diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 5d16f19..5da743b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@ on: [pull_request]
 jobs:
   test:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    services:
+      mariadb:
+        image: mariadb:10.6    
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - name: Setup barebones project
@@ -21,6 +24,8 @@ jobs:
           test -f bin/phpunit-test.sh || (echo "❌ bin/phpunit-test.sh not found" >&2 && exit 1)
           test -f bin/helpers.sh || (echo "❌ bin/helpers.sh not found" >&2 && exit 1)
           echo "✅ All bin files found"
+      - name: Start MySQL
+        run: sudo systemctl start mysql
       - name: Install WP-CLI
         run: |
           curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wp-cli/builds/gh-pages/phar/wp-cli.phar