diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/sonarqube.yml b/.gitea/workflows/sonarqube.yml
index 252637f..ff19f66 100755
--- a/.gitea/workflows/sonarqube.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/sonarqube.yml
@@ -56,6 +56,17 @@ jobs:
       PORT: 3000
       DEMO_MODE: 'true'
       UPLOADS_DIR: /tmp/redefined-uploads
+      # Set so the background-removal controls render at all: both the
+      # submission page's checkbox and the review queue's per-photo button are
+      # hidden unless the server reports the feature as configured, and three
+      # end-to-end tests assert they are there (#287).
+      #
+      # Deliberately a URL that does not resolve. Nothing in the suite reaches
+      # the sidecar — the worker only cuts a background out after a draft is
+      # written, and drafting needs an ANTHROPIC_API_KEY this job does not have.
+      # A real rembg here would mean a 4.24 GB image and forty seconds of
+      # startup to prove a control is on screen.
+      REMBG_URL: http://127.0.0.1:7000
       # NODE_ENV is deliberately unset: `npm install` omits devDependencies when
       # NODE_ENV=production, which strips tsc/vite/@playwright/test and breaks the
       # build. It would also flip the session cookie to Secure, which the e2e run