diff --git a/.github/workflows/cli.yml b/.github/workflows/cli.yml
index 8adc4efdad..972087ffff 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cli.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cli.yml
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ jobs:
     env:
       CI: true
       NODE_OPTIONS: --max-old-space-size=4096
+      BACKSTAGE_E2E_CLI_TEST: true
 
     name: Node ${{ matrix.node-version }} on ${{ matrix.os }}
     steps:
@@ -63,5 +64,3 @@ jobs:
           cd test-app
           yarn lint:all
           yarn test:all
-        env:
-          CI: true