Address Copilot code review feedback

- Remove redundant db.create_all() in seed_test_database.py (init_db already handles it)
- Set reuseExistingServer: false for Flask to ensure test data is always seeded
- Replace POSIX shell commands with cross-platform alternatives:
  - Add start-test-server.js Node script for Flask server launch
  - Use cross-env for Astro dev server env vars

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: GeekTrainer

app/client/package-lock.json

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
   "devDependencies": {
     "@playwright/test": "^1.59.1",
     "@types/node": "^25.6.0",
+    "cross-env": "^10.1.0",
     "tailwindcss": "^4.2.2"
   }
 }

app/client/package.json

@@ -27,13 +27,13 @@ export default defineConfig({
   ],
   webServer: [
     {
-      command: `cd ${serverDir} && python3 utils/seed_test_database.py && DATABASE_PATH=${testDbPath} python3 app.py`,
+      command: `node start-test-server.js`,
       url: `http://localhost:${flaskPort}/api/dogs`,
-      reuseExistingServer: !process.env.CI,
+      reuseExistingServer: false,
       timeout: 30_000,
     },
     {
-      command: `API_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:${flaskPort} npm run dev -- --no-clearScreen`,
+      command: `npx cross-env API_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:${flaskPort} npm run dev -- --no-clearScreen`,
       url: `http://localhost:${astroDevPort}`,
       reuseExistingServer: !process.env.CI,
       timeout: 30_000,

app/client/playwright.config.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+// Cross-platform script to seed the test database and start the Flask server
+const { execSync, spawn } = require('child_process');
+const path = require('path');
+
+const serverDir = path.resolve(__dirname, '..', 'server');
+const testDbPath = path.join(serverDir, 'e2e_test_dogshelter.db');
+
+// Seed the test database
+execSync('python3 utils/seed_test_database.py', {
+  cwd: serverDir,
+  stdio: 'inherit',
+});
+
+// Start Flask with the test database
+const server = spawn('python3', ['app.py'], {
+  cwd: serverDir,
+  env: { ...process.env, DATABASE_PATH: testDbPath },
+  stdio: 'inherit',
+});
+
+server.on('close', (code) => process.exit(code ?? 1));

app/client/start-test-server.js

@@ -125,9 +125,6 @@ def seed_test_database():
     init_db(app)
 
     with app.app_context():
-        # Create all tables
-        db.create_all()
-
         # Seed breeds
         breed_map = {}
         for breed_data in TEST_BREEDS: