diff --git a/.github/actions/setup-database/action.yml b/.github/actions/setup-database/action.yml
index 62e66b98e6..922d723f64 100644
--- a/.github/actions/setup-database/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/setup-database/action.yml
@@ -43,36 +43,22 @@ runs:
         echo "MySQL is ready"
       shell: bash
 
-    - name: Set up MySQL Privileges and Character Set
+    - name: Set up MySQL Privileges
       if: ${{ inputs.database == 'mysql' }}
       run: |
-        # Set global character set and collation
-        mysql -u root -proot_password -h 127.0.0.1 mysql <<EOF
-          SET GLOBAL character_set_server = 'utf8mb4';
-          SET GLOBAL collation_server = 'utf8mb4_unicode_ci';
-        EOF
-        # Set InnoDB settings for utf8mb4 support (allows longer keys)
-        # Note: innodb_large_prefix is ON by default in MySQL 8.0
-        # Ensure default row format is DYNAMIC (default in MySQL 8.0, but explicit for clarity)
-        mysql -u root -proot_password -h 127.0.0.1 mysql <<EOF
-          SET GLOBAL innodb_default_row_format = 'DYNAMIC';
-        EOF
+        # Note: MySQL server configuration (character set, collation, row format) is set
+        # at container startup via the mysql.cnf config file mounted in the workflow
         # Ensure user exists and has proper privileges
         mysql -u root -proot_password -h 127.0.0.1 mysql <<EOF
           CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS 'evennia'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
           GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON \`evennia%\`.* TO 'evennia'@'%';
           GRANT PROCESS ON *.* TO 'evennia'@'%';
-          GRANT SESSION_VARIABLES_ADMIN ON *.* TO 'evennia'@'%';
           FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
         EOF
-        # Set database character set
+        # Set database character set (server defaults are set via config file, but ensure DB matches)
         mysql -u root -proot_password -h 127.0.0.1 evennia <<EOF
           ALTER DATABASE evennia CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
         EOF
-        # Verify settings are correct
-        mysql -u root -proot_password -h 127.0.0.1 evennia <<EOF
-          SELECT @@innodb_default_row_format, @@character_set_server, @@collation_server;
-        EOF
       shell: bash
 
     # get logs from db start
diff --git a/.github/workflows/github_action_test_suite.yml b/.github/workflows/github_action_test_suite.yml
index f46840ba3c..cbaef666a3 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/github_action_test_suite.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/github_action_test_suite.yml
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ jobs:
           --health-interval=10s
           --health-timeout=5s
           --health-retries=3
+          --mount type=bind,source=${{ github.workspace }}/.github/workflows/mysql.cnf,target=/etc/mysql/conf.d/custom.cnf,readonly
 
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
diff --git a/.github/workflows/mysql.cnf b/.github/workflows/mysql.cnf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..80e9c867c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/mysql.cnf
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+[mysqld]
+character-set-server=utf8mb4
+collation-server=utf8mb4_unicode_ci
+innodb-default-row-format=DYNAMIC
+
diff --git a/.github/workflows/mysql_settings.py b/.github/workflows/mysql_settings.py
index 303eaba7f3..1973862e9e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/mysql_settings.py
+++ b/.github/workflows/mysql_settings.py
@@ -48,8 +48,7 @@ DATABASES = {
         "PORT": "",  # use default port
         "OPTIONS": {
             "charset": "utf8mb4",
-            # Note: innodb_default_row_format is set globally in setup-database action
-            # This ensures all new tables use DYNAMIC format for utf8mb4 long keys
+            # Note: MySQL server is configured with utf8mb4 and DYNAMIC row format at startup
             "init_command": (
                 "SET collation_connection=utf8mb4_unicode_ci, "
                 "sql_mode='STRICT_TRANS_TABLES', innodb_strict_mode=1"