diff --git a/.github/workflows/superset-e2e.yml b/.github/workflows/superset-e2e.yml
index c8fe616e7ec..e78927f28b2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/superset-e2e.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/superset-e2e.yml
@@ -169,7 +169,6 @@ jobs:
       PYTHONPATH: ${{ github.workspace }}
       REDIS_PORT: 16379
       GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
-      SUPERSET_FEATURE_EMBEDDED_SUPERSET: "true"
     services:
       postgres:
         image: postgres:17-alpine
diff --git a/.github/workflows/superset-playwright.yml b/.github/workflows/superset-playwright.yml
index 0d0f9007275..03d1c525e2c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/superset-playwright.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/superset-playwright.yml
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ jobs:
       REDIS_PORT: 16379
       GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
       SUPERSET_FEATURE_EMBEDDED_SUPERSET: "true"
+      INCLUDE_EMBEDDED: "true"
     services:
       postgres:
         image: postgres:17-alpine
@@ -131,6 +132,13 @@ jobs:
           NODE_OPTIONS: "--max-old-space-size=4096"
         with:
           run: playwright-run "${{ matrix.app_root }}" experimental/
+      - name: Run Playwright (Embedded Tests)
+        if: steps.check.outputs.python || steps.check.outputs.frontend
+        uses: ./.github/actions/cached-dependencies
+        env:
+          NODE_OPTIONS: "--max-old-space-size=4096"
+        with:
+          run: playwright-run "${{ matrix.app_root }}" embedded
       - name: Set safe app root
         if: failure()
         id: set-safe-app-root
diff --git a/docker/pythonpath_dev/superset_config_docker_light.py b/docker/pythonpath_dev/superset_config_docker_light.py
index 18086e60b2c..f5a10d4bd6a 100644
--- a/docker/pythonpath_dev/superset_config_docker_light.py
+++ b/docker/pythonpath_dev/superset_config_docker_light.py
@@ -53,16 +53,17 @@ FEATURE_FLAGS = {
     },
 }
 
-# Disable Talisman so /embedded/<uuid> doesn't return X-Frame-Options:SAMEORIGIN.
-# Without this, browsers refuse to render Superset inside an iframe from a
-# different origin (i.e. the embedded SDK use case). Production/CI configures
-# Talisman with explicit `frame-ancestors`; for the lightweight local stack we
-# just turn it off.
-TALISMAN_ENABLED = False
+if os.environ.get("SUPERSET_FEATURE_EMBEDDED_SUPERSET", "").strip().lower() == "true":
+    # Disable Talisman so /embedded/<uuid> doesn't return X-Frame-Options:SAMEORIGIN.
+    # Without this, browsers refuse to render Superset inside an iframe from a
+    # different origin (i.e. the embedded SDK use case). Production/CI configures
+    # Talisman with explicit `frame-ancestors`; for the lightweight local stack we
+    # just turn it off.
+    TALISMAN_ENABLED = False
 
-# Guest tokens (used by the embedded SDK) inherit the "Public" role's perms.
-# Out of the box Public has zero perms, so embedded dashboards immediately fail
-# their first call (`/api/v1/me/roles/`) with 403. Mirror Public to Gamma —
-# the standard read-only viewer role — so the embedded flow can authenticate
-# and load dashboard data in local dev.
-PUBLIC_ROLE_LIKE = "Gamma"
+    # Guest tokens (used by the embedded SDK) inherit the "Public" role's perms.
+    # Out of the box Public has zero perms, so embedded dashboards immediately fail
+    # their first call (`/api/v1/me/roles/`) with 403. Mirror Public to Gamma —
+    # the standard read-only viewer role — so the embedded flow can authenticate
+    # and load dashboard data in local dev.
+    PUBLIC_ROLE_LIKE = "Gamma"
diff --git a/superset-frontend/playwright.config.ts b/superset-frontend/playwright.config.ts
index 17d79e40283..c9f4d9bd9d7 100644
--- a/superset-frontend/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/superset-frontend/playwright.config.ts
@@ -133,22 +133,26 @@ export default defineConfig({
         // No storageState = clean browser with no cached cookies
       },
     },
-    {
-      // Embedded dashboard tests - validates the full embedding flow:
-      // external app -> SDK -> iframe -> guest token -> dashboard render.
-      // Each spec file mutates per-dashboard embedding state (UUID,
-      // allowed_domains) on a single shared Superset, so files must not
-      // run in parallel even if more are added later.
-      name: 'chromium-embedded',
-      testMatch: '**/tests/embedded/**/*.spec.ts',
-      fullyParallel: false,
-      use: {
-        browserName: 'chromium',
-        testIdAttribute: 'data-test',
-        // Uses admin auth for API calls to configure embedding and get guest tokens
-        storageState: 'playwright/.auth/user.json',
-      },
-    },
+    ...(process.env.INCLUDE_EMBEDDED
+      ? [
+          {
+            // Embedded dashboard tests - validates the full embedding flow:
+            // external app -> SDK -> iframe -> guest token -> dashboard render.
+            // Each spec file mutates per-dashboard embedding state (UUID,
+            // allowed_domains) on a single shared Superset, so files must not
+            // run in parallel even if more are added later.
+            name: 'chromium-embedded',
+            testMatch: '**/tests/embedded/**/*.spec.ts',
+            fullyParallel: false,
+            use: {
+              browserName: 'chromium' as const,
+              testIdAttribute: 'data-test',
+              // Uses admin auth for API calls to configure embedding and get guest tokens
+              storageState: 'playwright/.auth/user.json',
+            },
+          },
+        ]
+      : []),
   ],
 
   // Web server setup - disabled in CI (Flask started separately in workflow)
diff --git a/superset-frontend/playwright/embedded-app/index.html b/superset-frontend/playwright/embedded-app/index.html
index ef58a82ded0..2cbec243709 100644
--- a/superset-frontend/playwright/embedded-app/index.html
+++ b/superset-frontend/playwright/embedded-app/index.html
@@ -52,18 +52,14 @@ under the License.
       const statusEl = document.getElementById('status');
 
       // fetchGuestToken is injected by Playwright via page.exposeFunction()
-      // Falls back to window.__guestToken for simple/static token injection
       async function fetchGuestToken() {
-        if (typeof window.__fetchGuestToken === 'function') {
-          statusEl.textContent = 'Fetching guest token...';
-          const token = await window.__fetchGuestToken();
-          statusEl.textContent = 'Guest token received, loading dashboard...';
-          return token;
+        if (typeof window.__fetchGuestToken !== 'function') {
+          throw new Error('No guest token source available');
         }
-        if (window.__guestToken) {
-          return window.__guestToken;
-        }
-        throw new Error('No guest token source available');
+        statusEl.textContent = 'Fetching guest token...';
+        const token = await window.__fetchGuestToken();
+        statusEl.textContent = 'Guest token received, loading dashboard...';
+        return token;
       }
 
       try {
diff --git a/superset-frontend/playwright/helpers/api/embedded.ts b/superset-frontend/playwright/helpers/api/embedded.ts
index 48905e14ede..cf389402a0a 100644
--- a/superset-frontend/playwright/helpers/api/embedded.ts
+++ b/superset-frontend/playwright/helpers/api/embedded.ts
@@ -116,6 +116,7 @@ export async function getGuestToken(
   // session, JWT, or both.
   const { token: csrfToken } = await getCsrfToken(page);
   const guestResponse = await page.request.post(ENDPOINTS.GUEST_TOKEN, {
+    failOnStatusCode: true,
     data: {
       user: {
         username: 'embedded_test_user',
diff --git a/superset-frontend/playwright/tests/embedded/embedded-dashboard.spec.ts b/superset-frontend/playwright/tests/embedded/embedded-dashboard.spec.ts
index 568c1d63cc2..9a717c50108 100644
--- a/superset-frontend/playwright/tests/embedded/embedded-dashboard.spec.ts
+++ b/superset-frontend/playwright/tests/embedded/embedded-dashboard.spec.ts
@@ -215,8 +215,9 @@ test.describe('Embedded Dashboard E2E', () => {
       try {
         const setupPage = await context.newPage();
         await apiEnableEmbedding(setupPage, dashboardId, []);
-      } catch {
-        // Best-effort cleanup — never fail teardown.
+      } catch (err) {
+        // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+        console.error('[embedded teardown] restore failed:', err);
       } finally {
         await context.close();
       }
@@ -320,7 +321,12 @@ test.describe('Embedded Dashboard E2E', () => {
       expect(response.status()).toBe(403);
     } finally {
       // Restore the open embedding config for other tests in this file.
-      await apiEnableEmbedding(setupPage, dashboardId, []);
+      try {
+        await apiEnableEmbedding(setupPage, dashboardId, []);
+      } catch (err) {
+        // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+        console.error('[embedded teardown] restore failed:', err);
+      }
       await context.close();
     }
   });
diff --git a/tests/integration_tests/superset_test_config.py b/tests/integration_tests/superset_test_config.py
index bacc36d9fcb..56ab8ddd194 100644
--- a/tests/integration_tests/superset_test_config.py
+++ b/tests/integration_tests/superset_test_config.py
@@ -78,15 +78,6 @@ FEATURE_FLAGS = {
 
 WEBDRIVER_BASEURL = "http://0.0.0.0:8081/"
 
-# Enable CORS for embedded dashboard E2E tests (test app on port 9000)
-ENABLE_CORS = True
-CORS_OPTIONS: dict = {
-    "origins": [
-        "http://localhost:9000",
-    ],
-    "supports_credentials": True,
-}
-
 
 def GET_FEATURE_FLAGS_FUNC(ff):  # noqa: N802
     ff_copy = copy(ff)