diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 3ec60c8..41b3e3e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ jobs:
           mkdir build && cd build
           cmake .. \
             -DWITH_DEBUG=1 \
-            -DWITH_UNIT_TESTS=ON \
+            -DWITH_UNIT_TESTS=OFF \
             -DWITH_ROUTER=OFF
 
       - name: Build VillageSQL
@@ -43,49 +43,31 @@ jobs:
           cd build
           make -j$(nproc)
 
-      - name: Initialize datadir
-        run: |
-          mkdir -p $PWD/var
-          ./build/runtime_output_directory/mysqld --initialize-insecure --datadir=$PWD/var/mysqld.1
-
-      - name: Start MySQL server
-        run: |
-          ./build/runtime_output_directory/mysqld \
-            --datadir=$PWD/var/mysqld.1 \
-            --socket=$PWD/var/mysql.sock \
-            --port=3306 \
-            --log-error=$PWD/var/mysqld.log \
-            &>/dev/null &
-          echo "Waiting for MySQL to start..."
-          for i in {1..30}; do
-            if mysql -S $PWD/var/mysql.sock -u root -e "SELECT 1" 2>/dev/null; then
-              echo "MySQL is ready"
-              break
-            fi
-            sleep 1
-          done
-
       - name: Build extension
+        working-directory: extension
         run: |
-          cd extension
           mkdir build && cd build
-          cmake .. -DVillageSQL_BUILD_DIR=$PWD/../villagesql-server/build
+          cmake .. -DVillageSQL_BUILD_DIR=$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/villagesql-server/build
           make -j$(nproc)
 
-      - name: Install extension
-        run: |
-          mysql -S $PWD/var/mysql.sock -u root \
-            -e "INSTALL EXTENSION $PWD/extension/build/prometheus_exporter.veb"
-
       - name: Run MTR tests
         run: |
-          cd build/mysql-test
-          perl mysql-test-run.pl \
-            --suite=$PWD/../extension/mysql-test \
-            --parallel=auto \
-            --tmpdir=$PWD/var \
-            --socket=$PWD/../var/mysql.sock \
-            --report-features
+          VEB_DIR=$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/veb
+          mkdir -p $VEB_DIR
+          cp $GITHUB_WORKSPACE/extension/build/prometheus_exporter.veb $VEB_DIR/
+
+          # Copy test files into the server's test suite
+          SUITE_DIR=$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/villagesql-server/mysql-test/suite/villagesql/prometheus_exporter
+          mkdir -p $SUITE_DIR/t $SUITE_DIR/r
+          cp $GITHUB_WORKSPACE/extension/mysql-test/t/*.test $SUITE_DIR/t/
+          cp $GITHUB_WORKSPACE/extension/mysql-test/r/*.result $SUITE_DIR/r/
+
+          cd build
+          perl ./mysql-test/mysql-test-run.pl \
+            --do-suite=villagesql/prometheus_exporter \
+            --parallel=1 \
+            --nounit-tests \
+            --mysqld=--veb-dir=$VEB_DIR
 
       - name: Upload test logs on failure
         if: failure()
@@ -93,5 +75,4 @@ jobs:
         with:
           name: test-logs
           path: |
-            build/mysql-test/var/log/*.log
-            villagesql-server/var/mysqld.log
\ No newline at end of file
+            villagesql-server/build/mysql-test/var/log/*.log
diff --git a/local-ci.sh b/local-ci.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..b5be922
--- /dev/null
+++ b/local-ci.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Local CI simulation - mirrors what the GitHub Actions workflow should do
+# Key insight: MTR manages its own MySQL server. Do NOT start one manually.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+EXTENSION_DIR="$SCRIPT_DIR"
+VILLAGESQL_BUILD_DIR="${VILLAGESQL_BUILD_DIR:-/data/rene/build}"
+VEB_DIR="/tmp/vsql-ci-veb-$$"
+
+log() { echo "[local-ci] $(date '+%H:%M:%S') - $1"; }
+
+cleanup() {
+    log "Cleaning up..."
+    rm -rf "$VEB_DIR" 2>/dev/null || true
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+# Step 1: Build extension
+log "Building extension..."
+cd "$EXTENSION_DIR"
+rm -rf build
+mkdir -p build && cd build
+cmake .. -DVillageSQL_BUILD_DIR="$VILLAGESQL_BUILD_DIR" 2>&1 | tail -5
+make -j"$(nproc)" 2>&1 | tail -5
+
+if [ ! -f prometheus_exporter.veb ]; then
+    log "ERROR: prometheus_exporter.veb not found after build"
+    exit 1
+fi
+log "Extension built successfully"
+
+# Step 2: Set up VEB directory
+mkdir -p "$VEB_DIR"
+cp prometheus_exporter.veb "$VEB_DIR/"
+log "VEB placed in $VEB_DIR"
+
+# Step 3: Run MTR - let it manage its own server
+# --mysqld=--veb-dir=... tells MTR to pass that flag to the server it starts
+log "Running MTR tests..."
+cd "$VILLAGESQL_BUILD_DIR"
+
+perl ./mysql-test/mysql-test-run.pl \
+    --do-suite=villagesql/prometheus_exporter \
+    --parallel=1 \
+    --nounit-tests \
+    --mysqld=--veb-dir="$VEB_DIR"
+
+log "MTR finished with exit code: $?"