diff --git a/features/conversation-assistant/e2e/Dockerfile.frontend b/features/conversation-assistant/e2e/Dockerfile.frontend
index e152cfc37..72e156a8f 100644
--- a/features/conversation-assistant/e2e/Dockerfile.frontend
+++ b/features/conversation-assistant/e2e/Dockerfile.frontend
@@ -17,7 +17,11 @@ RUN echo "@lilith:registry=http://forge.nasty.sh/api/packages/lilith/npm/" > .np
 # Copy ALL source code first (before install so pnpm can resolve workspace deps)
 COPY frontend-dev/ ./
 
-# Install dependencies with rebuild for esbuild
+# Remove any existing node_modules from copied source
+RUN rm -rf node_modules
+
+# Install dependencies with rebuild for esbuild (CI=true for non-interactive mode)
+ENV CI=true
 RUN pnpm config set side-effects-cache false && \
     pnpm install --no-frozen-lockfile && \
     pnpm rebuild esbuild