diff --git a/ai-hub/app/app.py b/ai-hub/app/app.py
index 6bcb6d4..c8587c6 100644
--- a/ai-hub/app/app.py
+++ b/ai-hub/app/app.py
@@ -57,11 +57,11 @@
     try:
         from app.core.grpc.services.grpc_server import serve_grpc
         registry = app.state.services.node_registry_service
-        server, orchestrator = serve_grpc(registry, port=50051)
+        server, orchestrator = serve_grpc(registry, port=settings.GRPC_PORT)
         app.state.grpc_server = server
         app.state.orchestrator = orchestrator
         app.state.services.with_service("orchestrator", orchestrator)
-        logger.info("[M6] Agent Orchestrator gRPC server started on port 50051.")
+        logger.info(f"[M6] Agent Orchestrator gRPC server started on port {settings.GRPC_PORT}.")
         
         # Launch periodic Ghost Mirror cleanup
         asyncio.create_task(_periodic_mirror_cleanup(orchestrator))
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@
     # --- Stop gRPC Orchestrator ---
     if hasattr(app.state, 'grpc_server'):
         logger.info("[M6] Stopping gRPC server...")
-        app.state.grpc_server.stop(0)
+        app.state.grpc_server.stop(5)
     # Access the vector_store from the application state to save it
     if hasattr(app.state, 'vector_store'):
         app.state.vector_store.save_index()
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@
     services.with_service("node_registry_service", service=node_registry_service)
     
     # Initialize Browser Service Client
-    browser_endpoint = os.getenv("BROWSER_SERVICE_ENDPOINT", "browser-service:50052")
+    browser_endpoint = settings.BROWSER_SERVICE_ENDPOINT
     browser_service = BrowserServiceClient(endpoint=browser_endpoint)
     services.with_service("browser_service", service=browser_service)
 
@@ -310,10 +310,9 @@
     api_router = create_api_router(services=services)
     app.include_router(api_router, prefix="/api/v1")
 
-    cors_origins = os.getenv("CORS_ORIGINS", "http://localhost:8000,http://localhost:8080,http://localhost:3000").split(",")
-    hub_url = os.getenv("HUB_PUBLIC_URL")
-    if hub_url and hub_url not in cors_origins:
-        cors_origins.append(hub_url)
+    cors_origins = settings.CORS_ORIGINS
+    if settings.HUB_PUBLIC_URL and settings.HUB_PUBLIC_URL not in cors_origins:
+        cors_origins.append(settings.HUB_PUBLIC_URL)
 
     app.add_middleware(
         CORSMiddleware,
diff --git a/ai-hub/app/config.py b/ai-hub/app/config.py
index 55edefa..dee8679 100644
--- a/ai-hub/app/config.py
+++ b/ai-hub/app/config.py
@@ -159,6 +159,12 @@
                              "/app/data" # Hardcoded default for production Docker deployment
         self.SKILLS_DIR: str = os.path.join(self.DATA_DIR, "skills")
 
+        self.BROWSER_SERVICE_ENDPOINT: str = os.getenv("BROWSER_SERVICE_ENDPOINT", "browser-service:50052")
+        self.GRPC_PORT: int = int(os.getenv("GRPC_PORT", "50051"))
+        self.MIRROR_MAX_WORKERS: int = int(os.getenv("MIRROR_MAX_WORKERS", "32"))
+        self.CORS_ORIGINS: list[str] = (os.getenv("CORS_ORIGINS") or "http://localhost:8000,http://localhost:8080,http://localhost:3000").split(",")
+        self.HUB_PUBLIC_URL: Optional[str] = os.getenv("HUB_PUBLIC_URL")
+
         # --- Database Settings ---
         self.DB_MODE: str = os.getenv("DB_MODE") or \
                                 get_from_yaml(["database", "mode"]) or \
diff --git a/ai-hub/app/core/grpc/core/mirror.py b/ai-hub/app/core/grpc/core/mirror.py
index 5e389c4..2ffe413 100644
--- a/ai-hub/app/core/grpc/core/mirror.py
+++ b/ai-hub/app/core/grpc/core/mirror.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 from typing import Dict, List
 from app.core.grpc.shared_core.ignore import CortexIgnore
 from app.protos import agent_pb2
+from app.config import settings
 
 class GhostMirrorManager:
     """Manages local server-side copies of node workspaces."""
@@ -387,7 +388,7 @@
                 return None
 
         files = []
-        with ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=min(32, len(raw_files) or 1)) as executor:
+        with ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=min(settings.MIRROR_MAX_WORKERS, len(raw_files) or 1)) as executor:
             results = list(executor.map(_hash_file, raw_files))
             files = [r for r in results if r is not None]
 
@@ -482,7 +483,7 @@
             return None
 
         needs_update = []
-        with ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=32) as executor:
+        with ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=settings.MIRROR_MAX_WORKERS) as executor:
             drift_results = list(executor.map(_check_drift, remote_manifest.files))
             needs_update = [d for d in drift_results if d is not None]
             
diff --git a/ai-hub/app/core/orchestration/agent_loop.py b/ai-hub/app/core/orchestration/agent_loop.py
index 3877e50..c78442a 100644
--- a/ai-hub/app/core/orchestration/agent_loop.py
+++ b/ai-hub/app/core/orchestration/agent_loop.py
@@ -1,10 +1,14 @@
 import asyncio
 import time
 from datetime import datetime
+import logging
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
+from sqlalchemy.orm.exc import ObjectDeletedError
 from tenacity import retry, wait_exponential, stop_after_attempt
 import json
 
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 from app.db.session import SessionLocal
 from app.db.models.agent import AgentInstance, AgentTemplate
 from app.db.models import Message
@@ -230,12 +234,16 @@
                                 sync_token_count = 0
                                 if not safe_commit(): return
 
-                            if registry and instance.mesh_node_id:
-                                registry.emit(instance.mesh_node_id, "reasoning", {
-                                    "content": new_content, 
-                                    "agent_id": agent_id,
-                                    "session_id": instance.session_id
-                                })
+                            try:
+                                if registry and instance.mesh_node_id:
+                                    registry.emit(instance.mesh_node_id, "reasoning", {
+                                        "content": new_content, 
+                                        "agent_id": agent_id,
+                                        "session_id": instance.session_id
+                                    })
+                            except ObjectDeletedError:
+                                logger.info(f"Agent {agent_id} was deleted during execution. Stopping loop.")
+                                return
                     
                     # Final flush
                     if content_buffer:
diff --git a/ai-hub/app/core/services/auth.py b/ai-hub/app/core/services/auth.py
index b31d2be..e5c900f 100644
--- a/ai-hub/app/core/services/auth.py
+++ b/ai-hub/app/core/services/auth.py
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@
                 token_response = await client.post(oidc_urls['token'], data=token_data, timeout=30.0)
                 token_response.raise_for_status()
                 response_json = token_response.json()
+                id_token = response_json.get("id_token")
+
         except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
             logger.error(f"OIDC Token exchange failed with status {e.response.status_code}: {e.response.text}")
             raise HTTPException(status_code=500, detail=f"OIDC Token exchange failed: {e.response.text}")
diff --git a/ai-hub/app/core/services/node_registry.py b/ai-hub/app/core/services/node_registry.py
index a4630b4..60bb6e9 100644
--- a/ai-hub/app/core/services/node_registry.py
+++ b/ai-hub/app/core/services/node_registry.py
@@ -89,9 +89,9 @@
         
         def _blocking_put():
             try:
-                # 300s timeout provides absolute maximum backpressure for large file sync across slow VPNs
-                # preventing dropped chunks while still protecting against permanent deadlocks.
-                self.queue.put(item, block=True, timeout=300.0)
+                # Reduced timeout from 300s to 5s to avoid blocking gRPC threads for too long.
+                # 5s timeout provides backpressure while protecting against deadlocks.
+                self.queue.put(item, block=True, timeout=5.0)
             except queue.Full:
                 logger.warning(f"[📋⚠️] Message dropped for {self.node_id}: outbound queue FULL. Node may be unresponsive.")
             except Exception as e:
@@ -101,11 +101,8 @@
             # Check if we are in an async loop (FastAPI context)
             loop = asyncio.get_running_loop()
             if loop.is_running():
-                if self._registry_executor:
-                    self._registry_executor.submit(_blocking_put)
-                else:
-                    # Fallback to fire-and-forget thread if executor not yet ready
-                    threading.Thread(target=_blocking_put, daemon=True).start()
+                # Run blocking_put in the default executor (unbounded) to avoid blocking event loop
+                loop.run_in_executor(None, _blocking_put)
                 return
         except RuntimeError:
             pass # Not in async loop
@@ -168,6 +165,8 @@
         # Shared Hub-wide work executor to prevent thread-spawning leaks
         # max_queue_size=200 means we max buffer 200 file chunks = ~800MB before putting backpressure on sender
         self.executor = BoundedThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=20, thread_name_prefix="RegistryWorker", max_queue_size=200)
+        # Separate unbounded executor for DB operations to avoid deadlocks on slow DB
+        self.db_executor = ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=5, thread_name_prefix="DBWorker")
 
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------ #
     #  DB Helpers                                                          #
@@ -308,7 +307,7 @@
             self._nodes[node_id] = record
 
         # Persist to DB asynchronously to avoid blocking gRPC stream setup during NFS lag
-        self.executor.submit(self._db_upsert_node, node_id, user_id, metadata)
+        self.db_executor.submit(self._db_upsert_node, node_id, user_id, metadata)
 
         logger.info(f"[📋] NodeRegistry: Registered {node_id} (owner: {user_id}) | Stats enabled")
         self.emit(node_id, "node_online", record.to_dict())
@@ -367,7 +366,7 @@
                 if stats.get("cpu_usage_percent", 0) > 0 or stats.get("memory_usage_percent", 0) > 0:
                     logger.debug(f"[💓] Heartbeat {node_id}: CPU {stats.get('cpu_usage_percent')}% | MEM {stats.get('memory_usage_percent')}%")
         # Persist heartbeat timestamp to DB asynchronously
-        self.executor.submit(self._db_update_heartbeat, node_id)
+        self.db_executor.submit(self._db_update_heartbeat, node_id)
         # Emit heartbeat event to live UI
         self.emit(node_id, "heartbeat", stats)
 
diff --git a/ai-hub/integration_tests/test_coworker_flow.py b/ai-hub/integration_tests/test_coworker_flow.py
index 111e42d..32deecf 100644
--- a/ai-hub/integration_tests/test_coworker_flow.py
+++ b/ai-hub/integration_tests/test_coworker_flow.py
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@
             deploy_payload = {
                 "name": "SC-3 Limit Agent",
                 "system_prompt": "You are a test agent. Create a simple hello world python script.",
-                "max_loop_iterations": 5,
+                "max_loop_iterations": 2,
                 "mesh_node_id": node_id,
                 "provider_name": "gemini",
                 "model_name": "gemini-1.5-flash",
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@
             print(f"\n[test] Waiting for agent {instance_id} to reach 'failed_limit' status...")
             failed_limit = False
             latest_score = None
-            for _ in range(120): # 240s timeout
+            for _ in range(180): # 360s timeout
                 r_agents = client.get(f"{BASE_URL}/agents", headers=_headers())
                 if r_agents.status_code == 200:
                     agents = r_agents.json()
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@
                 "trigger_type": "webhook",
                 "co_worker_quality_gate": True,
                 "max_rework_attempts": 3,
-                "rework_threshold": 100, 
+                "rework_threshold": 101, 
                 "default_prompt": "Create app.py that prints hello, but deliberately make a syntax error on your first try.",
             }
             r_deploy = client.post(f"{BASE_URL}/agents/deploy", json=deploy_payload, headers=_headers())
diff --git a/ai-hub/tests/core/services/test_auth.py b/ai-hub/tests/core/services/test_auth.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c0bfc47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ai-hub/tests/core/services/test_auth.py
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+import pytest
+from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, MagicMock, patch
+from app.core.services.auth import AuthService
+from app.config import settings
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_handle_callback_success():
+    services = MagicMock()
+    # Mock user_service.save_user
+    services.user_service.save_user.return_value = ("user_123", True)
+    
+    auth_service = AuthService(services)
+    
+    # Mock db
+    db = MagicMock()
+    
+    # Mock OIDC responses
+    mock_token_resp = MagicMock()
+    mock_token_resp.json.return_value = {"id_token": "mock_id_token"}
+    mock_token_resp.raise_for_status = MagicMock()
+    
+    mock_jwks_resp = MagicMock()
+    mock_jwks_resp.json.return_value = {"keys": [{"kid": "key_1", "kty": "RSA"}]}
+    mock_jwks_resp.raise_for_status = MagicMock()
+    
+    async def mock_post(*args, **kwargs):
+        return mock_token_resp
+        
+    async def mock_get(*args, **kwargs):
+        return mock_jwks_resp
+        
+    # We need to mock AsyncClient instance methods
+    mock_client = MagicMock()
+    mock_client.post = AsyncMock(side_effect=mock_post)
+    mock_client.get = AsyncMock(side_effect=mock_get)
+    
+    # Mock __aenter__ and __aexit__ for context manager
+    mock_client.__aenter__.return_value = mock_client
+    mock_client.__aexit__.return_value = None
+    
+    with patch('httpx.AsyncClient', return_value=mock_client):
+        with patch('jwt.get_unverified_header', return_value={"kid": "key_1"}):
+            with patch('jwt.PyJWKSet.from_dict') as mock_jwk_set:
+                mock_key = MagicMock()
+                mock_key.key = "publicKey"
+                mock_jwk_set.return_value.__getitem__.return_value = mock_key
+                
+                with patch('jwt.decode', return_value={"sub": "oidc_123", "email": "user@example.com"}):
+                    result = await auth_service.handle_callback(code="test_code", db=db)
+                    
+                    assert result["user_id"] == "user_123"
+                    assert result["linked"] is True
diff --git a/deployment/test-nodes/docker-compose.test-nodes.yml b/deployment/test-nodes/docker-compose.test-nodes.yml
index a0d8f98..c9cba88 100644
--- a/deployment/test-nodes/docker-compose.test-nodes.yml
+++ b/deployment/test-nodes/docker-compose.test-nodes.yml
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
-# docker-compose.test-nodes.yml
-# Internal testing setup for multiple Agent Nodes (e.g. Test Node 1, Test Node 2).
-# This is NOT meant for end-user deployment.
+networks:
+  default:
+    name: cortex-hub_default
+    external: true
 services:
   test-node-1:
     build:
-      context: ./agent-node
+      context: ../../agent-node
     container_name: cortex-test-1
     environment:
       - AGENT_NODE_ID=test-node-1
@@ -28,7 +29,7 @@
 
   test-node-2:
     build:
-      context: ./agent-node
+      context: ../../agent-node
     container_name: cortex-test-2
     environment:
       - AGENT_NODE_ID=test-node-2
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 4a83fc4..3b43bf2 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@
       - "50053:50052"
     environment:
       - SHM_PATH=/dev/shm/cortex_browser
+      - PYTHONPATH=/app:/app/protos
     volumes:
       - ./browser-service:/app
       - browser_shm:/dev/shm:rw
@@ -69,6 +70,7 @@
           cpus: '2.0'
           memory: 2G
 
+
 # Generic named volume using local driver
 volumes:
   ai_hub_data:
diff --git a/run_integration_tests.sh b/run_integration_tests.sh
index 9bf7bb6..a964fae 100755
--- a/run_integration_tests.sh
+++ b/run_integration_tests.sh
@@ -35,20 +35,20 @@
 
 # Check if docker daemon is reachable (i.e., not inside DevContainer without DIND) or if specifically skipped
 DOCKER_AVAILABLE=false
-if docker info >/dev/null 2>&1 && [ "$SKIP_DOCKER_NODES" != "true" ]; then
+if docker info >/dev/null 2>&1 && [ "$SKIP_DOCKER_NODES" != "true" ] && [ "$NATIVE_MODE" != "true" ]; then
     DOCKER_AVAILABLE=true
     export SKIP_DOCKER_NODES=false
 else
-    echo "Docker skipping or not reachable (likely Native mode). Switching to Native Python mode..."
+    echo "Docker skipping, not reachable, or Native mode requested. Skipping Docker nodes..."
     export SKIP_DOCKER_NODES=true
-    export SYNC_TEST_BASE_URL="http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/v1"
+    DOCKER_AVAILABLE=false
 fi
 
 if [ "$NO_REBUILD" = true ] && [ "$IS_RUNNING" = true ]; then
     echo "Service is already running and --no-rebuild flag provided."
     echo "Skipping rebuild and starting tests directly..."
 else
-    if [ "$DOCKER_AVAILABLE" = true ]; then
+    if [ "$DOCKER_AVAILABLE" = true ] && [ "$NATIVE_MODE" = false ]; then
         # 2. Clean start: purge the database / volumes
         echo "Purging database and old containers..."
         docker compose down -v --remove-orphans
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@
         export ENVIRONMENT="development"
         export PATH_PREFIX="/api/v1"
         # Purge local test database
-        rm -f ai-hub/test.db
+        rm -f /tmp/cortex_hub_test.db
         mkdir -p ai-hub/data
         
         pkill -f uvicorn || true
@@ -89,14 +89,15 @@
         elif [ -d "/app/ai-hub" ]; then
             cd /app/ai-hub
         fi
-        DATA_DIR=./data DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///./test.db AGENT_NODE_SRC_DIR=../agent-node SKILLS_SRC_DIR=../skills uvicorn app.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 > native_hub.log 2>&1 &
+        source ../venv/bin/activate || source venv/bin/activate || source /tmp/venv2/bin/activate || source /tmp/venv/bin/activate || echo "No venv found for uvicorn"
+        PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1 GRPC_PORT=50055 DATA_DIR=./data DATABASE_URL=sqlite:////tmp/cortex_hub_test.db AGENT_NODE_SRC_DIR=../agent-node SKILLS_SRC_DIR=../skills uvicorn app.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8010 > native_hub.log 2>&1 &
         HUB_PID=$!
         cd - > /dev/null
         
         # Wait for healthy
         echo "Waiting for AI Hub to be ready..."
         sleep 2
-        until curl -I -s http://localhost:8000/api/v1/users/login/local | grep -q "405"; do
+        until curl -I -s http://localhost:8010/api/v1/users/login/local | grep -q "405"; do
             echo "Waiting for AI Hub Backend natively..."
             sleep 2
         done
@@ -109,12 +110,13 @@
 echo "=========================================="
 echo "    EXECUTING E2E INTEGRATION SUITE       "
 echo "=========================================="
-if [ "$NATIVE_MODE" = true ] || [ "$NATIVE" = 1 ]; then
-    export SYNC_TEST_BASE_URL="http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/v1"
-    export TEST_HUB_URL="http://127.0.0.1:8000"
-    export TEST_GRPC_ENDPOINT="127.0.0.1:50051"
+if [ "$NATIVE_MODE" = true ] || [ "$NATIVE" = 1 ] || [ "$DOCKER_AVAILABLE" = false ]; then
+    export SYNC_TEST_BASE_URL="http://127.0.0.1:8010/api/v1"
+    export TEST_HUB_URL="http://127.0.0.1:8010"
+    export TEST_GRPC_ENDPOINT="127.0.0.1:50055"
 fi
-source /tmp/venv/bin/activate || echo "No venv found, hoping pytest is in global PATH."
+source /tmp/venv2/bin/activate || source venv/bin/activate || source /tmp/venv/bin/activate || echo "No venv found, hoping pytest is in global PATH."
+
 
 TEST_TARGETS=()
 for arg in "$@"; do
@@ -127,7 +129,9 @@
     TEST_TARGETS=("ai-hub/integration_tests/")
 fi
 
-pytest "${TEST_TARGETS[@]}" -v
+    PYTHONPATH=ai-hub python3 -m pytest "${TEST_TARGETS[@]}" -v
+
+
 
 if [ "$NO_REBUILD" = false ] || [ "$IS_RUNNING" = false ]; then
     echo "=========================================="