diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 29f44d7..55542df 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,3 +2,7 @@ node_modules/
 dist/
 *.tar.gz
 .playwright-mcp/
+e2e/.auth/state.json
+.env.e2e
+test-results/
+playwright-report/
diff --git a/e2e/.auth/.gitkeep b/e2e/.auth/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/e2e/auth.setup.ts b/e2e/auth.setup.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2b4ecb9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/auth.setup.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+import { test as setup, expect, Page } from '@playwright/test';
+
+const AUTH_STATE_PATH = 'e2e/.auth/state.json';
+
+async function authenticateWithOIDC(page: Page, username: string, password: string): Promise<void> {
+  // Navigate to login — Headlamp redirects / to /c/main/login
+  await page.goto('/');
+  await page.waitForURL('**/login');
+
+  // Click "Sign In" and capture the Authentik popup
+  const popupPromise = page.waitForEvent('popup');
+  await page.getByRole('button', { name: /sign in/i }).click();
+  const popup = await popupPromise;
+
+  // Wait for the Authentik popup to fully load before interacting
+  await popup.waitForLoadState('domcontentloaded');
+  await popup.waitForLoadState('networkidle');
+
+  // Authentik step 1: fill username — wait for the form to render
+  const usernameField = popup.getByRole('textbox', { name: /email or username/i });
+  await usernameField.waitFor({ state: 'visible', timeout: 15_000 });
+  await usernameField.fill(username);
+  await popup.getByRole('button', { name: /log in/i }).click();
+
+  // Authentik step 2: fill password — wait for the next step to load
+  await popup.waitForLoadState('networkidle');
+  const passwordField = popup.getByRole('textbox', { name: /password/i });
+  await passwordField.waitFor({ state: 'visible', timeout: 15_000 });
+  await passwordField.fill(password);
+  await popup.getByRole('button', { name: /continue|log in/i }).click();
+
+  // Wait for the popup to close (Authentik redirects back, Headlamp processes callback)
+  await popup.waitForEvent('close', { timeout: 15_000 });
+
+  // Original page should now be authenticated — wait for sidebar
+  await expect(page.getByRole('navigation', { name: 'Navigation' })).toBeVisible({
+    timeout: 15_000,
+  });
+}
+
+async function authenticateWithToken(page: Page, token: string): Promise<void> {
+  await page.goto('/');
+  // Headlamp goes to /token directly when no OIDC is configured,
+  // or through /login when OIDC is configured
+  await page.waitForURL(/\/(login|token)$/);
+
+  if (page.url().includes('/login')) {
+    // OIDC login page — click "use a token" to reach token auth.
+    // Wait explicitly before clicking so failures surface at 15 s
+    // with a clear message rather than silently timing out at 60 s.
+    const useTokenBtn = page.getByRole('button', { name: /use a token/i });
+    await useTokenBtn.waitFor({ state: 'visible', timeout: 15_000 });
+    await useTokenBtn.click();
+    await page.waitForURL('**/token');
+  }
+
+  // Fill the "ID token" field and submit
+  await page.getByRole('textbox', { name: /id token/i }).fill(token);
+  await page.getByRole('button', { name: /authenticate/i }).click();
+
+  // Wait for the main UI to load
+  await expect(page.getByRole('navigation', { name: 'Navigation' })).toBeVisible({
+    timeout: 15_000,
+  });
+}
+
+setup('authenticate with Headlamp', async ({ page }) => {
+  const username = process.env.AUTHENTIK_USERNAME;
+  const password = process.env.AUTHENTIK_PASSWORD;
+  const token = process.env.HEADLAMP_TOKEN;
+
+  if (username && password) {
+    await authenticateWithOIDC(page, username, password);
+  } else if (token) {
+    await authenticateWithToken(page, token);
+  } else {
+    throw new Error(
+      'Set AUTHENTIK_USERNAME + AUTHENTIK_PASSWORD for OIDC auth, or HEADLAMP_TOKEN for token auth'
+    );
+  }
+
+  await page.context().storageState({ path: AUTH_STATE_PATH });
+});
diff --git a/e2e/intel-gpu.spec.ts b/e2e/intel-gpu.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b505965
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/intel-gpu.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
+
+test.describe('Intel GPU plugin smoke tests', () => {
+  test('sidebar contains intel-gpu entry', async ({ page }) => {
+    await page.goto('/');
+    const sidebar = page.getByRole('navigation', { name: 'Navigation' });
+    await expect(sidebar).toBeVisible({ timeout: 15_000 });
+    await expect(sidebar.getByRole('button', { name: 'intel-gpu' })).toBeVisible();
+  });
+
+  test('sidebar intel-gpu entry is clickable and navigates to overview', async ({ page }) => {
+    await page.goto('/');
+    const sidebar = page.getByRole('navigation', { name: 'Navigation' });
+    await expect(sidebar).toBeVisible({ timeout: 15_000 });
+
+    const gpuEntry = sidebar.getByRole('button', { name: 'intel-gpu' });
+    await expect(gpuEntry).toBeVisible();
+    await gpuEntry.click();
+
+    // Should navigate to the overview route
+    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/intel-gpu$/);
+    await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: /intel.gpu/i })).toBeVisible();
+  });
+
+  test('overview page renders GPU device list or empty state', async ({ page }) => {
+    await page.goto('/c/main/intel-gpu');
+
+    // Overview heading should be present
+    await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: /intel.gpu/i })).toBeVisible({
+      timeout: 15_000,
+    });
+
+    // Either a populated table/list or an empty-state indicator must be visible
+    const hasTable = await page.locator('table').first().isVisible().catch(() => false);
+    const hasEmptyState = await page
+      .locator('text=/no.*gpu|no.*device|0 node|empty/i')
+      .first()
+      .isVisible()
+      .catch(() => false);
+    expect(hasTable || hasEmptyState).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test('device plugins page renders or shows empty state', async ({ page }) => {
+    await page.goto('/c/main/intel-gpu/device-plugins');
+
+    await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: /device plugin/i })).toBeVisible({
+      timeout: 15_000,
+    });
+
+    const hasTable = await page.locator('table').first().isVisible().catch(() => false);
+    const hasEmptyState = await page
+      .locator('text=/no.*plugin|no.*device|empty/i')
+      .first()
+      .isVisible()
+      .catch(() => false);
+    expect(hasTable || hasEmptyState).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test('navigation between plugin views works', async ({ page }) => {
+    await page.goto('/c/main/intel-gpu');
+    await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: /intel.gpu/i })).toBeVisible({
+      timeout: 15_000,
+    });
+
+    // Navigate to GPU Nodes
+    const sidebar = page.getByRole('navigation', { name: 'Navigation' });
+    const nodesLink = sidebar.getByRole('link', { name: /gpu nodes/i });
+    await expect(nodesLink).toBeVisible();
+    await nodesLink.click();
+    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/intel-gpu\/nodes$/);
+    await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: /node/i })).toBeVisible();
+
+    // Navigate to GPU Pods
+    const podsLink = sidebar.getByRole('link', { name: /gpu pods/i });
+    await expect(podsLink).toBeVisible();
+    await podsLink.click();
+    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/intel-gpu\/pods$/);
+    await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: /pod/i })).toBeVisible();
+
+    // Navigate to Metrics
+    const metricsLink = sidebar.getByRole('link', { name: /metrics/i });
+    await expect(metricsLink).toBeVisible();
+    await metricsLink.click();
+    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/intel-gpu\/metrics$/);
+    await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: /metric/i })).toBeVisible();
+  });
+
+  test('plugin settings page shows intel-gpu plugin entry', async ({ page }) => {
+    await page.goto('/settings/plugins');
+
+    // Wait for plugin list to load — plugin scripts load asynchronously
+    const pluginEntry = page.locator('text=intel-gpu').first();
+    await expect(pluginEntry).toBeVisible({ timeout: 30_000 });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index efe360f..4dd2119 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -22,7 +22,9 @@
     "format": "prettier --write src/",
     "format:check": "prettier --check src/",
     "test": "vitest run",
-    "test:watch": "vitest"
+    "test:watch": "vitest",
+    "e2e": "playwright test",
+    "e2e:headed": "playwright test --headed"
   },
   "peerDependencies": {
     "react": "^18.0.0",
@@ -30,6 +32,7 @@
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@kinvolk/headlamp-plugin": "^0.13.0",
+    "@playwright/test": "^1.58.2",
     "@testing-library/jest-dom": "^6.4.8",
     "@testing-library/react": "^16.0.0",
     "@testing-library/user-event": "^14.5.2",
diff --git a/playwright.config.ts b/playwright.config.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b916edf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/playwright.config.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+import { defineConfig, devices } from '@playwright/test';
+
+export default defineConfig({
+  testDir: './e2e',
+  timeout: 30_000,
+  expect: { timeout: 10_000 },
+  fullyParallel: false,
+  forbidOnly: !!process.env.CI,
+  retries: process.env.CI ? 1 : 0,
+  reporter: 'list',
+  use: {
+    baseURL: process.env.HEADLAMP_URL || (() => { throw new Error('HEADLAMP_URL is required — run scripts/deploy-e2e-headlamp.sh first'); })(),
+    trace: 'on-first-retry',
+    screenshot: 'only-on-failure',
+  },
+  projects: [
+    { name: 'setup', testMatch: /auth\.setup\.ts/, timeout: 60_000 },
+    {
+      name: 'chromium',
+      use: {
+        ...devices['Desktop Chrome'],
+        storageState: 'e2e/.auth/state.json',
+      },
+      dependencies: ['setup'],
+    },
+  ],
+});
diff --git a/scripts/deploy-e2e-headlamp.sh b/scripts/deploy-e2e-headlamp.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..ed55a84
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/deploy-e2e-headlamp.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,204 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# deploy-e2e-headlamp.sh
+#
+# Deploys a stock Headlamp instance with the intel-gpu plugin loaded via
+# a ConfigMap volume mount. No custom Docker images — the plugin is built
+# in CI and injected as a ConfigMap.
+#
+# E2E resources are deployed to the `privilegedescalation-dev` namespace. Nothing
+# persists beyond the test run — teardown cleans up all created resources.
+#
+# Prerequisites:
+#   - Plugin built (dist/ exists with plugin-main.js + package.json)
+#   - kubectl configured with cluster access
+#   - RBAC applied: kubectl apply -f deployment/e2e-ci-runner-rbac.yaml
+#
+# Environment:
+#   E2E_NAMESPACE     — namespace for E2E Headlamp (default: privilegedescalation-dev)
+#   E2E_RELEASE       — release/resource name prefix (default: headlamp-e2e)
+#   HEADLAMP_VERSION  — Headlamp image tag (default: latest)
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+DIST_DIR="$REPO_ROOT/dist"
+
+E2E_NAMESPACE="${E2E_NAMESPACE:-privilegedescalation-dev}"
+E2E_RELEASE="${E2E_RELEASE:-headlamp-e2e}"
+HEADLAMP_VERSION="${HEADLAMP_VERSION:-latest}"
+
+if [ ! -d "$DIST_DIR" ]; then
+  echo "ERROR: dist/ not found. Run 'npm run build' first." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# --- Preflight: verify RBAC before touching the cluster ---
+echo "Checking RBAC permissions in namespace '${E2E_NAMESPACE}'..."
+if ! kubectl auth can-i delete configmaps -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" --quiet 2>/dev/null; then
+  echo "ERROR: Missing RBAC — cannot delete configmaps in namespace '${E2E_NAMESPACE}'." >&2
+  echo "  Apply RBAC first: kubectl apply -f deployment/e2e-ci-runner-rbac.yaml" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "=== E2E Headlamp Deployment ==="
+echo "  Image:     ghcr.io/headlamp-k8s/headlamp:${HEADLAMP_VERSION}"
+echo "  Namespace: $E2E_NAMESPACE"
+echo "  Release:   $E2E_RELEASE"
+
+# --- Create ConfigMap from built plugin ---
+echo ""
+echo "Creating ConfigMap with plugin files..."
+
+# Delete existing ConfigMap if present (idempotent redeploy)
+kubectl delete configmap headlamp-intel-gpu-plugin \
+  -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" --ignore-not-found
+
+# Create ConfigMap from dist/ contents and package.json
+kubectl create configmap headlamp-intel-gpu-plugin \
+  -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" \
+  --from-file="$DIST_DIR" \
+  --from-file=package.json="$REPO_ROOT/package.json"
+
+# --- Tear down any existing E2E deployment for a clean start ---
+echo ""
+echo "Removing any existing E2E deployment (clean-start)..."
+kubectl delete deployment "${E2E_RELEASE}" -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" --ignore-not-found --wait
+kubectl delete service "${E2E_RELEASE}" -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" --ignore-not-found --wait
+kubectl delete serviceaccount "${E2E_RELEASE}" -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" --ignore-not-found --wait
+
+# --- Deploy Headlamp via kubectl apply ---
+echo ""
+echo "Deploying Headlamp E2E instance..."
+
+kubectl apply -f - <<EOF
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ServiceAccount
+metadata:
+  name: ${E2E_RELEASE}
+  namespace: ${E2E_NAMESPACE}
+---
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: Deployment
+metadata:
+  name: ${E2E_RELEASE}
+  namespace: ${E2E_NAMESPACE}
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: headlamp
+    app.kubernetes.io/instance: ${E2E_RELEASE}
+spec:
+  replicas: 1
+  selector:
+    matchLabels:
+      app.kubernetes.io/name: headlamp
+      app.kubernetes.io/instance: ${E2E_RELEASE}
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      labels:
+        app.kubernetes.io/name: headlamp
+        app.kubernetes.io/instance: ${E2E_RELEASE}
+    spec:
+      serviceAccountName: ${E2E_RELEASE}
+      automountServiceAccountToken: true
+      securityContext: {}
+      containers:
+        - name: headlamp
+          image: ghcr.io/headlamp-k8s/headlamp:${HEADLAMP_VERSION}
+          imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
+          securityContext:
+            runAsNonRoot: true
+            privileged: false
+            runAsUser: 100
+            runAsGroup: 101
+          args:
+            - "-in-cluster"
+            - "-in-cluster-context-name=main"
+            - "-plugins-dir=/headlamp/plugins"
+          ports:
+            - name: http
+              containerPort: 4466
+              protocol: TCP
+          readinessProbe:
+            httpGet:
+              path: /
+              port: http
+            initialDelaySeconds: 5
+            periodSeconds: 5
+            failureThreshold: 6
+          livenessProbe:
+            httpGet:
+              path: /
+              port: http
+            initialDelaySeconds: 10
+            periodSeconds: 10
+          volumeMounts:
+            - name: intel-gpu-plugin
+              mountPath: /headlamp/plugins/headlamp-intel-gpu
+              readOnly: true
+      volumes:
+        - name: intel-gpu-plugin
+          configMap:
+            name: headlamp-intel-gpu-plugin
+---
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Service
+metadata:
+  name: ${E2E_RELEASE}
+  namespace: ${E2E_NAMESPACE}
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: headlamp
+    app.kubernetes.io/instance: ${E2E_RELEASE}
+spec:
+  type: ClusterIP
+  selector:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: headlamp
+    app.kubernetes.io/instance: ${E2E_RELEASE}
+  ports:
+    - name: http
+      port: 80
+      targetPort: http
+      protocol: TCP
+EOF
+
+echo "Waiting for rollout..."
+kubectl rollout status "deployment/${E2E_RELEASE}" \
+  -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" --timeout=120s
+
+# --- Generate a service URL for tests ---
+SVC_URL="http://${E2E_RELEASE}.${E2E_NAMESPACE}.svc.cluster.local"
+
+# --- Wait for DNS and HTTP reachability ---
+echo ""
+echo "Waiting for ${SVC_URL} to be reachable..."
+ATTEMPTS=0
+MAX_ATTEMPTS=24  # 24 × 5s = 120s max
+until curl -sf --max-time 5 "${SVC_URL}" -o /dev/null 2>/dev/null; do
+  ATTEMPTS=$((ATTEMPTS + 1))
+  if [ "$ATTEMPTS" -ge "$MAX_ATTEMPTS" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: ${SVC_URL} not reachable after $((MAX_ATTEMPTS * 5))s" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  echo "  [${ATTEMPTS}/${MAX_ATTEMPTS}] not yet reachable, retrying in 5s..."
+  sleep 5
+done
+echo ""
+echo "E2E Headlamp is ready at: ${SVC_URL}"
+echo "  export HEADLAMP_URL=${SVC_URL}"
+
+# --- Generate a token for test auth ---
+echo ""
+echo "Creating service account token for E2E auth..."
+kubectl create serviceaccount headlamp-e2e-test \
+  -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" --dry-run=client -o yaml | kubectl apply -f -
+
+TOKEN=$(kubectl create token headlamp-e2e-test -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" --duration=1h 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+if [ -n "$TOKEN" ]; then
+  echo "  export HEADLAMP_TOKEN=<generated>"
+  echo ""
+  echo "HEADLAMP_URL=${SVC_URL}" > "$REPO_ROOT/.env.e2e"
+  echo "HEADLAMP_TOKEN=${TOKEN}" >> "$REPO_ROOT/.env.e2e"
+  echo "Wrote .env.e2e with HEADLAMP_URL and HEADLAMP_TOKEN"
+else
+  echo "  WARNING: Could not generate token. Set HEADLAMP_TOKEN manually or use OIDC."
+fi
+
+echo ""
+echo "E2E deployment complete."
diff --git a/scripts/teardown-e2e-headlamp.sh b/scripts/teardown-e2e-headlamp.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..0afe16f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/teardown-e2e-headlamp.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# teardown-e2e-headlamp.sh
+#
+# Tears down the dedicated E2E Headlamp instance deployed by deploy-e2e-headlamp.sh.
+#
+# Environment:
+#   E2E_NAMESPACE  — namespace to clean up (default: privilegedescalation-dev)
+#   E2E_RELEASE    — release/resource name prefix (default: headlamp-e2e)
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+
+E2E_NAMESPACE="${E2E_NAMESPACE:-privilegedescalation-dev}"
+E2E_RELEASE="${E2E_RELEASE:-headlamp-e2e}"
+
+echo "=== E2E Headlamp Teardown ==="
+echo "  Namespace: $E2E_NAMESPACE"
+echo "  Release:   $E2E_RELEASE"
+
+echo "Removing Headlamp Deployment, Service, and ServiceAccount..."
+kubectl delete deployment "${E2E_RELEASE}" -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" --ignore-not-found
+kubectl delete service "${E2E_RELEASE}" -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" --ignore-not-found
+kubectl delete serviceaccount "${E2E_RELEASE}" -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" --ignore-not-found
+
+echo "Cleaning up ConfigMap..."
+kubectl delete configmap headlamp-intel-gpu-plugin -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" --ignore-not-found
+
+echo "Cleaning up test service account..."
+kubectl delete serviceaccount headlamp-e2e-test -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" --ignore-not-found
+
+# Clean up .env.e2e if present
+if [ -f "$REPO_ROOT/.env.e2e" ]; then
+  rm "$REPO_ROOT/.env.e2e"
+  echo "Removed .env.e2e"
+fi
+
+echo ""
+echo "E2E teardown complete."