diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index 7608ca5..d655520 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -7,7 +7,11 @@ schema. Switch to savepoint-per-test if test count grows past a few
 hundred.
 """
 
+import json
 import os
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from pathlib import Path
+
 import pytest
 from werkzeug.security import generate_password_hash
 
@@ -18,6 +22,34 @@ from shopdb import create_app
 from shopdb.extensions import db as _db
 
 
+def _bootstrap_plugin_registry():
+    # Fresh clones (CI) have no instance/plugins.json - the registry is
+    # gitignored dev state - so no plugins would load and every plugin-backed
+    # test fails. Seed a registry enabling all bundled plugins. An existing
+    # dev registry is left untouched.
+    repo = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+    state_file = repo / 'instance' / 'plugins.json'
+    if state_file.exists():
+        return
+    stamp = datetime.now(timezone.utc).replace(tzinfo=None).isoformat()
+    plugins = {}
+    for manifest_path in sorted((repo / 'plugins').glob('*/manifest.json')):
+        manifest = json.loads(manifest_path.read_text())
+        plugins[manifest['name']] = {
+            'name': manifest['name'],
+            'version': manifest.get('version', '1.0.0'),
+            'installed_at': stamp,
+            'enabled': True,
+            'migrations_applied': [],
+            'config': {},
+        }
+    state_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    state_file.write_text(json.dumps({'plugins': plugins}, indent=2))
+
+
+_bootstrap_plugin_registry()
+
+
 @pytest.fixture(scope='session')
 def app():
     """Create the Flask application for the test session."""