diff --git a/app/conftest.py b/app/conftest.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e75a390b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/conftest.py
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+import tempfile
+
+from app.tests.helpers import cleanup_test_run_root, get_test_run_root, get_test_system_temp_root
+
+
+def pytest_configure(config) -> None:
+    temp_root = get_test_system_temp_root()
+    for env_name in ("TMPDIR", "TEMP", "TMP"):
+        os.environ[env_name] = str(temp_root)
+
+    tempfile.tempdir = None
+
+    if getattr(config.option, "basetemp", None) is None:
+        config.option.basetemp = str(get_test_run_root() / "pytest")
+
+
+def pytest_unconfigure(config) -> None:
+    del config
+    cleanup_test_run_root()
diff --git a/app/features/conditions/tests/test_conditions.py b/app/features/conditions/tests/test_conditions.py
index 050f8aa6..f72ec622 100644
--- a/app/features/conditions/tests/test_conditions.py
+++ b/app/features/conditions/tests/test_conditions.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ from app.library.config import Config
 from app.library.encoder import Encoder
 from app.features.conditions.repository import ConditionsRepository
 from app.library.sqlite_store import SqliteStore
+from app.tests.helpers import make_in_memory_db_path
 
 
 @pytest_asyncio.fixture
@@ -21,7 +22,7 @@ async def repo():
     ConditionsRepository._reset_singleton()
     SqliteStore._reset_singleton()
 
-    store = SqliteStore(db_path=":memory:")
+    store = SqliteStore(db_path=make_in_memory_db_path("conditions-repository"))
     await store.get_connection()
 
     # Create repository
@@ -30,10 +31,7 @@ async def repo():
     yield repository
 
     # Cleanup - close connections properly
-    if store._conn:
-        await store._conn.close()
-    if store._engine:
-        await store._engine.dispose()
+    await store.close()
 
     # Reset singletons
     ConditionsRepository._reset_singleton()
diff --git a/app/features/dl_fields/tests/test_dl_fields.py b/app/features/dl_fields/tests/test_dl_fields.py
index 9f7c408e..381bee54 100644
--- a/app/features/dl_fields/tests/test_dl_fields.py
+++ b/app/features/dl_fields/tests/test_dl_fields.py
@@ -8,26 +8,24 @@ import pytest_asyncio
 from app.features.dl_fields.repository import DLFieldsRepository
 from app.features.dl_fields.service import DLFields
 from app.library.sqlite_store import SqliteStore
+from app.tests.helpers import make_in_memory_db_path
 
 
 @pytest_asyncio.fixture
-async def repo(tmp_path):
+async def repo():
     """Provide a fresh repository instance with initialized database for each test."""
     DLFieldsRepository._reset_singleton()
     DLFields._reset_singleton()
     SqliteStore._reset_singleton()
 
-    store = SqliteStore(db_path=":memory:")
+    store = SqliteStore(db_path=make_in_memory_db_path("dl-fields-service"))
     await store.get_connection()
 
     repository = DLFieldsRepository.get_instance()
 
     yield repository
 
-    if store._conn:
-        await store._conn.close()
-    if store._engine:
-        await store._engine.dispose()
+    await store.close()
 
     DLFieldsRepository._reset_singleton()
     DLFields._reset_singleton()
diff --git a/app/features/dl_fields/tests/test_dl_fields_repository.py b/app/features/dl_fields/tests/test_dl_fields_repository.py
index 4a08ba23..7b2de6aa 100644
--- a/app/features/dl_fields/tests/test_dl_fields_repository.py
+++ b/app/features/dl_fields/tests/test_dl_fields_repository.py
@@ -7,25 +7,23 @@ import pytest_asyncio
 
 from app.features.dl_fields.repository import DLFieldsRepository
 from app.library.sqlite_store import SqliteStore
+from app.tests.helpers import make_in_memory_db_path
 
 
 @pytest_asyncio.fixture
-async def repo(tmp_path):
+async def repo():
     """Provide a fresh repository instance with initialized database for each test."""
     DLFieldsRepository._reset_singleton()
     SqliteStore._reset_singleton()
 
-    store = SqliteStore(db_path=str(":memory:"))
+    store = SqliteStore(db_path=make_in_memory_db_path("dl-fields-repository"))
     await store.get_connection()
 
     repository = DLFieldsRepository.get_instance()
 
     yield repository
 
-    if store._conn:
-        await store._conn.close()
-    if store._engine:
-        await store._engine.dispose()
+    await store.close()
 
     DLFieldsRepository._reset_singleton()
     SqliteStore._reset_singleton()
diff --git a/app/features/notifications/tests/test_notifications_repository.py b/app/features/notifications/tests/test_notifications_repository.py
index 51ef1260..0940ed4e 100644
--- a/app/features/notifications/tests/test_notifications_repository.py
+++ b/app/features/notifications/tests/test_notifications_repository.py
@@ -7,25 +7,23 @@ import pytest_asyncio
 
 from app.features.notifications.repository import NotificationsRepository
 from app.library.sqlite_store import SqliteStore
+from app.tests.helpers import make_in_memory_db_path
 
 
 @pytest_asyncio.fixture
-async def repo(tmp_path):
+async def repo():
     """Provide a fresh repository instance with initialized database for each test."""
     NotificationsRepository._reset_singleton()
     SqliteStore._reset_singleton()
 
-    store = SqliteStore(db_path=":memory:")
+    store = SqliteStore(db_path=make_in_memory_db_path("notifications-repository"))
     await store.get_connection()
 
     repository = NotificationsRepository.get_instance()
 
     yield repository
 
-    if store._conn:
-        await store._conn.close()
-    if store._engine:
-        await store._engine.dispose()
+    await store.close()
 
     NotificationsRepository._reset_singleton()
     SqliteStore._reset_singleton()
diff --git a/app/features/presets/tests/test_presets_repository.py b/app/features/presets/tests/test_presets_repository.py
index 656ac446..1dfe6746 100644
--- a/app/features/presets/tests/test_presets_repository.py
+++ b/app/features/presets/tests/test_presets_repository.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ from app.features.presets.repository import PresetsRepository
 from app.features.presets.router import presets_list
 from app.library.encoder import Encoder
 from app.library.sqlite_store import SqliteStore
+from app.tests.helpers import make_in_memory_db_path
 
 
 @pytest_asyncio.fixture
@@ -19,16 +20,13 @@ async def repo():
     PresetsRepository._reset_singleton()
     SqliteStore._reset_singleton()
 
-    store = SqliteStore(db_path=":memory:")
+    store = SqliteStore(db_path=make_in_memory_db_path("presets-repository"))
     await store.get_connection()
 
     repository = PresetsRepository.get_instance()
     yield repository
 
-    if store._conn:
-        await store._conn.close()
-    if store._engine:
-        await store._engine.dispose()
+    await store.close()
 
     PresetsRepository._reset_singleton()
     SqliteStore._reset_singleton()
diff --git a/app/features/streaming/library/segments.py b/app/features/streaming/library/segments.py
index 5789ed01..11d71f66 100644
--- a/app/features/streaming/library/segments.py
+++ b/app/features/streaming/library/segments.py
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 import asyncio
-import hashlib
 import logging
 import os
 import subprocess  # type: ignore
 import sys
 import tempfile
 from pathlib import Path
+from secrets import token_hex
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, ClassVar
 
 from aiohttp import web
@@ -68,21 +68,21 @@ class Segments:
         self.attempted: set[str] = set()
         "The set of attempted codecs."
 
-    async def build_ffmpeg_args(self, file: Path, s_codec: str) -> list[str]:
+    def _make_stream_input(self, file: Path) -> Path:
+        while True:
+            stream_input = Path(tempfile.gettempdir()).joinpath(f"ytptube_stream.{token_hex(8)}")
+            try:
+                stream_input.symlink_to(file, target_is_directory=False)
+                return stream_input
+            except FileExistsError:
+                continue
+
+    async def build_ffmpeg_args(self, file: Path, s_codec: str, *, stream_input: Path | None = None) -> list[str]:
         try:
             ff: FFProbeResult = await ffprobe(file)
         except UnicodeDecodeError:
             pass
-
-        tmpFile: Path = Path(tempfile.gettempdir()).joinpath(
-            f"ytptube_stream.{hashlib.sha256(str(file).encode()).hexdigest()}"
-        )
-
-        if not tmpFile.exists():
-            try:
-                tmpFile.symlink_to(file, target_is_directory=False)
-            except FileExistsError:
-                pass
+        input_path = stream_input or file
 
         startTime: str = f"{0:.6f}" if self.index == 0 else f"{self.duration * self.index:.6f}"
 
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ class Segments:
             # hardware/global input options must come before -i
             *input_args,
             "-i",
-            f"file:{tmpFile}",
+            f"file:{input_path}",
             "-map_metadata",
             "-1",
         ]
@@ -240,22 +240,27 @@ class Segments:
         else:
             codecs: list[str] = [codec, *list(encoder_fallback_chain(codec))]
 
-        for s_codec in codecs:
-            if s_codec in self.attempted:
-                continue
+        stream_input = self._make_stream_input(file)
+        try:
+            for s_codec in codecs:
+                if s_codec in self.attempted:
+                    continue
 
-            ffmpeg_args: list[str] = await self.build_ffmpeg_args(file, s_codec)
-            _, rc, client_disconnected, stderr_text = await self._run(resp, file, ffmpeg_args)
+                ffmpeg_args: list[str] = await self.build_ffmpeg_args(file, s_codec, stream_input=stream_input)
+                _, rc, client_disconnected, stderr_text = await self._run(resp, file, ffmpeg_args)
 
-            if 0 == rc:
-                Segments._cached_vcodec = s_codec
-                Segments._cache_initialized = True
-                return
+                if 0 == rc:
+                    Segments._cached_vcodec = s_codec
+                    Segments._cache_initialized = True
+                    return
 
-            if client_disconnected:
-                return
+                if client_disconnected:
+                    return
 
-            if 0 != rc:
-                err: str = stderr_text[:500] if stderr_text else "no error output"
-                LOG.warning(f"transcoding has failed (cmd={ffmpeg_args}) (rc={rc}): {err}. Trying fallbacks.")
-                self.attempted.add(s_codec)
+                if 0 != rc:
+                    err: str = stderr_text[:500] if stderr_text else "no error output"
+                    LOG.warning(f"transcoding has failed (cmd={ffmpeg_args}) (rc={rc}): {err}. Trying fallbacks.")
+                    self.attempted.add(s_codec)
+        finally:
+            if stream_input.is_symlink():
+                stream_input.unlink()
diff --git a/app/features/streaming/tests/test_ffprobe.py b/app/features/streaming/tests/test_ffprobe.py
index 1ef7c549..621ac12b 100644
--- a/app/features/streaming/tests/test_ffprobe.py
+++ b/app/features/streaming/tests/test_ffprobe.py
@@ -1,16 +1,17 @@
-import tempfile
 from pathlib import Path
 from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, patch
 
 import pytest
 
+from app.tests.helpers import make_test_temp_dir
+
 
 class TestFFProbe:
     """Test the ffprobe module functionality."""
 
     def setup_method(self):
         """Set up test files."""
-        self.temp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        self.temp_dir = str(make_test_temp_dir("ffprobe"))
         self.test_file = Path(self.temp_dir) / "test_video.mp4"
         self.test_file.touch()
 
diff --git a/app/features/streaming/tests/test_segments.py b/app/features/streaming/tests/test_segments.py
index c2bb160e..57c30e5a 100644
--- a/app/features/streaming/tests/test_segments.py
+++ b/app/features/streaming/tests/test_segments.py
@@ -1,13 +1,12 @@
 import asyncio
-import hashlib
 import logging
-import tempfile
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any
 
 import pytest
 
 from app.features.streaming.library.segments import Segments
+from app.tests.helpers import get_test_system_temp_root
 
 
 class DummyFF:
@@ -22,6 +21,10 @@ class DummyFF:
         return self._a
 
 
+def _ffmpeg_input_path(args: list[str]) -> Path:
+    return Path(args[args.index("-i") + 1].removeprefix("file:"))
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_build_ffmpeg_args_video_and_audio(tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
     # Create a dummy media file
@@ -53,8 +56,7 @@ async def test_build_ffmpeg_args_video_and_audio(tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: py
     assert captured_args, "ffmpeg was not invoked"
     args = captured_args[0]
 
-    # Compute expected symlink path used by Segments
-    tmpFile = Path(tempfile.gettempdir()).joinpath(f"ytptube_stream.{hashlib.sha256(str(media).encode()).hexdigest()}")
+    tmp_file = _ffmpeg_input_path(args)
 
     # Start time is duration * index with 6 decimals for non-zero index
     assert "-ss" in args
@@ -64,7 +66,9 @@ async def test_build_ffmpeg_args_video_and_audio(tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: py
     assert args[args.index("-t") + 1] == f"{5.5:.6f}"
     # Input uses file:<symlink>
     assert "-i" in args
-    assert args[args.index("-i") + 1] == f"file:{tmpFile}"
+    assert tmp_file.parent == get_test_system_temp_root()
+    assert tmp_file.name.startswith("ytptube_stream.")
+    assert not tmp_file.exists()
     # Includes video and audio mapping and codecs
     assert "-map" in args
     assert "0:v:0" in args
@@ -338,6 +342,9 @@ async def test_stream_gpu_fallback_switches_codec(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatc
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_stream_normal_flow(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    media = tmp_path / "file.mp4"
+    media.write_bytes(b"data")
+
     async def fake_ffprobe(_file: Path):
         return DummyFF(v=True, a=True)
 
@@ -346,16 +353,21 @@ async def test_stream_normal_flow(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch, tmp_path: Pat
     # Process that yields two chunks and then EOF
     proc = _FakeProc([b"abc", b"def", b""])
 
-    async def fake_create_subprocess_exec(*_args: Any, **_kwargs: Any):
+    captured_args: list[list[str]] = []
+
+    async def fake_create_subprocess_exec(*args: Any, **_kwargs: Any):
+        captured_args.append(list(args[1:]))
         return proc
 
     monkeypatch.setattr("asyncio.create_subprocess_exec", fake_create_subprocess_exec)
 
     seg = Segments(download_path=str(tmp_path), index=0, duration=1.0, vconvert=True, aconvert=True)
     resp = _FakeResp()
-    await seg.stream(tmp_path / "file.mp4", resp)
+    await seg.stream(media, resp)
 
     assert bytes(resp.data) == b"abcdef"
+    assert not _ffmpeg_input_path(captured_args[0]).exists()
+    assert media.exists()
     # EOF behavior may differ; don't require True
 
 
@@ -368,7 +380,10 @@ async def test_stream_client_reset(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch, tmp_path: Pa
 
     proc = _FakeProc([b"abc", b"def"])  # will attempt to write and fail
 
-    async def fake_create_subprocess_exec(*_args: Any, **_kwargs: Any):
+    captured_args: list[list[str]] = []
+
+    async def fake_create_subprocess_exec(*args: Any, **_kwargs: Any):
+        captured_args.append(list(args[1:]))
         return proc
 
     monkeypatch.setattr("asyncio.create_subprocess_exec", fake_create_subprocess_exec)
@@ -380,6 +395,7 @@ async def test_stream_client_reset(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch, tmp_path: Pa
 
     # Should not write EOF due to client disconnect
     assert resp.eof is False
+    assert not _ffmpeg_input_path(captured_args[0]).exists()
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
diff --git a/app/features/tasks/definitions/tests/test_task_definitions.py b/app/features/tasks/definitions/tests/test_task_definitions.py
index 388bd3b4..5a3d23ff 100644
--- a/app/features/tasks/definitions/tests/test_task_definitions.py
+++ b/app/features/tasks/definitions/tests/test_task_definitions.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ from app.features.tasks.definitions.router import (
 from app.library.encoder import Encoder
 from app.library.sqlite_store import SqliteStore
 from app.main import EventBus
+from app.tests.helpers import make_in_memory_db_path
 
 
 def _sample_definition(name: str = "example", *, priority: int = 0) -> dict:
@@ -49,17 +50,14 @@ async def repo() -> AsyncGenerator[TaskDefinitionsRepository, None]:
     TaskDefinitionsRepository._reset_singleton()
     SqliteStore._reset_singleton()
 
-    store = SqliteStore(db_path=":memory:")
+    store = SqliteStore(db_path=make_in_memory_db_path("task-definitions-repository"))
     await store.get_connection()
 
     repository = TaskDefinitionsRepository.get_instance()
 
     yield repository
 
-    if store._conn:
-        await store._conn.close()
-    if store._engine:
-        await store._engine.dispose()
+    await store.close()
 
     TaskDefinitionsRepository._reset_singleton()
     SqliteStore._reset_singleton()
diff --git a/app/features/tasks/tests/test_tasks_repository.py b/app/features/tasks/tests/test_tasks_repository.py
index d92e078e..221cd66e 100644
--- a/app/features/tasks/tests/test_tasks_repository.py
+++ b/app/features/tasks/tests/test_tasks_repository.py
@@ -7,25 +7,23 @@ import pytest_asyncio
 
 from app.features.tasks.repository import TasksRepository
 from app.library.sqlite_store import SqliteStore
+from app.tests.helpers import make_in_memory_db_path
 
 
 @pytest_asyncio.fixture
-async def repo(tmp_path):
+async def repo():
     """Provide a fresh repository instance with initialized database for each test."""
     TasksRepository._reset_singleton()
     SqliteStore._reset_singleton()
 
-    store = SqliteStore(db_path=str(":memory:"))
+    store = SqliteStore(db_path=make_in_memory_db_path("tasks-repository"))
     await store.get_connection()
 
     repository = TasksRepository.get_instance()
 
     yield repository
 
-    if store._conn:
-        await store._conn.close()
-    if store._engine:
-        await store._engine.dispose()
+    await store.close()
 
     TasksRepository._reset_singleton()
     SqliteStore._reset_singleton()
diff --git a/app/features/ytdlp/tests/test_ytdlp_utils.py b/app/features/ytdlp/tests/test_ytdlp_utils.py
index 476f1b2b..863fa7ee 100644
--- a/app/features/ytdlp/tests/test_ytdlp_utils.py
+++ b/app/features/ytdlp/tests/test_ytdlp_utils.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 import logging
 from pathlib import Path
 import re
-import tempfile
 from typing import Any
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
@@ -20,6 +19,7 @@ from app.features.ytdlp.utils import (
     archive_add,
     archive_read,
 )
+from app.tests.helpers import make_test_temp_dir
 
 
 class CaptureHandler(logging.Handler):
@@ -549,7 +549,7 @@ class TestArchiveFunctions:
 
     def setup_method(self):
         """Set up test archive file."""
-        self.temp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        self.temp_dir = str(make_test_temp_dir("ytdlp-archive"))
         self.archive_file = Path(self.temp_dir) / "archive.txt"
 
     def teardown_method(self):
diff --git a/app/tests/helpers.py b/app/tests/helpers.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b01f8c21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/tests/helpers.py
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import atexit
+import contextlib
+import shutil
+from pathlib import Path
+from tempfile import gettempdir
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
+from uuid import uuid4
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from collections.abc import Iterator
+
+_TEST_RUN_ROOT = Path(gettempdir()) / "ytptube-tests" / uuid4().hex
+_TEST_SYSTEM_TEMP_ROOT = _TEST_RUN_ROOT / "tmp"
+
+
+def _slugify(name: str) -> str:
+    return "".join(char if char.isalnum() else "-" for char in name).strip("-") or "tmp"
+
+
+def get_test_run_root() -> Path:
+    return _TEST_RUN_ROOT
+
+
+def get_test_system_temp_root() -> Path:
+    _TEST_SYSTEM_TEMP_ROOT.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    return _TEST_SYSTEM_TEMP_ROOT
+
+
+def cleanup_test_run_root() -> None:
+    shutil.rmtree(_TEST_RUN_ROOT, ignore_errors=True)
+
+
+def make_in_memory_db_path(name: str) -> str:
+    """Return a unique named in-memory SQLite path for test isolation."""
+    slug = _slugify(name)
+    return f":memory:{slug}-{uuid4().hex}"
+
+
+def make_test_disk_path(*parts: str) -> Path:
+    """Return a per-run temp path for tests that must write to disk."""
+    _TEST_RUN_ROOT.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    path = _TEST_RUN_ROOT.joinpath(*parts)
+    path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    return path
+
+
+def make_test_temp_dir(name: str) -> Path:
+    path = make_test_disk_path(f"{_slugify(name)}-{uuid4().hex}")
+    path.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=False)
+    return path
+
+
+@contextlib.contextmanager
+def temporary_test_dir(name: str) -> Iterator[Path]:
+    path = make_test_temp_dir(name)
+    try:
+        yield path
+    finally:
+        shutil.rmtree(path, ignore_errors=True)
+
+
+atexit.register(cleanup_test_run_root)
diff --git a/app/tests/test_datastore.py b/app/tests/test_datastore.py
index f17f97c7..dfb6bed3 100644
--- a/app/tests/test_datastore.py
+++ b/app/tests/test_datastore.py
@@ -5,14 +5,13 @@ from dataclasses import asdict
 from datetime import UTC, datetime
 from email.utils import formatdate
 from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, Mock
-from uuid import uuid4
-
 import pytest
 
 from app.library.DataStore import DataStore, StoreType
 from app.library.ItemDTO import ItemDTO
 from app.library.operations import Operation
 from app.library.sqlite_store import SqliteStore
+from app.tests.helpers import make_in_memory_db_path
 
 
 async def reset_sqlite_store() -> None:
@@ -32,7 +31,7 @@ async def reset_sqlite_store() -> None:
 async def make_db(data: int = 0) -> SqliteStore:
     """Create a named in-memory database with test data."""
     await reset_sqlite_store()
-    ins = SqliteStore.get_instance(db_path=f":memory:test-datastore-{uuid4().hex}")
+    ins = SqliteStore.get_instance(db_path=make_in_memory_db_path("test-datastore"))
     await ins.get_connection()
 
     base_time = datetime.now(UTC)
diff --git a/app/tests/test_datastore_pagination.py b/app/tests/test_datastore_pagination.py
index 49b7dc57..23696087 100644
--- a/app/tests/test_datastore_pagination.py
+++ b/app/tests/test_datastore_pagination.py
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 import json
 from datetime import UTC, datetime
-from uuid import uuid4
 
 import pytest
 import pytest_asyncio
@@ -9,6 +8,7 @@ from app.library.DataStore import DataStore, StoreType
 from app.library.downloads import Download
 from app.library.ItemDTO import ItemDTO
 from app.library.sqlite_store import SqliteStore
+from app.tests.helpers import make_in_memory_db_path
 
 
 async def reset_sqlite_store() -> None:
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ async def reset_sqlite_store() -> None:
 async def make_db(data: int = 100) -> SqliteStore:
     """Create a named in-memory database with test data."""
     await reset_sqlite_store()
-    db_path = f":memory:test-datastore-pagination-{uuid4().hex}"
+    db_path = make_in_memory_db_path("test-datastore-pagination")
     ins = SqliteStore.get_instance(db_path=db_path)
     await ins.get_connection()
 
diff --git a/app/tests/test_sqlite_store.py b/app/tests/test_sqlite_store.py
index 18c5d6c7..56326fa1 100644
--- a/app/tests/test_sqlite_store.py
+++ b/app/tests/test_sqlite_store.py
@@ -1,6 +1,4 @@
 from datetime import UTC, datetime, timedelta
-import os
-from tempfile import mkstemp
 from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, patch
 
 import pytest
@@ -9,14 +7,13 @@ from sqlalchemy import text
 from app.library.ItemDTO import ItemDTO
 from app.library.operations import Operation
 from app.library.sqlite_store import SqliteStore
+from app.tests.helpers import make_in_memory_db_path
 
 
 async def make_store() -> SqliteStore:
-    """Create an isolated temporary SqliteStore instance with schema."""
+    """Create an isolated named in-memory SqliteStore instance with schema."""
     SqliteStore._reset_singleton()
-    fd, db_path = mkstemp(prefix="ytptube-sqlite-store-", suffix=".db")
-    os.close(fd)
-    store = SqliteStore.get_instance(db_path=db_path)
+    store = SqliteStore.get_instance(db_path=make_in_memory_db_path("sqlite-store"))
     await store.get_connection()
     assert store._engine is not None, "Engine should be initialized after _ensure_conn"
     return store
@@ -38,7 +35,7 @@ def make_item(idx: int, *, status: str = "finished", cli: str = "", download_ski
 async def test_sessionmaker_returns_valid_sessionmaker() -> None:
     """Test that sessionmaker() returns a working async_sessionmaker."""
     SqliteStore._reset_singleton()
-    store = SqliteStore.get_instance(db_path=":memory:")
+    store = SqliteStore.get_instance(db_path=make_in_memory_db_path("sessionmaker"))
 
     # Ensure connection is initialized
     await store.get_connection()
@@ -58,7 +55,7 @@ async def test_sessionmaker_returns_valid_sessionmaker() -> None:
 async def test_sessionmaker_raises_before_init() -> None:
     """Test that sessionmaker() raises error before connection initialization."""
     SqliteStore._reset_singleton()
-    store = SqliteStore.get_instance(db_path=":memory:")
+    store = SqliteStore.get_instance(db_path=make_in_memory_db_path("sessionmaker-before-init"))
 
     with pytest.raises(RuntimeError, match="Database connection not initialized"):
         store.sessionmaker()
@@ -70,7 +67,7 @@ async def test_sessionmaker_raises_before_init() -> None:
 async def test_sqlalchemy_engine_disposed_on_close() -> None:
     """Test that SQLAlchemy engine is properly disposed on close."""
     SqliteStore._reset_singleton()
-    store = SqliteStore.get_instance(db_path=":memory:")
+    store = SqliteStore.get_instance(db_path=make_in_memory_db_path("engine-close"))
 
     await store.get_connection()
     assert store._engine is not None, "Engine should be created"
diff --git a/app/tests/test_test_helpers.py b/app/tests/test_test_helpers.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4f52e55e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/tests/test_test_helpers.py
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from app.tests.helpers import (
+    get_test_run_root,
+    get_test_system_temp_root,
+    make_test_disk_path,
+    make_test_temp_dir,
+)
+
+
+def test_make_test_disk_path_uses_test_run_root() -> None:
+    path = make_test_disk_path("artifacts", "example.txt")
+
+    assert path.parent.exists()
+    assert path.is_relative_to(get_test_run_root())
+
+
+def test_make_test_temp_dir_creates_directory() -> None:
+    path = make_test_temp_dir("helpers")
+
+    assert path.exists()
+    assert path.is_dir()
+    assert path.is_relative_to(get_test_run_root())
+
+
+def test_tmp_path_runs_under_custom_temp_root(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    expected_root = get_test_run_root() / "pytest"
+
+    assert tmp_path.is_relative_to(expected_root)
+    assert get_test_system_temp_root().is_relative_to(get_test_run_root())
diff --git a/app/tests/test_utils.py b/app/tests/test_utils.py
index 9f7518c0..e2375067 100644
--- a/app/tests/test_utils.py
+++ b/app/tests/test_utils.py
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ import asyncio
 import copy
 import re
 import shutil
-import tempfile
 import uuid
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta
@@ -43,6 +42,7 @@ from app.library.Utils import (
     validate_uuid,
 )
 from app.routes.api.logs import _read_logfile, _tail_log
+from app.tests.helpers import make_test_temp_dir, temporary_test_dir
 
 
 class TestTimedLruCache:
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ class TestCalcDownloadPath:
 
     def setup_method(self):
         """Set up test directory."""
-        self.temp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        self.temp_dir = str(make_test_temp_dir("calc-download-path"))
         self.base_path = Path(self.temp_dir)
 
     def teardown_method(self):
@@ -977,7 +977,7 @@ class TestDeleteDir:
 
     def setup_method(self):
         """Set up test directory."""
-        self.temp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        self.temp_dir = str(make_test_temp_dir("delete-dir"))
         self.test_dir = Path(self.temp_dir) / "test_delete"
         self.test_dir.mkdir()
         (self.test_dir / "file.txt").write_text("test content")
@@ -1007,7 +1007,7 @@ class TestListFolders:
 
     def setup_method(self):
         """Set up test directory structure."""
-        self.temp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        self.temp_dir = str(make_test_temp_dir("list-folders"))
         self.base = Path(self.temp_dir)
         (self.base / "folder1").mkdir()
         (self.base / "folder2").mkdir()
@@ -1237,8 +1237,7 @@ class TestGetFileSidecar:
 
     def test_get_file_sidecar_with_files(self):
         """Test getting sidecar files when they exist."""
-        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
-            base_path = Path(temp_dir)
+        with temporary_test_dir("file-sidecar") as base_path:
             video_file = base_path / "video.mp4"
             srt_file = base_path / "video.srt"
             nfo_file = base_path / "video.nfo"
@@ -1252,8 +1251,7 @@ class TestGetFileSidecar:
 
     def test_get_file_sidecar_no_files(self):
         """Test getting sidecar files when none exist."""
-        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
-            base_path = Path(temp_dir)
+        with temporary_test_dir("file-sidecar-empty") as base_path:
             video_file = base_path / "video.mp4"
             video_file.write_text("video content")
 
@@ -1266,7 +1264,7 @@ class TestCheckId:
 
     def setup_method(self):
         """Set up test files."""
-        self.temp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        self.temp_dir = str(make_test_temp_dir("check-id"))
         self.test_dir = Path(self.temp_dir)
 
     def teardown_method(self):
@@ -1347,7 +1345,7 @@ class TestGetPossibleImages:
 
     def setup_method(self):
         """Set up test directory with images."""
-        self.temp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        self.temp_dir = str(make_test_temp_dir("possible-images"))
         self.test_dir = Path(self.temp_dir)
 
         # Create some test image files
@@ -1408,7 +1406,7 @@ class TestGetFile:
 
     def setup_method(self):
         """Set up test files."""
-        self.temp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        self.temp_dir = str(make_test_temp_dir("get-file"))
         self.download_path = Path(self.temp_dir)
 
     def teardown_method(self):
@@ -1472,7 +1470,7 @@ class TestGetFiles:
 
     def setup_method(self):
         """Set up test directory structure."""
-        self.temp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        self.temp_dir = str(make_test_temp_dir("get-files"))
         self.base_path = Path(self.temp_dir)
 
         # Create test files and directories
@@ -1504,7 +1502,7 @@ class TestReadLogfile:
 
     def setup_method(self):
         """Set up test log file."""
-        self.temp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        self.temp_dir = str(make_test_temp_dir("read-logfile"))
         self.log_file = Path(self.temp_dir) / "test.log"
 
     def teardown_method(self):
@@ -1540,7 +1538,7 @@ class TestTailLog:
 
     def setup_method(self):
         """Set up test log file."""
-        self.temp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        self.temp_dir = str(make_test_temp_dir("tail-log"))
         self.log_file = Path(self.temp_dir) / "test.log"
 
     def teardown_method(self):
@@ -1571,7 +1569,7 @@ class TestLoadCookies:
 
     def setup_method(self):
         """Set up test cookie file."""
-        self.temp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        self.temp_dir = str(make_test_temp_dir("load-cookies"))
         self.cookie_file = Path(self.temp_dir) / "cookies.txt"
 
     def teardown_method(self):
@@ -1640,7 +1638,7 @@ class TestLoadModules:
 
     def setup_method(self):
         """Set up test module structure."""
-        self.temp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        self.temp_dir = str(make_test_temp_dir("load-modules"))
         self.root_path = Path(self.temp_dir)
         self.module_dir = self.root_path / "test_modules"
         self.module_dir.mkdir()
@@ -1885,7 +1883,7 @@ class TestCreateCookiesFile:
 
     def setup_method(self):
         """Set up test environment."""
-        self.temp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        self.temp_dir = str(make_test_temp_dir("create-cookies-file"))
         self.test_path = Path(self.temp_dir)
 
     def teardown_method(self):