ci: improve CI stability with parallel builds and Valgrind

Major changes:
Run 4 build configurations in parallel with Valgrind on Linux
Add test failure detection verification (meta-test)
Port allocation per build to prevent conflicts in parallel runs
Add --coverage-only flag for dedicated coverage builds
Code quality:

Add TEST_GROUPS constant, CMOCKA patterns, helper functions
Organize ci-build.sh into sections

.github/workflows/ci-code.yml

@@ -106,20 +106,5 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - name: Build and run coverage
         run: |
-          docker build -f Dockerfile.debian -t profanity-cov .
+          docker build -f Dockerfile.arch -t profanity-cov .
-          docker run -v ${{ github.workspace }}/coverage:/coverage profanity-cov bash -c '
+          docker run profanity-cov ./ci-build.sh --coverage-only
-            ./bootstrap.sh
-            ./configure --enable-coverage --enable-otr --enable-pgp --enable-omemo --enable-plugins
-            make -j$(nproc)
-            make check || true
-            make check-functional-parallel || true
-            lcov --capture --directory . --output-file /coverage/coverage.info \
-              --rc branch_coverage=1 \
-              --ignore-errors inconsistent
-            lcov --remove /coverage/coverage.info \
-              "/usr/include/*" "*/tests/*" \
-              --output-file /coverage/coverage.info \
-              --rc branch_coverage=1 \
-              --ignore-errors inconsistent,empty,unused
-            lcov --summary /coverage/coverage.info
-          '

.gitignore

@@ -62,6 +62,8 @@ tests/unittests/unittests
 tests/unittests/unittests.log
 tests/unittests/unittests.trs
 test-suite.log
+test-files/
+test-logs/
 
 # valgrind output
 profval*
@@ -108,3 +110,7 @@ breaks
 *.zip
 *.log*
 coverage/
+*.gcno
+*.gcda
+*.gcov
+coverage.info

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -90,6 +90,24 @@ set -e
 ```
 
 This will run the same tests that the CI runs and refuse the push if it fails.
+The CI script runs 4 parallel builds with different configurations:
+- **Full** — all features enabled (+ coverage in `--coverage-only` mode)
+- **Minimal** — all optional features disabled
+- **NoEncrypt** — no encryption (OTR, PGP, OMEMO disabled)
+- **Default** — default ./configure options
+
+Each build runs Valgrind and functional tests on Linux.
+Use `./ci-build.sh --coverage-only` to run only the Full build with coverage collection.
+
+Output shows test results per build:
+```
+✓ Full PASSED
+  Unit tests:       437 passed, 0 failed
+  Functional tests: 69 passed, 0 failed
+  Coverage:         Lines: 27.5% | Functions: 36.2% | Branches: 18.1%
+  Duration:         5m39s
+```
+
 Note that it will run on the actual content of the repository directory and not
 what may have been staged/committed.
 

Makefile.am

@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@ FUNC_TEST_GROUPS = 1 2 3 4
 
 check-functional-parallel: tests/functionaltests/functionaltests
 	@echo "Running functional tests in parallel ($(words $(FUNC_TEST_GROUPS)) groups)..."
-	@mkdir -p $(builddir)/test-logs
+	@mkdir -p $(builddir)/test-logs $(builddir)/test-files
 	@pids=""; \
 	for g in $(FUNC_TEST_GROUPS); do \
 		./tests/functionaltests/functionaltests $$g > $(builddir)/test-logs/group$$g.log 2>&1 & \
@@ -372,7 +372,10 @@ clean-local:
 	rm -f $(git_include) $(git_include).in
 endif
 
-.PHONY: my-prof.supp
+clean-functional-tests:
+	rm -rf $(builddir)/test-files $(builddir)/test-logs
+
+.PHONY: my-prof.supp clean-functional-tests
 my-prof.supp:
 	@sed '/^# AUTO-GENERATED START/q' prof.supp > $@
 	@printf "\n\n# glib\n" >> $@
@@ -388,7 +391,7 @@ check-unit: tests/unittests/unittests
 	tests/unittests/unittests
 
 @VALGRIND_CHECK_RULES@
-VALGRIND_SUPPRESSIONS_FILES=prof.supp
+VALGRIND_SUPPRESSIONS_FILES=$(srcdir)/prof.supp
 
 # Code coverage targets (requires --enable-coverage)
 coverage-clean:

ci-build.sh

@@ -15,14 +15,72 @@ error_handler()
     log_content ./test-suite.log
     log_content ./test-suite-memcheck.log
 
-    echo
+    echo >&2
-    echo "Error ${ERR_CODE} with command '${BASH_COMMAND}' on line ${BASH_LINENO[0]}. Exiting."
+    echo "Error ${ERR_CODE} with command '${BASH_COMMAND}' on line ${BASH_LINENO[0]}. Exiting." >&2
-    echo
+    echo >&2
     exit ${ERR_CODE}
 }
 
 trap error_handler ERR
 
+# =============================================================================
+# Constants
+# =============================================================================
+
+# Number of parallel build configurations
+readonly TEST_BUILDS=4
+
+# Human-readable names for each build configuration
+readonly BUILD_NAMES=(
+    "Full"      # 1. All features enabled
+    "Minimal"   # 2. All optional features disabled
+    "NoEncrypt" # 3. No encryption (otr, pgp, omemo disabled)
+    "Default"   # 4. Default ./configure options
+)
+
+# Regex patterns for parsing test output
+readonly CMOCKA_PASSED_PATTERN='^\[  PASSED  \] [0-9]+ test'
+readonly CMOCKA_FAILED_PATTERN='^\[  FAILED  \] [0-9]+ test'
+
+# Coverage extraction patterns (matches both Docker and CI paths)
+readonly COVERAGE_PATTERNS='*/profanity/src/* */src/src/*'
+
+# =============================================================================
+# Helper Functions
+# =============================================================================
+
+# Parse STATS line from build log and set global variables
+# Usage: parse_build_stats <log_file>
+parse_build_stats() {
+    local log_file="$1"
+    local stats_line
+    stats_line=$(grep "^STATS:" "$log_file" 2>/dev/null | tail -1)
+    
+    STAT_UNIT_P=$(echo "$stats_line" | grep -oE "unit_passed=[0-9]+" | cut -d= -f2)
+    STAT_UNIT_F=$(echo "$stats_line" | grep -oE "unit_failed=[0-9]+" | cut -d= -f2)
+    STAT_FUNC_P=$(echo "$stats_line" | grep -oE "func_passed=[0-9]+" | cut -d= -f2)
+    STAT_FUNC_F=$(echo "$stats_line" | grep -oE "func_failed=[0-9]+" | cut -d= -f2)
+    STAT_COV_LINES=$(echo "$stats_line" | grep -oE "cov_lines=[0-9.]+%|cov_lines=n/a" | cut -d= -f2)
+    STAT_COV_FUNCS=$(echo "$stats_line" | grep -oE "cov_funcs=[0-9.]+%|cov_funcs=n/a" | cut -d= -f2)
+    STAT_COV_BRANCHES=$(echo "$stats_line" | grep -oE "cov_branches=[0-9.]+%|cov_branches=n/a" | cut -d= -f2)
+    STAT_TIME=$(echo "$stats_line" | grep -oE "time=[0-9]+m[0-9]+s" | cut -d= -f2)
+    
+    : "${STAT_UNIT_P:=0}"
+    : "${STAT_UNIT_F:=0}"
+    : "${STAT_FUNC_P:=0}"
+    : "${STAT_FUNC_F:=0}"
+}
+
+# Extract test count from log file
+# Usage: extract_test_count <log_file> <pattern>
+extract_test_count() {
+    grep -E "$2" "$1" 2>/dev/null | grep -oE "[0-9]+" | head -1
+}
+
+# =============================================================================
+# Test Verification
+# =============================================================================
+
 # Verify that test failures are properly detected
 # This is a meta-test: it runs a deliberately failing test
 # and checks that the test framework reports the failure correctly
@@ -61,11 +119,11 @@ EOF
     # Test 1: Single failing test detection
     echo "  Testing single test failure detection..."
     if /tmp/test_must_fail > /tmp/test_must_fail.log 2>&1; then
-        echo "ERROR: Test that should fail returned success (exit code 0)"
+        echo "ERROR: Test that should fail returned success (exit code 0)" >&2
-        echo "This means the test framework is NOT detecting failures correctly!"
+        echo "This means the test framework is NOT detecting failures correctly!" >&2
-        echo "--- Test output ---"
+        echo "--- Test output ---" >&2
-        cat /tmp/test_must_fail.log
+        cat /tmp/test_must_fail.log >&2
-        echo "--- End output ---"
+        echo "--- End output ---" >&2
         rm -f /tmp/test_must_fail /tmp/test_must_fail.c /tmp/test_must_fail.log
         exit 1
     fi
@@ -85,8 +143,8 @@ EOF
     wait $pid4 || failed=$((failed + 1))
     
     if [ $failed -ne 2 ]; then
-        echo "ERROR: Expected 2 failures in parallel tests, got $failed"
+        echo "ERROR: Expected 2 failures in parallel tests, got $failed" >&2
-        echo "Parallel failure detection is broken!"
+        echo "Parallel failure detection is broken!" >&2
         rm -f /tmp/test_must_fail /tmp/test_must_fail.c /tmp/test_must_fail.log /tmp/p?.log
         exit 1
     fi
@@ -110,6 +168,17 @@ num_cores()
 # Run test failure detection verification first
 verify_test_failure_detection
 
+# Parse arguments
+COVERAGE_ONLY=no
+for arg in "$@"; do
+    case "$arg" in
+        --coverage-only)
+            COVERAGE_ONLY=yes
+            shift
+            ;;
+    esac
+done
+
 ./bootstrap.sh
 
 tests=()
@@ -180,30 +249,13 @@ case "$ARCH" in
         ;;
 esac
 
-case "$ARCH" in
-    linux*)
-         echo
-         echo "--> Building with ./configure -C ${tests[0]} --enable-valgrind $*"
-         echo
-
-         # shellcheck disable=SC2086
-        ./configure -C ${tests[0]} --enable-valgrind $*
-
-        $MAKE CC="${CC}"
-        if grep '^ID=' /etc/os-release | grep -q -e debian; then
-            $MAKE check-valgrind
-        else
-            $MAKE check-valgrind || log_content ./test-suite-memcheck.log
-        fi
-        $MAKE distclean
-        ;;
-esac
-
 # Function to build and test a single configuration
 build_and_test() {
     local features="$1"
     local extra_args="$2"
     local idx="$3"
+    local run_valgrind="$4"
+    local run_coverage="$5"
     local build_dir="build-$idx"
     local log_file="build-$idx.log"
 
@@ -211,61 +263,210 @@ build_and_test() {
         echo "=== Build $idx started at $(date) ==="
         echo "--> Building in $build_dir with ./configure -C $features $extra_args"
 
+        local start_time=$SECONDS
+
         mkdir -p "$build_dir"
         cd "$build_dir"
 
         # shellcheck disable=SC2086
-        ../configure -C $features $extra_args
+        if ! ../configure -C $features $extra_args; then
+            echo "ERROR: configure failed"
+            exit 1
+        fi
 
-        $MAKE CC="${CC}"
+        if ! $MAKE CC="${CC}"; then
-        $MAKE check-functional-parallel
+            echo "ERROR: make failed"
+            exit 1
+        fi
+
+        # Run unit tests
+        local unit_passed=0 unit_failed=0
+        if [ "$run_valgrind" = "yes" ]; then
+            echo "--> Running unit tests under Valgrind..."
+            # Build unit tests first
+            $MAKE tests/unittests/unittests
+            # Run valgrind directly to capture cmocka output
+            valgrind --error-exitcode=1 --leak-check=full \
+                --suppressions=../prof.supp \
+                tests/unittests/unittests 2>&1 | tee unit-tests-output.log
+            valgrind_exit=${PIPESTATUS[0]}
+            if [ $valgrind_exit -ne 0 ]; then
+                echo "ERROR: Valgrind unit tests failed (exit code $valgrind_exit)"
+                exit 1
+            fi
+        else
+            echo "--> Running unit tests..."
+            $MAKE tests/unittests/unittests
+            tests/unittests/unittests 2>&1 | tee unit-tests-output.log
+            if [ ${PIPESTATUS[0]} -ne 0 ]; then
+                echo "ERROR: Unit tests failed"
+                exit 1
+            fi
+        fi
+        # Extract unit test counts from cmocka output
+        unit_passed=$(extract_test_count unit-tests-output.log "$CMOCKA_PASSED_PATTERN")
+        unit_failed=$(extract_test_count unit-tests-output.log "$CMOCKA_FAILED_PATTERN")
+        : "${unit_passed:=0}" "${unit_failed:=0}"
+        echo "UNIT_TESTS: passed=$unit_passed failed=$unit_failed"
+
+        # Set build index for port allocation: build 1 uses ports 5230-5233,
+        # build 2 uses 5234-5237, etc. This prevents port conflicts in parallel builds.
+        export PROF_BUILD_INDEX=$idx
+        local func_passed=0 func_failed=0
+        if ! $MAKE check-functional-parallel; then
+            echo "ERROR: functional tests failed"
+            exit 1
+        fi
+        # Extract functional test counts from group logs
+        echo "=== Functional test results ==="
+        for glog in ./test-logs/group*.log; do
+            if [ -f "$glog" ]; then
+                cnt=$(extract_test_count "$glog" "$CMOCKA_PASSED_PATTERN")
+                [ -n "$cnt" ] && func_passed=$((func_passed + cnt))
+                cnt=$(extract_test_count "$glog" "$CMOCKA_FAILED_PATTERN")
+                [ -n "$cnt" ] && func_failed=$((func_failed + cnt))
+            fi
+        done
+        echo "FUNC_TESTS: passed=$func_passed failed=$func_failed"
+
+        # Collect coverage data if enabled (lines, functions, branches)
+        # Must be done BEFORE make clean which removes .gcda files
+        local cov_lines="n/a" cov_funcs="n/a" cov_branches="n/a"
+        if [ "$run_coverage" = "yes" ]; then
+            echo "--> Collecting coverage data..."
+            if command -v lcov >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+                lcov --capture --directory . --output-file coverage-full.info \
+                    --rc lcov_branch_coverage=1 --ignore-errors inconsistent 2>&1 || true
+                # Extract only production code from src/ directory, exclude tests
+                # shellcheck disable=SC2086
+                lcov --extract coverage-full.info $COVERAGE_PATTERNS \
+                    --output-file coverage.info \
+                    --rc lcov_branch_coverage=1 --ignore-errors inconsistent 2>&1 || true
+                if [ -f coverage.info ] && [ -s coverage.info ]; then
+                    local summary
+                    summary=$(lcov --summary coverage.info \
+                        --rc lcov_branch_coverage=1 --ignore-errors inconsistent 2>&1 || true)
+                    cov_lines=$(echo "$summary" | grep -E "lines\.*:" | grep -oE "[0-9]+\.[0-9]+%" | head -1)
+                    cov_funcs=$(echo "$summary" | grep -E "functions\.*:" | grep -oE "[0-9]+\.[0-9]+%" | head -1)
+                    cov_branches=$(echo "$summary" | grep -E "branches\.*:" | grep -oE "[0-9]+\.[0-9]+%" | head -1)
+                    [ -z "$cov_lines" ] && cov_lines="n/a"
+                    [ -z "$cov_funcs" ] && cov_funcs="n/a"
+                    [ -z "$cov_branches" ] && cov_branches="n/a"
+                else
+                    echo "WARNING: coverage.info is empty or not created"
+                fi
+            else
+                echo "WARNING: lcov not found"
+            fi
+            echo "COVERAGE: lines=$cov_lines funcs=$cov_funcs branches=$cov_branches"
+        fi
 
         ./profanity -v
+
+        # Save coverage.info before cleanup (for CI artifact)
+        # Only copy in CI environment to avoid leaving artifacts during local runs
+        if [ "$run_coverage" = "yes" ] && [ -f coverage.info ] && [ -n "$CI" ]; then
+            cp coverage.info ../coverage.info
+            echo "Coverage report saved to coverage.info"
+        fi
+
         $MAKE clean
 
         cd ..
         rm -rf "$build_dir"
 
+        local elapsed=$((SECONDS - start_time))
+        local mins=$((elapsed / 60))
+        local secs=$((elapsed % 60))
+
         echo "=== Build $idx completed at $(date) ==="
+        echo "STATS: unit_passed=$unit_passed unit_failed=$unit_failed func_passed=$func_passed func_failed=$func_failed cov_lines=$cov_lines cov_funcs=$cov_funcs cov_branches=$cov_branches time=${mins}m${secs}s"
     } > "$log_file" 2>&1
 }
 
-# Run all 4 configurations in parallel
+# Run configurations
-echo "Starting parallel builds..."
+# Coverage enabled only for build 1 (Full) - it has most code paths
-pids=()
+echo
-for idx in 1 2 3 4; do
+echo "=== Start build ==="
-    if [ $idx -le ${#tests[@]} ]; then
+echo
-        build_and_test "${tests[$((idx-1))]}" "$*" "$idx" &
+
-        pids+=("$!")
+if [ "$COVERAGE_ONLY" = "yes" ]; then
-        echo "Started build $idx (PID: $!)" 
+    echo "Running coverage-only mode (${BUILD_NAMES[0]} build)..."
-    fi
+    echo
-done
+    run_valgrind="no"
+    run_coverage="yes"
+    extra_flags="--enable-coverage"
+    build_and_test "${tests[0]}" "$* $extra_flags" "1" "$run_valgrind" "$run_coverage" &
+    pids=("$!")
+    echo "  → ${BUILD_NAMES[0]}: ${tests[0]} [+Coverage]"
+else
+    echo "Starting $TEST_BUILDS parallel build configurations..."
+    echo
+    pids=()
+    for idx in $(seq 1 $TEST_BUILDS); do
+        if [ $idx -le ${#tests[@]} ]; then
+            # All builds run Valgrind on Linux
+            if [ "$ARCH" = "linux" ]; then
+                run_valgrind="yes"
+                extra_flags="--enable-valgrind"
+            else
+                run_valgrind="no"
+                extra_flags=""
+            fi
+            run_coverage="no"
+            build_and_test "${tests[$((idx-1))]}" "$* $extra_flags" "$idx" "$run_valgrind" "$run_coverage" &
+            pids+=("$!")
+            flags_desc=""
+            [ "$run_valgrind" = "yes" ] && flags_desc=" [+Valgrind]"
+            echo "  → ${BUILD_NAMES[$((idx-1))]}: ${tests[$((idx-1))]}$flags_desc"
+        fi
+    done
+fi
+echo
 
 # Wait for all builds and check exit codes
-failed=0
+echo "Waiting for builds to complete..."
+echo
+failed_builds=()
 for i in "${!pids[@]}"; do
     idx=$((i + 1))
     if wait "${pids[$i]}"; then
-        echo "✓ Build $idx passed"
+        if [ -f "build-$idx.log" ]; then
+            parse_build_stats "build-$idx.log"
+            
+            echo "✓ ${BUILD_NAMES[$i]} PASSED"
+            echo "  Unit tests:       $STAT_UNIT_P passed, $STAT_UNIT_F failed"
+            echo "  Functional tests: $STAT_FUNC_P passed, $STAT_FUNC_F failed"
+            if [ "$STAT_COV_LINES" != "n/a" ] && [ -n "$STAT_COV_LINES" ]; then
+                echo "  Coverage:         Lines: $STAT_COV_LINES | Functions: $STAT_COV_FUNCS | Branches: $STAT_COV_BRANCHES"
+            fi
+            echo "  Duration:         ${STAT_TIME:-?}"
+        else
+            echo "✓ ${BUILD_NAMES[$i]} passed (no stats available)"
+        fi
     else
-        echo "✗ Build $idx failed"
+        echo "✗ ${BUILD_NAMES[$i]} FAILED" >&2
-        echo "--- Log for build $idx ---"
+        failed_builds+=("$idx")
-        cat "build-$idx.log"
+    fi
-        echo "--- End log ---"
+    echo
-        failed=1
+done
+
+# Show failed builds full logs
+for idx in "${failed_builds[@]}"; do
+    if [ -f "build-$idx.log" ]; then
+        echo "=== ${BUILD_NAMES[$((idx-1))]} FAILURE LOG ===" >&2
+        cat "build-$idx.log" >&2
+        echo >&2
     fi
 done
 
-# Show all logs on success too
+if [ ${#failed_builds[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
-if [ $failed -eq 0 ]; then
+    echo "RESULT: FAILED (builds ${failed_builds[*]})" >&2
-    echo
-    echo "All builds passed!"
-    for idx in 1 2 3 4; do
-        if [ -f "build-$idx.log" ]; then
-            echo "--- Log for build $idx ---"
-            cat "build-$idx.log"
-        fi
-    done
-else
     exit 1
+else
+    if [ "$COVERAGE_ONLY" = "yes" ]; then
+        echo "RESULT: COVERAGE BUILD PASSED ✓"
+    else
+        echo "RESULT: ALL $TEST_BUILDS BUILDS PASSED ✓"
+    fi
 fi

prof.supp

@@ -8,6 +8,29 @@
 # * python suppressions file from https://github.com/python/cpython/blob/main/Misc/valgrind-python.supp
 #
 
+# ============================================
+# glibc AVX2 optimizations (false positives)
+# See: https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=19796
+# ============================================
+
+{
+  glibc_wcpncpy_avx2
+  Memcheck:Addr32
+  fun:__wcpncpy_avx2
+  fun:wcsxfrm_l
+  fun:g_utf8_collate_key
+  ...
+}
+
+{
+  glibc_wcsxfrm_avx2
+  Memcheck:Addr32
+  ...
+  fun:wcsxfrm_l
+  fun:g_utf8_collate_key
+  ...
+}
+
 # ============================================
 # Functional tests suppressions (stabber/pthread)
 # ============================================

tests/functionaltests/functionaltests.c

@@ -69,6 +69,12 @@ main(int argc, char* argv[])
         }
     }
 
+    char group_env[16];
+    snprintf(group_env, sizeof(group_env), "%d", group);
+    setenv("PROF_TEST_GROUP", group_env, 1);
+    
+    fprintf(stderr, "[PROF_TEST] Starting functional tests, group=%d\n", group);
+
     /* ============================================================
      * GROUP 1: Connect, Ping, Rooms, Software
      * Basic XMPP session establishment and server queries

tests/functionaltests/proftest.c

@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@
 
 #include "proftest.h"
 
+/* Number of parallel test groups for CI builds */
+#define TEST_GROUPS 4
+
 char *config_orig;
 char *data_orig;
 
@@ -136,8 +139,14 @@ _create_logs_dir(void)
 void
 _cleanup_dirs(void)
 {
+    const char *group_env = getenv("PROF_TEST_GROUP");
+    int group = group_env ? atoi(group_env) : 0;
+    int dir_id = (group >= 1 && group <= TEST_GROUPS) ? group : stub_port;
+    
+    printf("[PROF_TEST] Cleaning up directories for group %d (dir_id %d)\n", group, dir_id);
+    
     char cmd[512];
-    snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd), "rm -rf ./tests/functionaltests/files/%d", stub_port);
+    snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd), "rm -rf ./test-files/%d", dir_id);
     int res = system(cmd);
     if (res == -1) {
         assert_true(FALSE);
@@ -221,30 +230,74 @@ prof_start(void)
     /* Set non-blocking mode for reading */
     int flags = fcntl(fd, F_GETFL, 0);
     fcntl(fd, F_SETFL, flags | O_NONBLOCK);
+    
+    /* Brief wait for process to initialize */
+    usleep(50000);  /* 50ms */
 }
 
 int
 init_prof_test(void **state)
 {
+    /* Get test group from environment for static resource allocation */
+    const char *group_env = getenv("PROF_TEST_GROUP");
+    int group = group_env ? atoi(group_env) : 0;
+    
+    /* Get build index for port offset (for parallel CI builds) */
+    const char *build_env = getenv("PROF_BUILD_INDEX");
+    int build_idx = build_env ? atoi(build_env) : 0;
+    
+    /* Calculate port base: each build uses a different range of TEST_GROUPS ports.
+     * Build 0 (local/default): 5230-5233, Full: 5230-5233, Minimal: 5234-5237, etc.
+     * Build 0 and Full share the same range because build 0 is for local runs or sequential run (no parallel builds),
+     * while Full/Minimal/NoEncrypt/Default are used in CI where they run in parallel. */
+    int port_base = 5230 + ((build_idx > 0 ? build_idx - 1 : 0) * TEST_GROUPS);
+    
+    /* Static resource allocation to avoid conflicts in parallel execution.
+     * Group 1-4: use static port assignment.
+     * Group 0 (all groups): use dynamic allocation as fallback. */
     gboolean started = FALSE;
-    for (int p = 5230; p < 5250; ++p) {
+    
-        int ret = stbbr_start(STBBR_LOGDEBUG, p, 0);
+    if (group >= 1 && group <= TEST_GROUPS) {
-        if (ret == 0) {
+        /* Static allocation: each group gets a dedicated port */
-            stub_port = p;
+        stub_port = port_base + group - 1;
+        printf("[PROF_TEST] Build %d, Group %d: trying port %d\n", build_idx, group, stub_port);
+        
+        if (stbbr_start(STBBR_LOGDEBUG, stub_port, 0) == 0) {
             started = TRUE;
-            break;
+            printf("[PROF_TEST] Started stabber on port %d\n", stub_port);
+        } else {
+            printf("[PROF_TEST] Failed to start stabber on port %d\n", stub_port);
         }
     }
+    
+    /* Fallback to dynamic allocation if static failed or group=0 */
     if (!started) {
-        assert_true(FALSE); // could not start stabber on any port in range
+        printf("[PROF_TEST] Using dynamic port allocation\n");
+        for (int p = port_base; p < port_base + 20; ++p) {
+            if (stbbr_start(STBBR_LOGDEBUG, p, 0) == 0) {
+                stub_port = p;
+                started = TRUE;
+                printf("[PROF_TEST] Started stabber on port %d\n", stub_port);
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    
+    if (!started) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "[PROF_TEST] ERROR: could not start stabber on any port\n");
         return -1;
     }
 
-    // Generate unique XDG paths based on stub_port for parallel execution
+    /* Generate unique XDG paths based on group for parallel execution.
+     * Use ./test-files/ in current (build) directory for out-of-tree builds compatibility. */
+    int dir_id = (group >= 1 && group <= TEST_GROUPS) ? group : stub_port;
     snprintf(xdg_config_home, sizeof(xdg_config_home),
-             "./tests/functionaltests/files/%d/xdg_config_home", stub_port);
+             "./test-files/%d/xdg_config_home", dir_id);
     snprintf(xdg_data_home, sizeof(xdg_data_home),
-             "./tests/functionaltests/files/%d/xdg_data_home", stub_port);
+             "./test-files/%d/xdg_data_home", dir_id);
+    
+    printf("[PROF_TEST] Group %d using directories: config=%s, data=%s\n", 
+           group, xdg_config_home, xdg_data_home);
 
     // Give stabber server thread time to start listening
     usleep(100000); // 100ms
@@ -401,6 +454,16 @@ prof_output_regex(const char *pattern)
         usleep(50000);  /* 50ms */
     }
     
+    /* Timeout reached - log diagnostic info */
+    fprintf(stderr, "Timeout waiting for regex '%s' after %d seconds. Last output:\n", pattern, expect_timeout);
+    size_t len = strlen(output_buffer);
+    if (len > 500) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "...%s", output_buffer + len - 500);
+    } else {
+        fprintf(stderr, "%s", output_buffer);
+    }
+    fprintf(stderr, "\n");
+    
     regfree(&regex);
     return 0;
 }