diff --git a/tools/gitea-pipeline/render.py b/tools/gitea-pipeline/render.py
index 5ae111a..1734f94 100644
--- a/tools/gitea-pipeline/render.py
+++ b/tools/gitea-pipeline/render.py
@@ -158,11 +158,14 @@ jobs:
         env:
           MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root
           MYSQL_DATABASE: wp_tests
+        # First-boot init is slow on the CPU-limited shared runner; GitHub's
+        # 5 x 10s health window was not enough here.
         options: >-
           --health-cmd="mysqladmin ping"
           --health-interval=10s
           --health-timeout=5s
-          --health-retries=5
+          --health-start-period=60s
+          --health-retries=20
 """
         out.append(f"""
   phpunit: