diff --git a/.github/workflows/gotest.yml b/.github/workflows/gotest.yml
index 4e9e0b905..04173eab2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/gotest.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/gotest.yml
@@ -14,11 +14,13 @@ concurrency:
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 jobs:
-  go-test:
+  # Unit tests with coverage collection (uploaded to Codecov)
+  unit-tests:
     if: github.repository == 'ipfs/kubo' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
     runs-on: ${{ fromJSON(github.repository == 'ipfs/kubo' && '["self-hosted", "linux", "x64", "2xlarge"]' || '"ubuntu-latest"') }}
-    timeout-minutes: 20
+    timeout-minutes: 15
     env:
+      GOTRACEBACK: single  # reduce noise on test timeout panics
       TEST_DOCKER: 0
       TEST_FUSE: 0
       TEST_VERBOSE: 1
@@ -36,19 +38,18 @@ jobs:
           go-version-file: 'go.mod'
       - name: Install missing tools
         run: sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y zsh
-      - name: 👉️ If this step failed, go to «Summary» (top left) → inspect the «Failures/Errors» table
-        env:
-          # increasing parallelism beyond 2 doesn't speed up the tests much
-          PARALLEL: 2
+      - name: Run unit tests
         run: |
-          make -j "$PARALLEL" test/unit/gotest.junit.xml &&
+          make test_unit &&
             [[ ! $(jq -s -c 'map(select(.Action == "fail")) | .[]' test/unit/gotest.json) ]]
       - name: Upload coverage to Codecov
-        uses: codecov/codecov-action@5a1091511ad55cbe89839c7260b706298ca349f7 # v5.5.1
+        uses: codecov/codecov-action@671740ac38dd9b0130fbe1cec585b89eea48d3de # v5.5.2
         if: failure() || success()
         with:
           name: unittests
           files: coverage/unit_tests.coverprofile
+          token: ${{ secrets.CODECOV_TOKEN }}
+          fail_ci_if_error: false
       - name: Test kubo-as-a-library example
         run: |
           # we want to first test with the kubo version in the go.mod file
@@ -106,3 +107,66 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set the summary
         run: cat test/unit/gotest.md >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
         if: failure() || success()
+
+  # End-to-end integration/regression tests from test/cli
+  # (Go-based replacement for legacy test/sharness shell scripts)
+  cli-tests:
+    if: github.repository == 'ipfs/kubo' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
+    runs-on: ${{ fromJSON(github.repository == 'ipfs/kubo' && '["self-hosted", "linux", "x64", "2xlarge"]' || '"ubuntu-latest"') }}
+    timeout-minutes: 15
+    env:
+      GOTRACEBACK: single  # reduce noise on test timeout panics
+      TEST_VERBOSE: 1
+      GIT_PAGER: cat
+      IPFS_CHECK_RCMGR_DEFAULTS: 1
+    defaults:
+      run:
+        shell: bash
+    steps:
+      - name: Check out Kubo
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
+      - name: Set up Go
+        uses: actions/setup-go@v6
+        with:
+          go-version-file: 'go.mod'
+      - name: Install missing tools
+        run: sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y zsh
+      - name: Run CLI tests
+        env:
+          IPFS_PATH: ${{ runner.temp }}/ipfs-test
+        run: make test_cli
+      - name: Create JUnit XML report
+        uses: ipdxco/gotest-json-to-junit-xml@v1
+        with:
+          input: test/cli/cli-tests.json
+          output: test/cli/cli-tests.junit.xml
+        if: failure() || success()
+      - name: Archive JUnit XML report
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v5
+        with:
+          name: cli-tests
+          path: test/cli/cli-tests.junit.xml
+        if: failure() || success()
+      - name: Create HTML report
+        uses: ipdxco/junit-xml-to-html@v1
+        with:
+          mode: no-frames
+          input: test/cli/cli-tests.junit.xml
+          output: test/cli/cli-tests.html
+        if: failure() || success()
+      - name: Archive HTML report
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v5
+        with:
+          name: cli-html
+          path: test/cli/cli-tests.html
+        if: failure() || success()
+      - name: Create Markdown report
+        uses: ipdxco/junit-xml-to-html@v1
+        with:
+          mode: summary
+          input: test/cli/cli-tests.junit.xml
+          output: test/cli/cli-tests.md
+        if: failure() || success()
+      - name: Set summary
+        run: cat test/cli/cli-tests.md >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+        if: failure() || success()
diff --git a/.github/workflows/sharness.yml b/.github/workflows/sharness.yml
index 94fdf8008..c776a2b20 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/sharness.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/sharness.yml
@@ -55,11 +55,13 @@ jobs:
           # increasing parallelism beyond 10 doesn't speed up the tests much
           PARALLEL: ${{ github.repository == 'ipfs/kubo' && 10 || 3 }}
       - name: Upload coverage report
-        uses: codecov/codecov-action@5a1091511ad55cbe89839c7260b706298ca349f7 # v5.5.1
+        uses: codecov/codecov-action@671740ac38dd9b0130fbe1cec585b89eea48d3de # v5.5.2
         if: failure() || success()
         with:
           name: sharness
           files: kubo/coverage/sharness_tests.coverprofile
+          token: ${{ secrets.CODECOV_TOKEN }}
+          fail_ci_if_error: false
       - name: Aggregate results
         run: find kubo/test/sharness/test-results -name 't*-*.sh.*.counts' | kubo/test/sharness/lib/sharness/aggregate-results.sh > kubo/test/sharness/test-results/summary.txt
       - name: 👉️ If this step failed, go to «Summary» (top left) → «HTML Report» → inspect the «Failures» column
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index cb147456b..890870a6e 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -28,6 +28,11 @@ go-ipfs-source.tar.gz
 docs/examples/go-ipfs-as-a-library/example-folder/Qm*
 /test/sharness/t0054-dag-car-import-export-data/*.car
 
+# test artifacts from make test_unit / test_cli
+/test/unit/gotest.json
+/test/unit/gotest.junit.xml
+/test/cli/cli-tests.json
+
 # ignore build output from snapcraft
 /ipfs_*.snap
 /parts
diff --git a/Rules.mk b/Rules.mk
index d8f16ada8..b04e3d73e 100644
--- a/Rules.mk
+++ b/Rules.mk
@@ -134,15 +134,14 @@ help:
 	@echo ''
 	@echo 'TESTING TARGETS:'
 	@echo ''
-	@echo '  test                    - Run all tests'
-	@echo '  test_short              - Run short go tests and short sharness tests'
-	@echo '  test_go_short           - Run short go tests'
-	@echo '  test_go_test            - Run all go tests'
+	@echo '  test                    - Run all tests (test_go_fmt, test_unit, test_cli, test_sharness)'
+	@echo '  test_short              - Run fast tests (test_go_fmt, test_unit)'
+	@echo '  test_unit               - Run unit tests with coverage (excludes test/cli)'
+	@echo '  test_cli                - Run CLI integration tests (requires built binary)'
+	@echo '  test_go_fmt             - Check Go source formatting'
 	@echo '  test_go_build           - Build kubo for all platforms from .github/build-platforms.yml'
-	@echo '  test_go_expensive       - Run all go tests and build all platforms'
-	@echo '  test_go_race            - Run go tests with the race detector enabled'
-	@echo '  test_go_lint            - Run the `golangci-lint` vetting tool'
+	@echo '  test_go_lint            - Run golangci-lint'
 	@echo '  test_sharness           - Run sharness tests'
-	@echo '  coverage     - Collects coverage info from unit tests and sharness'
+	@echo '  coverage                - Collect coverage info from unit tests and sharness'
 	@echo
 .PHONY: help
diff --git a/coverage/Rules.mk b/coverage/Rules.mk
index 48fce2856..84a4a1887 100644
--- a/coverage/Rules.mk
+++ b/coverage/Rules.mk
@@ -3,33 +3,14 @@ include mk/header.mk
 GOCC ?= go
 
 $(d)/coverage_deps: $$(DEPS_GO) cmd/ipfs/ipfs
-	rm -rf $(@D)/unitcover && mkdir $(@D)/unitcover
 	rm -rf $(@D)/sharnesscover && mkdir $(@D)/sharnesscover
 
-ifneq ($(IPFS_SKIP_COVER_BINS),1)
-$(d)/coverage_deps: test/bin/gocovmerge
-endif
-
 .PHONY: $(d)/coverage_deps
 
-# unit tests coverage
-UTESTS_$(d) := $(shell $(GOCC) list -f '{{if (or (len .TestGoFiles) (len .XTestGoFiles))}}{{.ImportPath}}{{end}}' $(go-flags-with-tags) ./... | grep -v go-ipfs/vendor | grep -v go-ipfs/Godeps)
+# unit tests coverage is now produced by test_unit target in mk/golang.mk
+# (outputs coverage/unit_tests.coverprofile and test/unit/gotest.json)
 
-UCOVER_$(d) := $(addsuffix .coverprofile,$(addprefix $(d)/unitcover/, $(subst /,_,$(UTESTS_$(d)))))
-
-$(UCOVER_$(d)): $(d)/coverage_deps ALWAYS
-	$(eval TMP_PKG := $(subst _,/,$(basename $(@F))))
-	$(eval TMP_DEPS := $(shell $(GOCC) list -f '{{range .Deps}}{{.}} {{end}}' $(go-flags-with-tags) $(TMP_PKG) | sed 's/ /\n/g' | grep ipfs/go-ipfs) $(TMP_PKG))
-	$(eval TMP_DEPS_LIST := $(call join-with,$(comma),$(TMP_DEPS)))
-	$(GOCC) test $(go-flags-with-tags) $(GOTFLAGS) -v -covermode=atomic -json -coverpkg=$(TMP_DEPS_LIST) -coverprofile=$@ $(TMP_PKG) | tee -a test/unit/gotest.json
-
-
-$(d)/unit_tests.coverprofile: $(UCOVER_$(d))
-	gocovmerge $^ > $@
-
-TGTS_$(d) := $(d)/unit_tests.coverprofile
-
-.PHONY: $(d)/unit_tests.coverprofile
+TGTS_$(d) :=
 
 # sharness tests coverage
 $(d)/ipfs: GOTAGS += testrunmain
@@ -46,7 +27,7 @@ endif
 export IPFS_COVER_DIR:= $(realpath $(d))/sharnesscover/
 
 $(d)/sharness_tests.coverprofile: export TEST_PLUGIN=0
-$(d)/sharness_tests.coverprofile: $(d)/ipfs cmd/ipfs/ipfs-test-cover $(d)/coverage_deps test_sharness
+$(d)/sharness_tests.coverprofile: $(d)/ipfs cmd/ipfs/ipfs-test-cover $(d)/coverage_deps test/bin/gocovmerge test_sharness
 	(cd $(@D)/sharnesscover && find . -type f | gocovmerge -list -) > $@
 
 
diff --git a/docs/examples/kubo-as-a-library/go.mod b/docs/examples/kubo-as-a-library/go.mod
index 54c6efde7..389b8d044 100644
--- a/docs/examples/kubo-as-a-library/go.mod
+++ b/docs/examples/kubo-as-a-library/go.mod
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/ipfs/boxo v0.35.3-0.20251202220026-0842ad274a0c
 	github.com/ipfs/kubo v0.0.0-00010101000000-000000000000
 	github.com/libp2p/go-libp2p v0.46.0
-	github.com/multiformats/go-multiaddr v0.16.1
+	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.11.1
 )
 
 require (
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/cockroachdb/tokenbucket v0.0.0-20230807174530-cc333fc44b06 // indirect
 	github.com/crackcomm/go-gitignore v0.0.0-20241020182519-7843d2ba8fdf // indirect
 	github.com/cskr/pubsub v1.0.2 // indirect
+	github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.2-0.20180830191138-d8f796af33cc // indirect
 	github.com/davidlazar/go-crypto v0.0.0-20200604182044-b73af7476f6c // indirect
 	github.com/decred/dcrd/dcrec/secp256k1/v4 v4.4.0 // indirect
 	github.com/dgraph-io/badger v1.6.2 // indirect
@@ -137,6 +138,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/mr-tron/base58 v1.2.0 // indirect
 	github.com/multiformats/go-base32 v0.1.0 // indirect
 	github.com/multiformats/go-base36 v0.2.0 // indirect
+	github.com/multiformats/go-multiaddr v0.16.1 // indirect
 	github.com/multiformats/go-multiaddr-dns v0.4.1 // indirect
 	github.com/multiformats/go-multiaddr-fmt v0.1.0 // indirect
 	github.com/multiformats/go-multibase v0.2.0 // indirect
@@ -169,6 +171,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/pion/turn/v4 v4.0.2 // indirect
 	github.com/pion/webrtc/v4 v4.1.2 // indirect
 	github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1 // indirect
+	github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.1-0.20181226105442-5d4384ee4fb2 // indirect
 	github.com/polydawn/refmt v0.89.0 // indirect
 	github.com/probe-lab/go-libdht v0.4.0 // indirect
 	github.com/prometheus/client_golang v1.23.2 // indirect
diff --git a/docs/examples/kubo-as-a-library/main.go b/docs/examples/kubo-as-a-library/main.go
index ffa86c7f0..b40c6808f 100644
--- a/docs/examples/kubo-as-a-library/main.go
+++ b/docs/examples/kubo-as-a-library/main.go
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import (
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
-	"log"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
@@ -15,7 +14,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/ipfs/boxo/files"
 	"github.com/ipfs/boxo/path"
 	icore "github.com/ipfs/kubo/core/coreiface"
-	ma "github.com/multiformats/go-multiaddr"
 
 	"github.com/ipfs/kubo/config"
 	"github.com/ipfs/kubo/core"
@@ -47,7 +45,7 @@ func setupPlugins(externalPluginsPath string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func createTempRepo(swarmPort int) (string, error) {
+func createTempRepo() (string, error) {
 	repoPath, err := os.MkdirTemp("", "ipfs-shell")
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to get temp dir: %s", err)
@@ -59,15 +57,20 @@ func createTempRepo(swarmPort int) (string, error) {
 		return "", err
 	}
 
-	// Configure custom ports to avoid conflicts with other IPFS instances.
-	// This demonstrates how to customize the node's network addresses.
+	// Use port 0 to let the OS assign random available ports.
+	// This avoids conflicts with other services or parallel test runs.
 	cfg.Addresses.Swarm = []string{
-		fmt.Sprintf("/ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/%d", swarmPort),
-		fmt.Sprintf("/ip4/0.0.0.0/udp/%d/quic-v1", swarmPort),
-		fmt.Sprintf("/ip4/0.0.0.0/udp/%d/quic-v1/webtransport", swarmPort),
-		fmt.Sprintf("/ip4/0.0.0.0/udp/%d/webrtc-direct", swarmPort),
+		"/ip4/127.0.0.1/tcp/0",
+		"/ip4/127.0.0.1/udp/0/quic-v1",
 	}
 
+	// Enable loopback addresses on LAN DHT for local testing.
+	cfg.Routing.LoopbackAddressesOnLanDHT = config.True
+
+	// Disable auto-bootstrap. For this example, we manually connect only the peers we need.
+	// In production, you'd typically keep the default bootstrap peers to join the network.
+	cfg.Bootstrap = []string{}
+
 	// When creating the repository, you can define custom settings on the repository, such as enabling experimental
 	// features (See experimental-features.md) or customizing the gateway endpoint.
 	// To do such things, you should modify the variable `cfg`. For example:
@@ -118,8 +121,7 @@ func createNode(ctx context.Context, repoPath string) (*core.IpfsNode, error) {
 var loadPluginsOnce sync.Once
 
 // Spawns a node to be used just for this run (i.e. creates a tmp repo).
-// The swarmPort parameter specifies the port for libp2p swarm listeners.
-func spawnEphemeral(ctx context.Context, swarmPort int) (icore.CoreAPI, *core.IpfsNode, error) {
+func spawnEphemeral(ctx context.Context) (icore.CoreAPI, *core.IpfsNode, error) {
 	var onceErr error
 	loadPluginsOnce.Do(func() {
 		onceErr = setupPlugins("")
@@ -129,7 +131,7 @@ func spawnEphemeral(ctx context.Context, swarmPort int) (icore.CoreAPI, *core.Ip
 	}
 
 	// Create a Temporary Repo
-	repoPath, err := createTempRepo(swarmPort)
+	repoPath, err := createTempRepo()
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to create temp repo: %s", err)
 	}
@@ -144,40 +146,6 @@ func spawnEphemeral(ctx context.Context, swarmPort int) (icore.CoreAPI, *core.Ip
 	return api, node, err
 }
 
-func connectToPeers(ctx context.Context, ipfs icore.CoreAPI, peers []string) error {
-	var wg sync.WaitGroup
-	peerInfos := make(map[peer.ID]*peer.AddrInfo, len(peers))
-	for _, addrStr := range peers {
-		addr, err := ma.NewMultiaddr(addrStr)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		pii, err := peer.AddrInfoFromP2pAddr(addr)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		pi, ok := peerInfos[pii.ID]
-		if !ok {
-			pi = &peer.AddrInfo{ID: pii.ID}
-			peerInfos[pi.ID] = pi
-		}
-		pi.Addrs = append(pi.Addrs, pii.Addrs...)
-	}
-
-	wg.Add(len(peerInfos))
-	for _, peerInfo := range peerInfos {
-		go func(peerInfo *peer.AddrInfo) {
-			defer wg.Done()
-			err := ipfs.Swarm().Connect(ctx, *peerInfo)
-			if err != nil {
-				log.Printf("failed to connect to %s: %s", peerInfo.ID, err)
-			}
-		}(peerInfo)
-	}
-	wg.Wait()
-	return nil
-}
-
 func getUnixfsNode(path string) (files.Node, error) {
 	st, err := os.Stat(path)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -207,8 +175,7 @@ func main() {
 	defer cancel()
 
 	// Spawn a local peer using a temporary path, for testing purposes
-	// Using port 4010 to avoid conflict with default IPFS port 4001
-	ipfsA, nodeA, err := spawnEphemeral(ctx, 4010)
+	ipfsA, nodeA, err := spawnEphemeral(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		panic(fmt.Errorf("failed to spawn peer node: %s", err))
 	}
@@ -221,10 +188,9 @@ func main() {
 
 	fmt.Printf("Added file to peer with CID %s\n", peerCidFile.String())
 
-	// Spawn a node using a temporary path, creating a temporary repo for the run
-	// Using port 4011 (different from nodeA's port 4010)
+	// Spawn a second node using a temporary path
 	fmt.Println("Spawning Kubo node on a temporary repo")
-	ipfsB, _, err := spawnEphemeral(ctx, 4011)
+	ipfsB, nodeB, err := spawnEphemeral(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		panic(fmt.Errorf("failed to spawn ephemeral node: %s", err))
 	}
@@ -297,41 +263,31 @@ func main() {
 
 	fmt.Printf("Got directory back from IPFS (IPFS path: %s) and wrote it to %s\n", cidDirectory.String(), outputPathDirectory)
 
-	/// --- Part IV: Getting a file from the IPFS Network
+	/// --- Part IV: Getting a file from another IPFS node
 
-	fmt.Println("\n-- Going to connect to a few nodes in the Network as bootstrappers --")
+	fmt.Println("\n-- Connecting to nodeA and fetching content via bitswap --")
 
-	// Get nodeA's address so we can fetch the file we added to it
-	peerAddrs, err := ipfsA.Swarm().LocalAddrs(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		panic(fmt.Errorf("could not get peer addresses: %s", err))
+	// Connect nodes bidirectionally for bitswap transfer.
+	// Mutual peering protects the connection from being culled by the resource manager on either side.
+	// In production, you'd typically connect to bootstrap peers to join the IPFS network.
+	nodeAPeerInfo := peer.AddrInfo{
+		ID:    nodeA.Identity,
+		Addrs: nodeA.Peerstore.Addrs(nodeA.Identity),
 	}
-	peerMa := peerAddrs[0].String() + "/p2p/" + nodeA.Identity.String()
-
-	bootstrapNodes := []string{
-		// In production, use autoconf.FallbackBootstrapPeers from boxo/autoconf
-		// which includes well-known IPFS bootstrap peers like:
-		// "/dnsaddr/bootstrap.libp2p.io/p2p/QmNnooDu7bfjPFoTZYxMNLWUQJyrVwtbZg5gBMjTezGAJN",
-		// "/dnsaddr/bootstrap.libp2p.io/p2p/QmQCU2EcMqAqQPR2i9bChDtGNJchTbq5TbXJJ16u19uLTa",
-		// "/ip4/104.131.131.82/tcp/4001/p2p/QmaCpDMGvV2BGHeYERUEnRQAwe3N8SzbUtfsmvsqQLuvuJ",
-
-		// You can add custom peers here. For example, another IPFS node:
-		// "/ip4/192.0.2.1/tcp/4001/p2p/QmYourPeerID...",
-		// "/ip4/192.0.2.1/udp/4001/quic-v1/p2p/QmYourPeerID...",
-
-		// nodeA's address (the peer we created above that has our test file)
-		peerMa,
+	nodeBPeerInfo := peer.AddrInfo{
+		ID:    nodeB.Identity,
+		Addrs: nodeB.Peerstore.Addrs(nodeB.Identity),
 	}
-
-	fmt.Println("Connecting to peers...")
-	err = connectToPeers(ctx, ipfsB, bootstrapNodes)
-	if err != nil {
-		panic(fmt.Errorf("failed to connect to peers: %s", err))
+	fmt.Println("Connecting nodes bidirectionally...")
+	if err := ipfsB.Swarm().Connect(ctx, nodeAPeerInfo); err != nil {
+		panic(fmt.Errorf("failed to connect nodeB to nodeA: %s", err))
 	}
-	fmt.Println("Connected to peers")
+	if err := ipfsA.Swarm().Connect(ctx, nodeBPeerInfo); err != nil {
+		panic(fmt.Errorf("failed to connect nodeA to nodeB: %s", err))
+	}
+	fmt.Println("Nodes connected")
 
 	exampleCIDStr := peerCidFile.RootCid().String()
-
 	fmt.Printf("Fetching a file from the network with CID %s\n", exampleCIDStr)
 	outputPath := outputBasePath + exampleCIDStr
 	testCID := path.FromCid(peerCidFile.RootCid())
diff --git a/docs/examples/kubo-as-a-library/main_test.go b/docs/examples/kubo-as-a-library/main_test.go
index ec34d62b1..6fa03e3cb 100644
--- a/docs/examples/kubo-as-a-library/main_test.go
+++ b/docs/examples/kubo-as-a-library/main_test.go
@@ -4,14 +4,25 @@ import (
 	"os/exec"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
 func TestExample(t *testing.T) {
-	out, err := exec.Command("go", "run", "main.go").Output()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("running example (%v)", err)
-	}
-	if !strings.Contains(string(out), "All done!") {
-		t.Errorf("example did not run successfully")
-	}
+	// Use Eventually to handle async bitswap timing - the peer connection
+	// may need a moment before bitswap can successfully retrieve blocks.
+	require.Eventually(t, func() bool {
+		cmd := exec.CommandContext(t.Context(), "go", "run", "main.go")
+		out, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Logf("attempt failed: %v\nOutput:\n%s", err, out)
+			return false
+		}
+		if !strings.Contains(string(out), "All done!") {
+			t.Logf("example did not complete successfully\nOutput:\n%s", out)
+			return false
+		}
+		return true
+	}, 10*time.Minute, 5*time.Second, "example failed to complete successfully")
 }
diff --git a/mk/golang.mk b/mk/golang.mk
index b50179a0a..9287f6b27 100644
--- a/mk/golang.mk
+++ b/mk/golang.mk
@@ -41,40 +41,39 @@ define go-build
 $(GOCC) build $(go-flags-with-tags) -o "$@" "$(1)"
 endef
 
-test_go_test: $$(DEPS_GO)
-	$(GOCC) test $(go-flags-with-tags) $(GOTFLAGS) ./...
-.PHONY: test_go_test
+# Only disable colors when running in CI (non-interactive terminal)
+GOTESTSUM_NOCOLOR := $(if $(CI),--no-color,)
 
-# Build all platforms from .github/build-platforms.yml
+# Unit tests with coverage (excludes integration test packages)
+# Produces JSON for CI reporting and coverage profile for Codecov
+test_unit: test/bin/gotestsum $$(DEPS_GO)
+	rm -f test/unit/gotest.json coverage/unit_tests.coverprofile
+	gotestsum $(GOTESTSUM_NOCOLOR) --jsonfile test/unit/gotest.json -- $(go-flags-with-tags) $(GOTFLAGS) -covermode=atomic -coverprofile=coverage/unit_tests.coverprofile -coverpkg=./... $$($(GOCC) list $(go-tags) ./... | grep -v '/test/cli' | grep -v '/test/integration' | grep -v '/client/rpc')
+.PHONY: test_unit
+
+# CLI/integration tests (requires built binary in PATH)
+# Includes test/cli, test/integration, and client/rpc
+# Produces JSON for CI reporting
+test_cli: cmd/ipfs/ipfs test/bin/gotestsum
+	rm -f test/cli/cli-tests.json
+	PATH="$(CURDIR)/cmd/ipfs:$(CURDIR)/test/bin:$$PATH" gotestsum $(GOTESTSUM_NOCOLOR) --jsonfile test/cli/cli-tests.json -- -v -timeout=20m ./test/cli/... ./test/integration/... ./client/rpc/...
+.PHONY: test_cli
+
+# Build kubo for all platforms from .github/build-platforms.yml
 test_go_build:
 	bin/test-go-build-platforms
 .PHONY: test_go_build
 
-test_go_short: GOTFLAGS += -test.short
-test_go_short: test_go_test
-.PHONY: test_go_short
-
-test_go_race: GOTFLAGS += -race
-test_go_race: test_go_test
-.PHONY: test_go_race
-
-test_go_expensive: test_go_test test_go_build
-.PHONY: test_go_expensive
-TEST_GO += test_go_expensive
-
+# Check Go source formatting
 test_go_fmt:
 	bin/test-go-fmt
 .PHONY: test_go_fmt
-TEST_GO += test_go_fmt
 
+# Run golangci-lint (used by CI)
 test_go_lint: test/bin/golangci-lint
 	golangci-lint run --timeout=3m ./...
 .PHONY: test_go_lint
 
-test_go: $(TEST_GO)
-
-# Version check is no longer needed - go.mod enforces minimum version
-.PHONY: check_go_version
-
+TEST_GO := test_go_fmt test_unit test_cli
 TEST += $(TEST_GO)
-TEST_SHORT += test_go_fmt test_go_short
+TEST_SHORT += test_go_fmt test_unit
diff --git a/test/cli/delegated_routing_v1_http_server_test.go b/test/cli/delegated_routing_v1_http_server_test.go
index 7883fa793..51a6834e1 100644
--- a/test/cli/delegated_routing_v1_http_server_test.go
+++ b/test/cli/delegated_routing_v1_http_server_test.go
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package cli
 
 import (
 	"context"
-	"encoding/json"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
@@ -21,11 +20,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
-// swarmPeersOutput is used to parse the JSON output of 'ipfs swarm peers --enc=json'
-type swarmPeersOutput struct {
-	Peers []struct{} `json:"Peers"`
-}
-
 func TestRoutingV1Server(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
@@ -224,67 +218,43 @@ func TestRoutingV1Server(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	})
 
-	t.Run("GetClosestPeers returns peers for self", func(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("GetClosestPeers returns peers", func(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Parallel()
 
+		// Test all DHT-enabled routing types
 		routingTypes := []string{"auto", "autoclient", "dht", "dhtclient"}
 		for _, routingType := range routingTypes {
 			t.Run("routing_type="+routingType, func(t *testing.T) {
 				t.Parallel()
 
-				// Single node with DHT and real bootstrap peers
 				node := harness.NewT(t).NewNode().Init()
 				node.UpdateConfig(func(cfg *config.Config) {
 					cfg.Gateway.ExposeRoutingAPI = config.True
 					cfg.Routing.Type = config.NewOptionalString(routingType)
-					// Set real bootstrap peers from boxo/autoconf
 					cfg.Bootstrap = autoconf.FallbackBootstrapPeers
 				})
 				node.StartDaemon()
 
-				// Create client before waiting so we can probe DHT readiness
 				c, err := client.New(node.GatewayURL())
 				require.NoError(t, err)
 
-				// Query for closest peers to our own peer ID
 				key := peer.ToCid(node.PeerID())
 
-				// Wait for node to connect to bootstrap peers and populate WAN DHT routing table
-				minPeers := len(autoconf.FallbackBootstrapPeers)
-				require.EventuallyWithT(t, func(t *assert.CollectT) {
-					res := node.RunIPFS("swarm", "peers", "--enc=json")
-					var output swarmPeersOutput
-					err := json.Unmarshal(res.Stdout.Bytes(), &output)
-					assert.NoError(t, err)
-					peerCount := len(output.Peers)
-					// Wait until we have at least minPeers connected
-					assert.GreaterOrEqual(t, peerCount, minPeers,
-						"waiting for at least %d bootstrap peers, currently have %d", minPeers, peerCount)
-				}, 60*time.Second, time.Second)
-
-				// Wait for DHT to be ready by probing GetClosestPeers until it succeeds
-				require.EventuallyWithT(t, func(t *assert.CollectT) {
-					probeCtx, probeCancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 30*time.Second)
-					defer probeCancel()
-					probeIter, probeErr := c.GetClosestPeers(probeCtx, key)
-					if probeErr == nil {
-						probeIter.Close()
+				// Wait for WAN DHT routing table to be populated
+				var records []*types.PeerRecord
+				require.EventuallyWithT(t, func(ct *assert.CollectT) {
+					resultsIter, err := c.GetClosestPeers(t.Context(), key)
+					if !assert.NoError(ct, err) {
+						return
 					}
-					assert.NoError(t, probeErr, "DHT should be ready to handle GetClosestPeers")
-				}, 2*time.Minute, 5*time.Second)
+					records, err = iter.ReadAllResults(resultsIter)
+					assert.NoError(ct, err)
+				}, 10*time.Minute, 5*time.Second)
+				require.NotEmpty(t, records, "should return peers close to own peerid")
 
-				ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 60*time.Second)
-				defer cancel()
-				resultsIter, err := c.GetClosestPeers(ctx, key)
-				require.NoError(t, err)
+				// Per IPIP-0476, GetClosestPeers returns at most 20 peers
+				assert.LessOrEqual(t, len(records), 20, "IPIP-0476 limits GetClosestPeers to 20 peers")
 
-				records, err := iter.ReadAllResults(resultsIter)
-				require.NoError(t, err)
-
-				// Verify we got some peers back from WAN DHT
-				assert.NotEmpty(t, records, "should return some peers close to own peerid")
-
-				// Verify structure of returned records
 				for _, record := range records {
 					assert.Equal(t, types.SchemaPeer, record.Schema)
 					assert.NotNil(t, record.ID)
diff --git a/test/dependencies/go.mod b/test/dependencies/go.mod
index 6cebaf1f7..8eac1416a 100644
--- a/test/dependencies/go.mod
+++ b/test/dependencies/go.mod
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/ipfs/iptb-plugins v0.5.1
 	github.com/multiformats/go-multiaddr v0.16.1
 	github.com/multiformats/go-multihash v0.2.3
-	gotest.tools/gotestsum v1.12.3
+	gotest.tools/gotestsum v1.13.0
 )
 
 require (
diff --git a/test/dependencies/go.sum b/test/dependencies/go.sum
index 46f9b2409..d107373c3 100644
--- a/test/dependencies/go.sum
+++ b/test/dependencies/go.sum
@@ -985,8 +985,8 @@ gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.4.0/go.mod h1:RDklbk79AGWmwhnvt/jBztapEOGDOx6ZbXqjP6csGnQ=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.0-20200313102051-9f266ea9e77c/go.mod h1:K4uyk7z7BCEPqu6E+C64Yfv1cQ7kz7rIZviUmN+EgEM=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 h1:fxVm/GzAzEWqLHuvctI91KS9hhNmmWOoWu0XTYJS7CA=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1/go.mod h1:K4uyk7z7BCEPqu6E+C64Yfv1cQ7kz7rIZviUmN+EgEM=
-gotest.tools/gotestsum v1.12.3 h1:jFwenGJ0RnPkuKh2VzAYl1mDOJgbhobBDeL2W1iEycs=
-gotest.tools/gotestsum v1.12.3/go.mod h1:Y1+e0Iig4xIRtdmYbEV7K7H6spnjc1fX4BOuUhWw2Wk=
+gotest.tools/gotestsum v1.13.0 h1:+Lh454O9mu9AMG1APV4o0y7oDYKyik/3kBOiCqiEpRo=
+gotest.tools/gotestsum v1.13.0/go.mod h1:7f0NS5hFb0dWr4NtcsAsF0y1kzjEFfAil0HiBQJE03Q=
 gotest.tools/v3 v3.5.2 h1:7koQfIKdy+I8UTetycgUqXWSDwpgv193Ka+qRsmBY8Q=
 gotest.tools/v3 v3.5.2/go.mod h1:LtdLGcnqToBH83WByAAi/wiwSFCArdFIUV/xxN4pcjA=
 honnef.co/go/tools v0.6.1 h1:R094WgE8K4JirYjBaOpz/AvTyUu/3wbmAoskKN/pxTI=
diff --git a/test/unit/Rules.mk b/test/unit/Rules.mk
index 69404637c..915d08f9a 100644
--- a/test/unit/Rules.mk
+++ b/test/unit/Rules.mk
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@ include mk/header.mk
 
 CLEAN += $(d)/gotest.json $(d)/gotest.junit.xml
 
-$(d)/gotest.junit.xml: test/bin/gotestsum coverage/unit_tests.coverprofile
+# Convert gotest.json (produced by test_unit) to JUnit XML format
+$(d)/gotest.junit.xml: test/bin/gotestsum $(d)/gotest.json
 	gotestsum --no-color --junitfile $@ --raw-command cat $(@D)/gotest.json
 
 include mk/footer.mk