diff --git a/playwright.config.ts b/playwright.config.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..487f3fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/playwright.config.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+import { defineConfig, devices } from "@playwright/test";
+
+/**
+ * Playwright configuration for Mission Control E2E tests
+ *
+ * For Tauri desktop app testing, we use the webview URL directly
+ * rather than launching the full native app wrapper.
+ */
+export default defineConfig({
+  testDir: "./tests/e2e",
+  fullyParallel: true,
+  forbidOnly: !!process.env.CI,
+  retries: process.env.CI ? 2 : 0,
+  workers: process.env.CI ? 1 : undefined,
+  reporter: "html",
+
+  use: {
+    // Base URL for webview testing
+    baseURL: "http://localhost:1420",
+    trace: "on-first-retry",
+    screenshot: "only-on-failure",
+  },
+
+  projects: [
+    {
+      name: "chromium",
+      use: { ...devices["Desktop Chrome"] },
+    },
+    // Note: Tauri uses WebKit on macOS, so we test against Safari-like behavior
+    {
+      name: "webkit",
+      use: { ...devices["Desktop Safari"] },
+    },
+  ],
+
+  // Run the Vite dev server before tests
+  webServer: {
+    command: "npm run dev",
+    url: "http://localhost:1420",
+    reuseExistingServer: !process.env.CI,
+    timeout: 120000,
+  },
+});
diff --git a/tests/components/App.test.tsx b/tests/components/App.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6f1d517
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/components/App.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
+import { render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
+import App from "@/App";
+
+describe("App", () => {
+  it("renders the main heading", () => {
+    render(<App />);
+
+    expect(screen.getByText("Mission Control")).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it("renders the tagline", () => {
+    render(<App />);
+
+    expect(
+      screen.getByText("What should you be doing right now?")
+    ).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it("renders the focus placeholder", () => {
+    render(<App />);
+
+    expect(
+      screen.getByText("THE ONE THING will appear here")
+    ).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/tests/e2e/app.spec.ts b/tests/e2e/app.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d657bfd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/e2e/app.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+import { test, expect } from "@playwright/test";
+
+test.describe("Mission Control App", () => {
+  test("displays the main heading", async ({ page }) => {
+    await page.goto("/");
+
+    await expect(page.getByText("Mission Control")).toBeVisible();
+  });
+
+  test("displays the tagline", async ({ page }) => {
+    await page.goto("/");
+
+    await expect(
+      page.getByText("What should you be doing right now?")
+    ).toBeVisible();
+  });
+
+  test("has dark mode styling", async ({ page }) => {
+    await page.goto("/");
+
+    // Check that the page has dark background (zinc-900)
+    const body = page.locator("body");
+    await expect(body).toHaveClass(/bg-surface/);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/tests/mocks/tauri-api.ts b/tests/mocks/tauri-api.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..adf5d35
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/mocks/tauri-api.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+/**
+ * Mock implementation of @tauri-apps/api for testing
+ *
+ * This allows tests to run without a Tauri runtime.
+ */
+
+import { vi } from "vitest";
+
+// Store for mock responses - tests can override these
+export const mockResponses: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+
+// Mock invoke function
+export const invoke = vi.fn(async (cmd: string, _args?: unknown) => {
+  if (cmd in mockResponses) {
+    return mockResponses[cmd];
+  }
+
+  // Default responses
+  switch (cmd) {
+    case "greet":
+      return "Hello from mock Tauri!";
+    case "get_lore_status":
+      return {
+        last_sync: null,
+        is_healthy: true,
+        message: "Mock lore status",
+      };
+    default:
+      throw new Error(`Mock not implemented for command: ${cmd}`);
+  }
+});
+
+// Helper to set mock responses in tests
+export function setMockResponse(cmd: string, response: unknown): void {
+  mockResponses[cmd] = response;
+}
+
+// Helper to reset all mocks
+export function resetMocks(): void {
+  invoke.mockClear();
+  Object.keys(mockResponses).forEach((key) => delete mockResponses[key]);
+}
+
+// Mock event listener
+export const listen = vi.fn(
+  async (_event: string, _handler: (payload: unknown) => void) => {
+    // Return unlisten function
+    return vi.fn();
+  }
+);
+
+// Mock event emitter
+export const emit = vi.fn(async (_event: string, _payload?: unknown) => {});
+
+// Core module exports
+export const core = {
+  invoke,
+};
+
+// Event module exports
+export const event = {
+  listen,
+  emit,
+};
+
+// Window module mock
+export const window = {
+  getCurrent: vi.fn(() => ({
+    label: "main",
+    listen: vi.fn(),
+    emit: vi.fn(),
+    close: vi.fn(),
+    hide: vi.fn(),
+    show: vi.fn(),
+    isVisible: vi.fn(async () => true),
+    setTitle: vi.fn(),
+  })),
+};
diff --git a/tests/setup.ts b/tests/setup.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..980484b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/setup.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+import "@testing-library/jest-dom/vitest";
+
+// Mock window.matchMedia for components that use media queries
+Object.defineProperty(window, "matchMedia", {
+  writable: true,
+  value: vi.fn().mockImplementation((query: string) => ({
+    matches: false,
+    media: query,
+    onchange: null,
+    addListener: vi.fn(),
+    removeListener: vi.fn(),
+    addEventListener: vi.fn(),
+    removeEventListener: vi.fn(),
+    dispatchEvent: vi.fn(),
+  })),
+});
+
+// Mock ResizeObserver for components that use it
+class MockResizeObserver {
+  observe() {}
+  unobserve() {}
+  disconnect() {}
+}
+
+window.ResizeObserver = MockResizeObserver as typeof ResizeObserver;
diff --git a/vitest.config.ts b/vitest.config.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..59ce37d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vitest.config.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/// <reference types="vitest" />
+import { defineConfig } from "vite";
+import react from "@vitejs/plugin-react";
+import path from "path";
+
+export default defineConfig({
+  plugins: [react()],
+  test: {
+    globals: true,
+    environment: "jsdom",
+    setupFiles: ["./tests/setup.ts"],
+    include: ["tests/**/*.{test,spec}.{ts,tsx}"],
+    exclude: ["tests/e2e/**", "**/node_modules/**"],
+    coverage: {
+      provider: "v8",
+      reporter: ["text", "json", "html"],
+      include: ["src/**/*.{ts,tsx}"],
+      exclude: ["src/main.tsx", "src/**/*.d.ts"],
+    },
+    // Mock Tauri APIs
+    alias: {
+      "@tauri-apps/api": path.resolve(__dirname, "./tests/mocks/tauri-api.ts"),
+    },
+  },
+  resolve: {
+    alias: {
+      "@": path.resolve(__dirname, "./src"),
+    },
+  },
+});