diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests/test_notifications.py b/.github/workflows/tests/test_notifications.py
index 878844ac..4c44a427 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests/test_notifications.py
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests/test_notifications.py
@@ -115,7 +115,12 @@ def test_cloudevents_sink_logs_show_startup():
         pytest.skip("Cannot get Knative CloudEvents sink logs")
 
     logs = result.stdout
-    assert "listening on port" in logs, "Knative CloudEvents sink should have started successfully"
+    # CloudEvents sink can be either a real sink or the helloworld sample container
+    assert (
+        "listening on port" in logs or "helloworld: received a request" in logs
+    ), (
+        "Knative CloudEvents sink should be running (either real sink or helloworld sample)"
+    )
 
 
 def test_eoapi_notifier_logs_show_connection():
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ab0d5855..dd60893d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 ### Changed
 
 - Refactors eoapi-support into core eoapi chart [#262](https://github.com/developmentseed/eoapi-k8s/pull/262)
+- Make integration tests fail properly
 
 ## [0.7.13] - 2025-11-04
 
diff --git a/scripts/test.sh b/scripts/test.sh
index d09ad0f5..874f7889 100755
--- a/scripts/test.sh
+++ b/scripts/test.sh
@@ -164,21 +164,24 @@ run_integration_tests() {
 
         if ! command -v pytest >/dev/null 2>&1; then
             python3 -m pip install --user pytest psycopg2-binary requests >/dev/null 2>&1 || {
-                log_warn "Failed to install pytest - skipping Python tests"
-                return 0
+                log_error "Failed to install pytest - cannot run integration tests"
+                exit 1
             }
         fi
 
         # Run notification tests (don't require DB connection)
         python3 -m pytest .github/workflows/tests/test_notifications.py::test_eoapi_notifier_deployment \
             .github/workflows/tests/test_notifications.py::test_cloudevents_sink_logs_show_startup \
-            -v --tb=short || log_warn "Notification tests failed"
+            -v --tb=short
     fi
 
     # Wait for pods to be ready - try standard labels first, fallback to legacy
     if kubectl get pods -n "$NAMESPACE" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         if ! wait_for_pods "$NAMESPACE" "app.kubernetes.io/name=eoapi,app.kubernetes.io/component=stac" "300s" 2>/dev/null; then
-            wait_for_pods "$NAMESPACE" "app=${RELEASE_NAME}-stac" "300s" || log_warn "STAC pods not ready"
+            wait_for_pods "$NAMESPACE" "app=${RELEASE_NAME}-stac" "300s" || {
+                log_error "STAC pods not ready after timeout"
+                exit 1
+            }
         fi
     fi
 
@@ -187,7 +190,8 @@ run_integration_tests() {
         if kubectl get ksvc eoapi-cloudevents-sink -n "$NAMESPACE" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
             log_info "Waiting for Knative cloudevents sink to be ready..."
             if ! kubectl wait --for=condition=Ready ksvc/eoapi-cloudevents-sink -n "$NAMESPACE" --timeout=120s 2>/dev/null; then
-                log_warn "Knative cloudevents sink not ready - this may cause SinkBinding warnings"
+                log_error "Knative cloudevents sink not ready after timeout"
+                exit 1
             fi
         fi
     fi