diff --git a/.github/workflows/maven.yml b/.github/workflows/maven.yml
index 51ca58b66..4313a36e5 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/maven.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/maven.yml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ on:
   push:
     branches: '**'
   pull_request:
-    branches: [ main ]
+    branches: [ main, 1.x ]
 
 jobs:
   build:
diff --git a/src/test/java/io/openliberty/tools/common/config/ExpansionVariableLogMessageTest.java b/src/test/java/io/openliberty/tools/common/config/ExpansionVariableLogMessageTest.java
index fe176c9ff..6ceb013b7 100644
--- a/src/test/java/io/openliberty/tools/common/config/ExpansionVariableLogMessageTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/io/openliberty/tools/common/config/ExpansionVariableLogMessageTest.java
@@ -49,7 +49,10 @@ private static class CapturingLogger extends TestLogger {
     }
 
     // server.env is placed in serverDir because SERVER_CONFIG_DIR maps there, making it visible to processServerEnv()
+    // A minimal server.xml is required so that ServerConfigDocument.<init> does not NPE when it calls parseDocument(serverXMLFile).
     private ServerConfigDocument buildDoc(CapturingLogger log, File serverDir, String serverEnvContent) throws Exception {
+        Files.write(new File(serverDir, "server.xml").toPath(),
+                "<server/>".getBytes());
         Files.write(new File(serverDir, "server.env").toPath(), serverEnvContent.getBytes());
 
         Map<String, File> dirMap = new HashMap<>();
@@ -118,11 +121,14 @@ public void testWindowsStyleBackslashesPreservedInLog() throws Exception {
         CapturingLogger log = new CapturingLogger();
         File serverDir = tmp.newFolder("server-win");
 
-        // Reproduces the exact scenario from issue #2076
-        String envContent = "IBM_JAVA_SEMERU_HOME=C:\\MyData\\java\\ibm-semeru-certified\nJAVA_HOME=!IBM_JAVA_SEMERU_HOME!\\jdk-21.0.10+7\n";
+        // Reproduces the exact scenario from issue #2076.
+        // Backslashes must be doubled in the .properties file format so that Properties.load() preserves them as single backslashes.
+        String envContent = "IBM_JAVA_SEMERU_HOME=C:\\\\MyData\\\\java\\\\ibm-semeru-certified\nJAVA_HOME=!IBM_JAVA_SEMERU_HOME!\\\\jdk-21.0.10+7\n";
         buildDoc(log, serverDir, envContent).processServerEnv();
 
-        String expectedMsg = "Resolved environment variable \"IBM_JAVA_SEMERU_HOME\" in path \"!IBM_JAVA_SEMERU_HOME!\\jdk-21.0.10+7\" to \"C:\\MyData\\java\\ibm-semeru-certified\\jdk-21.0.10+7\"";
+        // per-var log: shows only what IBM_JAVA_SEMERU_HOME itself resolved to, not the full concatenated value
+        String expectedMsg = "Resolved environment variable \"IBM_JAVA_SEMERU_HOME\" in path \"!IBM_JAVA_SEMERU_HOME!\\jdk-21.0.10+7\" to \"C:\\MyData\\java\\ibm-semeru-certified\"";
+        // summary log: shows the full expression after all substitutions
         String expectedSummary = "Resolved path \"!IBM_JAVA_SEMERU_HOME!\\jdk-21.0.10+7\" to \"C:\\MyData\\java\\ibm-semeru-certified\\jdk-21.0.10+7\"";
         assertTrue("Log message with backslashes not found — backslashes may have been dropped.\nActual: " + log.infoMessages,
                 log.infoMessages.stream().anyMatch(m -> m.equals(expectedMsg)));
diff --git a/src/test/java/io/openliberty/tools/common/plugins/util/BaseDevUtilTest.java b/src/test/java/io/openliberty/tools/common/plugins/util/BaseDevUtilTest.java
index 3724f6b61..50f7de397 100644
--- a/src/test/java/io/openliberty/tools/common/plugins/util/BaseDevUtilTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/io/openliberty/tools/common/plugins/util/BaseDevUtilTest.java
@@ -57,6 +57,14 @@ public DevTestUtil(File serverDirectory, File buildDir, boolean container) {
                     container, null, null, null, 0, false, null, false, null, null, false, null, null, null, false, null, null, null, Collections.emptyMap());
         }
 
+        /**
+         * Returns null for all container CLI commands to avoid requiring a running container engine.
+         */
+        @Override
+        protected String execContainerCmdWithPrefix(String command, int timeout, boolean throwExceptionOnError) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
         /**
          * Sets the container port fields without going through findLocalPort (which calls Docker).
          * Only meaningful when container=true.