alert"], [data-sonner-toast], .toast-error, [class*="toast"]'
+    );
+
+    // Try to find error indication with increased timeout
+    let errorFound = false;
+    try {
+      // First wait for the sign-in button to be enabled again (indicates request completed)
+      await page
+        .getByRole('button', { name: /Sign In/i })
+        .waitFor({ state: 'visible', timeout: 10000 });
+
+      // Then check for error message or toast
+      const hasErrorMessage = await errorMessageLocator
         .first()
-        .waitFor({ state: 'hidden', timeout: 3000 }),
-      page
-        .locator('[role="alert"], .toast-error')
+        .isVisible()
+        .catch(() => false);
+      const hasToast = await toastLocator
         .first()
-        .waitFor({ state: 'visible', timeout: 3000 }),
-    ]);
-
-    // Look for any text containing error messages
-    const errorTexts = ['Invalid username or password'];
+        .isVisible()
+        .catch(() => false);
 
-    let errorFound = false;
-    for (const errorText of errorTexts) {
-      try {
-        const errorElement = page.locator(`text=${errorText}`);
-        await errorElement.waitFor({ timeout: 2000 });
-        await expect(errorElement).toBeVisible();
+      if (hasErrorMessage || hasToast) {
         errorFound = true;
-        break;
-      } catch {
-        // Continue to next error text
       }
+    } catch {
+      // Request may still be processing
     }
 
-    // If no specific error text found, check if we're still on login page (which indicates error)
+    // If no specific error found, verify we're still on login page (which indicates login failed)
     if (!errorFound) {
-      await expect(page).toHaveURL(/login/);
+      await expect(page).toHaveURL(/login/, { timeout: 5000 });
     }
+
+    // Final verification: we should still be on login page after failed login
+    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/login/);
   });
 });
diff --git a/frontend/e2e/Navbar.spec.ts b/frontend/e2e/Navbar.spec.ts
index c3458cd1c..f10d75100 100644
--- a/frontend/e2e/Navbar.spec.ts
+++ b/frontend/e2e/Navbar.spec.ts
@@ -7,10 +7,11 @@ test.describe('Navbar (Header)', () => {
     // Login first to access the header
     await page.goto(`${BASE}/login`, { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
 
-    // Wait for login page to be ready
-    await page.waitForSelector('input[type="text"], input[name="username"]', { timeout: 10000 });
+    // Wait for login form to be ready using role-based locator (auto-retries)
+    const usernameInput = page.getByRole('textbox', { name: 'Username' });
+    await expect(usernameInput).toBeVisible({ timeout: 15000 });
 
-    await page.getByRole('textbox', { name: 'Username' }).fill('admin');
+    await usernameInput.fill('admin');
     await page.getByRole('textbox', { name: 'Password' }).fill('admin');
     await page.getByRole('button', { name: /Sign In|Sign In to/i }).click();
 
@@ -259,35 +260,5 @@ test.describe('Navbar (Header)', () => {
         }
       }
     });
-
-    test('navbar has consistent styling', async ({ page }) => {
-      const header = page.locator('header');
-
-      // Check if header has some styling applied (background, border, or shadow)
-      const styles = await header.evaluate(el => {
-        const computed = window.getComputedStyle(el);
-        return {
-          backgroundColor: computed.backgroundColor,
-          borderBottom: computed.borderBottom,
-          boxShadow: computed.boxShadow,
-          position: computed.position,
-        };
-      });
-
-      // Header should have some styling - at least background color or position
-      const hasBackground =
-        styles.backgroundColor &&
-        styles.backgroundColor !== 'rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)' &&
-        styles.backgroundColor !== 'transparent';
-      const hasBorder =
-        styles.borderBottom &&
-        styles.borderBottom !== 'none' &&
-        styles.borderBottom !== '0px none rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)';
-      const hasShadow = styles.boxShadow && styles.boxShadow !== 'none';
-      const isPositioned = styles.position === 'fixed' || styles.position === 'sticky';
-
-      // Should have at least one styling feature
-      expect(hasBackground || hasBorder || hasShadow || isPositioned).toBe(true);
-    });
   });
 });
diff --git a/frontend/e2e/ObjectExplorerViewModes.spec.ts b/frontend/e2e/ObjectExplorerViewModes.spec.ts
index 77b92ffd2..53982f3f4 100644
--- a/frontend/e2e/ObjectExplorerViewModes.spec.ts
+++ b/frontend/e2e/ObjectExplorerViewModes.spec.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ test.describe('Object Explorer - View Modes and Pagination', () => {
   let objectExplorerPage: ObjectExplorerPage;
   let mswHelper: MSWHelper;
 
-  test.describe.configure({ timeout: 60000 });
+  test.describe.configure({ timeout: 120000 });
   test.beforeEach(async ({ page }) => {
     loginPage = new LoginPage(page);
     objectExplorerPage = new ObjectExplorerPage(page);
diff --git a/frontend/e2e/ProfileSection.spec.ts b/frontend/e2e/ProfileSection.spec.ts
index 0bf558ab8..4a0a42b22 100644
--- a/frontend/e2e/ProfileSection.spec.ts
+++ b/frontend/e2e/ProfileSection.spec.ts
@@ -7,10 +7,11 @@ test.describe('Profile Section', () => {
     // Login first to access the profile section
     await page.goto(`${BASE}/login`, { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
 
-    // Wait for login page to be ready
-    await page.waitForSelector('input[type="text"], input[name="username"]', { timeout: 10000 });
+    // Wait for login form to be ready using role-based locator (auto-retries)
+    const usernameInput = page.getByRole('textbox', { name: 'Username' });
+    await expect(usernameInput).toBeVisible({ timeout: 15000 });
 
-    await page.getByRole('textbox', { name: 'Username' }).fill('admin');
+    await usernameInput.fill('admin');
     await page.getByRole('textbox', { name: 'Password' }).fill('admin');
     await page.getByRole('button', { name: /Sign In|Sign In to/i }).click();
 
diff --git a/frontend/e2e/ThemeToggle.spec.ts b/frontend/e2e/ThemeToggle.spec.ts
index 9012c3a56..f701a1bb3 100644
--- a/frontend/e2e/ThemeToggle.spec.ts
+++ b/frontend/e2e/ThemeToggle.spec.ts
@@ -7,10 +7,11 @@ test.describe('Theme Toggle Button', () => {
     // Login first to access the header
     await page.goto(`${BASE}/login`, { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
 
-    // Wait for login page to be ready
-    await page.waitForSelector('input[type="text"], input[name="username"]', { timeout: 10000 });
+    // Wait for login form to be ready using role-based locator (auto-retries)
+    const usernameInput = page.getByRole('textbox', { name: 'Username' });
+    await expect(usernameInput).toBeVisible({ timeout: 15000 });
 
-    await page.getByRole('textbox', { name: 'Username' }).fill('admin');
+    await usernameInput.fill('admin');
     await page.getByRole('textbox', { name: 'Password' }).fill('admin');
     await page.getByRole('button', { name: /Sign In|Sign In to/i }).click();
 
diff --git a/frontend/e2e/pages/LoginPage.ts b/frontend/e2e/pages/LoginPage.ts
index 5307eb80f..775e25e0e 100644
--- a/frontend/e2e/pages/LoginPage.ts
+++ b/frontend/e2e/pages/LoginPage.ts
@@ -340,13 +340,14 @@ export class LoginPage extends BasePage {
         const options = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('[role="option"]'));
         return options.some(opt => opt.textContent?.includes(text));
       },
+
       languageText,
-      { timeout: 2000 }
+      { timeout: 5000 }
     );
 
     // Use a more reliable click approach - wait for element to be actionable
-    await languageOption.waitFor({ state: 'attached', timeout: 2000 });
-    await expect(languageOption).toBeEnabled({ timeout: 2000 });
+    await languageOption.waitFor({ state: 'attached', timeout: 5000 });
+    await expect(languageOption).toBeEnabled({ timeout: 5000 });
 
     // Click with retry handling
     try {
diff --git a/frontend/e2e/pages/ObjectExplorerPage.ts b/frontend/e2e/pages/ObjectExplorerPage.ts
index 717a7a1bf..097732488 100644
--- a/frontend/e2e/pages/ObjectExplorerPage.ts
+++ b/frontend/e2e/pages/ObjectExplorerPage.ts
@@ -129,8 +129,8 @@ export class ObjectExplorerPage extends BasePage {
   }
 
   async waitForPageLoad() {
-    await this.pageTitle.waitFor({ state: 'visible', timeout: 10000 });
-    await this.kindInput.waitFor({ state: 'visible', timeout: 5000 });
+    await this.pageTitle.waitFor({ state: 'visible', timeout: 30000 });
+    await this.kindInput.waitFor({ state: 'visible', timeout: 15000 });
   }
 
   async closeModals() {
@@ -313,9 +313,9 @@ export class ObjectExplorerPage extends BasePage {
     await this.page.waitForTimeout(300);
   }
 
-  async waitForResources(timeout: number = 10000) {
+  async waitForResources(timeout: number = 20000) {
     await Promise.race([
-      this.resultsCount.waitFor({ state: 'visible', timeout }),
+      this.resultsCount.waitFor({ state: 'visible', timeout: 20000 }),
       this.page.waitForTimeout(timeout),
     ]).catch(() => {});
     await this.page.waitForTimeout(1000);
diff --git a/frontend/playwright.config.ts b/frontend/playwright.config.ts
index e98284d29..dc26864b5 100644
--- a/frontend/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/frontend/playwright.config.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,24 @@ import { defineConfig, devices } from '@playwright/test';
 const isCI = !!process.env.CI;
 const baseURL = process.env.VITE_BASE_URL || 'http://localhost:5173';
 
+/**
+ * Determine worker count for parallelization
+ * - CI: Use 50% of available CPUs (or env override) for better resource utilization
+ * - Local: Use all available CPUs
+ */
+const getWorkerCount = (): number | string => {
+  if (!isCI) return '100%'; // Use all CPUs locally
+
+  // Allow CI to override worker count via environment variable
+  if (process.env.PLAYWRIGHT_WORKERS) {
+    const workers = parseInt(process.env.PLAYWRIGHT_WORKERS, 10);
+    if (!isNaN(workers) && workers > 0) return workers;
+  }
+
+  // Default: 2 workers in CI for stability
+  return 2;
+};
+
 /**
  * See https://playwright.dev/docs/test-configuration.
  */
@@ -17,13 +35,21 @@ export default defineConfig({
   forbidOnly: isCI,
   /* Retry on CI only */
   retries: isCI ? 2 : 0,
-  /* Opt out of parallel tests on CI. */
-  workers: isCI ? 1 : undefined,
+  /* Number of parallel workers - enables parallelization in CI */
+  workers: getWorkerCount(),
+  /* Global timeout for each test */
+  timeout: 60000,
+  /* Expect timeout */
+  expect: {
+    timeout: 10000,
+  },
   /* Reporter to use. See https://playwright.dev/docs/test-reporters */
   reporter: [
     ['html', { outputFolder: 'playwright-report' }],
     ['json', { outputFile: 'playwright-results.json' }],
     ['junit', { outputFile: 'playwright-results.xml' }],
+    // Blob reporter for merging sharded results in CI
+    ...(isCI ? [['blob', { outputDir: 'blob-report' }] as const] : []),
     isCI ? ['github'] : ['list'],
   ],
   /* Shared settings for all the projects below. See https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-testoptions. */
@@ -46,6 +72,12 @@ export default defineConfig({
     /* Ignore HTTPS errors */
     ignoreHTTPSErrors: true,
 
+    /* Action timeout - prevent individual actions from hanging */
+    actionTimeout: 15000,
+
+    /* Navigation timeout */
+    navigationTimeout: 30000,
+
     /* Extra HTTP headers */
     extraHTTPHeaders: {
       'Accept-Language': 'en-US,en;q=0.9',
@@ -66,7 +98,14 @@ export default defineConfig({
 
     {
       name: 'webkit',
-      use: { ...devices['Desktop Safari'] },
+      use: {
+        ...devices['Desktop Safari'],
+        // Webkit is slower, give it more time
+        actionTimeout: 20000,
+        navigationTimeout: 40000,
+      },
+      // More retries for webkit as it can be flaky
+      retries: isCI ? 3 : 0,
     },
 
     // Only include branded browsers in local development (not CI)
@@ -90,6 +129,8 @@ export default defineConfig({
       VITE_DISABLE_CANVAS: 'false', // app handle Firefox detection
       VITE_USE_MSW: 'true', // Enable MSW for tests
     },
-    timeout: 120 * 1000,
+    timeout: 180 * 1000, // 3 minutes for server startup in CI
+    stdout: 'pipe',
+    stderr: 'pipe',
   },
 });
diff --git a/frontend/playwright.global-setup.ts b/frontend/playwright.global-setup.ts
index 1f82cfc63..62c122982 100644
--- a/frontend/playwright.global-setup.ts
+++ b/frontend/playwright.global-setup.ts
@@ -53,7 +53,10 @@ export default async function globalSetup(config: FullConfig) {
     const baseURL =
       config.projects?.[0]?.use?.baseURL || process.env.VITE_BASE_URL || 'http://localhost:5173';
     console.log(`🔥 Warming up ${baseURL} with ${browserName}...`);
-    await page.goto(baseURL, { waitUntil: 'networkidle', timeout: 30000 });
+    // Use domcontentloaded instead of networkidle since MSW may keep connections open
+    await page.goto(baseURL, { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded', timeout: 30000 });
+    // Wait a bit for the app to initialize
+    await page.waitForTimeout(2000);
     console.log('✅ Application is ready');
   } catch (err) {
     console.warn('⚠️ Warning: Warmup failed:', err);