diff --git a/frontend/src/shared/state/store.ts b/frontend/src/shared/state/store.ts
index dffa7a6d..b4701ff1 100644
--- a/frontend/src/shared/state/store.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/shared/state/store.ts
@@ -58,9 +58,10 @@ export const store = configureStore({
 export type RootState = ReturnType<typeof store.getState>;
 export type AppDispatch = typeof store.dispatch;
 
-// Expose the store on window in dev so playwright + the user's devtools
-// can drive UI flows without hunting for selectors. The expose is
-// guarded by NODE_ENV so production bundles don't ship it.
-if (typeof window !== 'undefined' && process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
+// Expose the store on window in dev. In production it stays hidden UNLESS the
+// renderer was launched with __OPENSWARM_E2E__ pre-set by a Playwright init
+// script, which is the only way the e2e visibility recorder can subscribe to
+// state diffs against the packaged build. Normal user runs never set the flag.
+if (typeof window !== 'undefined' && (process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production' || (window as unknown as { __OPENSWARM_E2E__?: boolean }).__OPENSWARM_E2E__ === true)) {
   (window as unknown as { __OPENSWARM_STORE__?: typeof store }).__OPENSWARM_STORE__ = store;
 }