diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 45253944181..9a70f903a89 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ SHELLCHECK_IMAGE ?= docker.io/koalaman/shellcheck:v0.11.0@sha256:61862eba1fcf09a
 
 CONTAINER_RUNTIME ?= $(shell hash docker >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo docker || echo podman)
 
-PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS ?= chromium firefox
+PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS ?= chromium firefox $(if $(filter Darwin,$(shell uname -s 2>/dev/null)),webkit)
 PLAYWRIGHT_FLAGS ?=
 
 HAS_GO := $(shell hash $(GO) > /dev/null 2>&1 && echo yes)
diff --git a/playwright.config.ts b/playwright.config.ts
index 7b384b03258..4e52b123037 100644
--- a/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/playwright.config.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import {env} from 'node:process';
+import {env, platform} from 'node:process';
 import {defineConfig, devices} from '@playwright/test';
 
 const timeoutFactor = Number(env.GITEA_TEST_E2E_TIMEOUT_FACTOR) || 1;
@@ -41,5 +41,12 @@ export default defineConfig({
         },
       },
     },
+    ...(platform === 'darwin' ? [{ // webkit on linux is unstable
+      name: 'webkit',
+      use: {
+        ...devices['Desktop Safari'],
+        permissions: ['clipboard-read'],
+      },
+    }] : []),
   ],
 });
diff --git a/tests/e2e/admin.test.ts b/tests/e2e/admin.test.ts
index bc1ab6f4673..60cf9fe6a58 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/admin.test.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/admin.test.ts
@@ -1,14 +1,13 @@
 import {env} from 'node:process';
 import {test, expect} from '@playwright/test';
-import {login, randomString} from './utils.ts';
+import {clickDropdownItem, login, randomString} from './utils.ts';
 
 test('create a bot and manage its access token', async ({page, request}) => {
   const botName = `e2e-bot-${randomString(8)}`;
   await login(page);
   await page.goto('/-/admin/users/new');
   await page.getByLabel('Username').fill(botName);
-  await page.getByLabel('Username').press('Tab');
-  await page.getByRole('option', {name: 'Bot'}).click();
+  await clickDropdownItem(page, page.getByRole('combobox').filter({hasText: 'Bot'}), 'Bot');
   await page.getByLabel('Email Address').fill(`${botName}@${env.GITEA_TEST_E2E_DOMAIN}`);
   await page.getByRole('button', {name: 'Create User Account'}).click();
   await page.waitForURL(/\/-\/admin\/users\/\d+$/);
diff --git a/tools/test-e2e.sh b/tools/test-e2e.sh
index 0b45575274a..d7d083d5b3b 100755
--- a/tools/test-e2e.sh
+++ b/tools/test-e2e.sh
@@ -190,6 +190,11 @@ export GITEA_TEST_E2E_PASSWORD
 export GITEA_TEST_E2E_EMAIL
 export GITEA_TEST_E2E_TIMEOUT_FACTOR
 
+# concurrent localhost lookups on macOS sporadically stall for 5s
+if [ "$(uname -s)" = "Darwin" ]; then
+  export UV_THREADPOOL_SIZE=1
+fi
+
 if [ "$PLAYWRIGHT_MODE" = "container" ]; then
   export PW_TEST_CONNECT_WS_ENDPOINT="ws://127.0.0.1:${PLAYWRIGHT_SERVER_PORT}/"
 fi