diff --git a/test/run-integration-ci.sh b/test/run-integration-ci.sh
index 0373610..ed69a28 100644
--- a/test/run-integration-ci.sh
+++ b/test/run-integration-ci.sh
@@ -10,10 +10,10 @@ REDIS_H="${REDIS_HOST:-127.0.0.1}"
 REDIS_P="${REDIS_PORT:-6379}"
 REDIS_PW="${REDIS_PASSWORD:-}"
 
-# 1. Check MySQL
+# 1. Check MySQL (via docker exec since mysqladmin may not be in CI PATH)
 echo "[1/7] Checking MySQL..."
-mysqladmin ping -h "${REDIS_H}" -u root -p"${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD:-root}" --silent 2>/dev/null || {
-  echo "MySQL not reachable; ensure MySQL is running"
+docker exec mysql mysqladmin ping -u root -p"${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD:-root}" --silent 2>/dev/null || {
+  echo "MySQL not reachable via docker; ensure MySQL container is running"
   exit 1
 }