diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a0f0cbf..5f63f48 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+.PHONY: tier1-up tier1-down tier1-logs fe-unit e2e
+
 tier1-up:
 	docker compose -f testing/docker-compose.yml up --build -d
 
diff --git a/e2e/.gitignore b/e2e/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aaa9103
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+test-results/
+playwright-report/
diff --git a/e2e/lib/mailpit.js b/e2e/lib/mailpit.js
index 32f3bfa..b752f3e 100644
--- a/e2e/lib/mailpit.js
+++ b/e2e/lib/mailpit.js
@@ -10,9 +10,15 @@ export async function waitForLatestOtc(toAddress, { attempts = 20, delayMs = 500
       )
       if (msg) {
         const full = await fetch(`${MAILSINK}/api/v1/message/${msg.ID}`)
+        if (!full.ok) continue
         const body = await full.json()
-        const text = `${body.Text || ''} ${body.HTML || ''}`
-        const code = text.match(/\b(\d{6})\b/)
+        // Search the plain-text part first — the OTC mail is plain text
+        // (see backend/app/email_otc.py), and scanning Text before HTML
+        // keeps the \d{6} match from latching onto a stray number that a
+        // future HTML template might carry (style widths, year, etc.).
+        const text = body.Text || ''
+        const html = body.HTML || ''
+        const code = text.match(/\b(\d{6})\b/) || html.match(/\b(\d{6})\b/)
         if (code) return code[1]
       }
     }
diff --git a/e2e/smoke.spec.js b/e2e/smoke.spec.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e377ed9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/smoke.spec.js
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test'
+import { waitForLatestOtc, clearMailpit } from './lib/mailpit.js'
+
+// Unique per-run address. The §6.2 request path enforces a per-email
+// cooldown (OTC_REQUEST_COOLDOWN_SECONDS, default 60s), so a fixed
+// address would 429 on any re-run inside the window. A fresh address per
+// run sidesteps that without touching backend config.
+const EMAIL = `e2e-${Date.now()}-${Math.floor(Math.random() * 1e6)}@example.test`
+
+// First end-to-end smoke spec (M3-0 Task 7). Validates the whole Tier-1
+// harness: the web tier serves the app, the backend's OTC sign-in path
+// (§6.2) issues a code, Mailpit captures the outbound mail, and a verify
+// of that code succeeds and mints a session.
+//
+// No precondition/provisioning step is needed: the §6.2 OTC path admits
+// any syntactically-valid email and provisions a fresh `pending` user on
+// verify (see backend/app/otc.py). Turnstile is open in this stack
+// (TURNSTILE_REQUIRED=false, no secret), so the request body carries only
+// the email.
+test('app loads and an OTC sign-in succeeds', async ({ page, request }) => {
+  await clearMailpit()
+
+  await page.goto('/')
+  await expect(page).toHaveTitle(/.+/)
+
+  const reqRes = await request.post('/auth/otc/request', {
+    data: { email: EMAIL },
+  })
+  expect(reqRes.ok()).toBeTruthy()
+
+  const code = await waitForLatestOtc(EMAIL)
+  expect(code).toMatch(/^\d{6}$/)
+
+  const verifyRes = await request.post('/auth/otc/verify', {
+    data: { email: EMAIL, code },
+  })
+  expect(verifyRes.ok()).toBeTruthy()
+
+  // Prove the sign-in actually took: the verify handler returns ok:true
+  // and sets the `rfc_session` session cookie (§ SessionMiddleware,
+  // backend/app/main.py). Asserting the cookie — not brittle UI text —
+  // is what distinguishes a real sign-in from a bare 2xx.
+  const verifyBody = await verifyRes.json()
+  expect(verifyBody.ok).toBe(true)
+
+  const setCookie = verifyRes.headers()['set-cookie'] || ''
+  expect(setCookie).toContain('rfc_session=')
+})