diff --git a/apps/xtream-mock-server/src/app/project-config.spec.ts b/apps/xtream-mock-server/src/app/project-config.spec.ts
index 9c1895228..b1650df2b 100644
--- a/apps/xtream-mock-server/src/app/project-config.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/xtream-mock-server/src/app/project-config.spec.ts
@@ -87,3 +87,43 @@ describe('Playwright mock-server launch', () => {
         }
     );
 });
+
+describe('Nx E2E target defaults', () => {
+    type DependsOn = Array<string | { projects?: string[]; target?: string }>;
+    const nxJson = JSON.parse(
+        readFileSync(join(process.cwd(), 'nx.json'), 'utf8')
+    ) as {
+        targetDefaults: Record<string, { dependsOn?: DependsOn }>;
+    };
+
+    // The Playwright configs start the mocks themselves, so @nx/playwright
+    // infers the atomized e2e-ci targets as non-parallel, and Nx refuses to
+    // run a non-parallel task that depends on a continuous `serve` task.
+    it('never makes an E2E target depend on a mock-server task', () => {
+        const mockDependencies = Object.entries(nxJson.targetDefaults)
+            .flatMap(([targetName, config]) =>
+                (config.dependsOn ?? []).map((dependency) => ({
+                    targetName,
+                    dependency,
+                }))
+            )
+            .filter(({ dependency }) =>
+                typeof dependency === 'string'
+                    ? dependency.includes('-mock-server:')
+                    : (dependency.projects ?? []).some((project) =>
+                          project.endsWith('-mock-server')
+                      )
+            );
+
+        expect(mockDependencies).toEqual([]);
+    });
+
+    it('still builds the Electron app before each per-file E2E target', () => {
+        expect(
+            nxJson.targetDefaults['e2e-ci--src/*.e2e.ts']?.dependsOn
+        ).toContainEqual({
+            projects: ['electron-backend'],
+            target: 'build-e2e',
+        });
+    });
+});
diff --git a/docs/architecture/xtream-mock-server.md b/docs/architecture/xtream-mock-server.md
index 571c2f461..d9ffca8b4 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/xtream-mock-server.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/xtream-mock-server.md
@@ -579,7 +579,10 @@ for the serve target's `--tsconfig` flag and is required for the `@iptvnator/*`
 path aliases. `project-config.spec.ts` pins which configs start which mock,
 and fails if any of them launches a mock through Nx or a new config starts one
 without being listed there. The `serve` targets remain the entry point
-for starting a mock by hand. The web-e2e `web-backend` entry uses the same
+for starting a mock by hand, and no E2E target may depend on them: with no
+Nx-launched server, `@nx/playwright` infers the atomized `e2e-ci--*` targets
+as non-parallel, and Nx refuses to run a non-parallel task that depends on a
+continuous `serve` task. The same spec guards `nx.json` `targetDefaults`. The web-e2e `web-backend` entry uses the same
 launch form; see [PWA web backend](pwa-self-hosted.md#web-backend).
 
 ### Request Interception
diff --git a/nx.json b/nx.json
index ff0a58753..6ae3b7f96 100644
--- a/nx.json
+++ b/nx.json
@@ -73,10 +73,6 @@
                 {
                     "projects": ["electron-backend"],
                     "target": "build-e2e"
-                },
-                {
-                    "projects": ["stalker-mock-server", "xtream-mock-server"],
-                    "target": "serve"
                 }
             ]
         }