diff --git a/server/src/__tests__/live-recovery-work.test.ts b/server/src/__tests__/live-recovery-work.test.ts
index 0d84fc546d8..70abd4a0043 100644
--- a/server/src/__tests__/live-recovery-work.test.ts
+++ b/server/src/__tests__/live-recovery-work.test.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import { setImmediate as immediate, setTimeout as realDelay } from "node:timers/
 import { and, eq, sql } from "drizzle-orm";
 import { afterAll, afterEach, beforeAll, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { agents, authUsers, companies, companyMemberships, createDb, closeLivenessDb, closeCheckpointDb,
-  heartbeatRuns, heartbeatRunEvents, nativeRunFinalizations, environmentLeases, issueThreadInteractions,
+  heartbeatRuns, heartbeatRunEvents, nativeRunFinalizations, environmentLeases, issueThreadInteractions, applyPendingMigrations,
   issueRecoveryActions, issues, activityLog, agentWakeupRequests } from "@paperclipai/db";
 import { resolveExternalTestDatabaseUrl } from "./helpers/external-test-database.js";
 import { startEmbeddedPostgresTestDatabase } from "./helpers/embedded-postgres.js";
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ describe("residual recovery production matrix", () => {
   beforeAll(async () => {
     const external = resolveExternalTestDatabaseUrl("PAPERCLIP_LIVE_RECOVERY_TEST_DATABASE_URL");
     if (!external) temporary = await startEmbeddedPostgresTestDatabase("live-recovery-");
+    else await applyPendingMigrations(external);
     db = createDb(external ?? temporary!.connectionString, { maxConnections: 6, idleTimeoutSeconds: 0, maxLifetimeSeconds: 0 });
     await Promise.all(Array.from({ length: 6 }, () => db.execute(sql`select pg_sleep(0.01)`)));
   });