diff --git a/test/harness.ts b/test/harness.ts
index 1790a9e78ba..a0e615afc31 100644
--- a/test/harness.ts
+++ b/test/harness.ts
@@ -1046,7 +1046,11 @@ export async function describeWithContainer(
       _port = info.ports[servicePort];
       console.log(`Container ready via docker-compose: ${image} at ${_host}:${_port}`);
       readyResolver!();
-    });
+      // Cold container start is bounded by `compose up --wait-timeout 60` plus
+      // a `compose build` step; the default 5s hook timeout fires first and the
+      // runner's auto-killer then SIGTERMs the in-flight compose subprocesses,
+      // surfacing as bogus `Failed to start service X: ... Creating` errors.
+    }, 120_000);
 
     fn(containerDescriptor);
   });
diff --git a/test/js/valkey/test-utils.ts b/test/js/valkey/test-utils.ts
index a04907a1efa..63e82bdeb0e 100644
--- a/test/js/valkey/test-utils.ts
+++ b/test/js/valkey/test-utils.ts
@@ -436,7 +436,10 @@ if (isEnabled) {
     // if (!context.initialized) {
     //   console.warn("Test initialization failed - tests may be skipped");
     // }
-  });
+    // Cold container start is bounded by `compose up --wait-timeout 60` plus
+    // a `compose build` step; the default 5s hook timeout fires long before
+    // that on a cold cache.
+  }, 120_000);
 }
 
 if (isEnabled) {
diff --git a/test/js/valkey/valkey.test.ts b/test/js/valkey/valkey.test.ts
index 6f0364d6ca3..6bc3888fe7a 100644
--- a/test/js/valkey/valkey.test.ts
+++ b/test/js/valkey/valkey.test.ts
@@ -26,7 +26,10 @@ for (const connectionType of [ConnectionType.TLS, ConnectionType.TCP]) {
       if (!ctx.redis) {
         ctx.redis = createClient(connectionType);
       }
-    });
+      // setupDockerContainer() may cold-start the redis_unified container
+      // (compose up --wait-timeout 60); shielded by the file-level beforeAll's
+      // cached promise once that has run, but match its timeout for safety.
+    }, 120_000);
 
     beforeEach(async () => {
       if (!ctx.redis) {
diff --git a/test/js/web/websocket/autobahn.test.ts b/test/js/web/websocket/autobahn.test.ts
index 12070512be9..0f88f31549e 100644
--- a/test/js/web/websocket/autobahn.test.ts
+++ b/test/js/web/websocket/autobahn.test.ts
@@ -42,7 +42,10 @@ describe.skipIf(!isDockerEnabled())("autobahn", () => {
     wsOptions = process.env.BUN_AUTOBAHN_HOST_HEADER
       ? { headers: { Host: process.env.BUN_AUTOBAHN_HOST_HEADER } }
       : undefined;
-  });
+    // Cold container start is bounded by `compose up --wait-timeout 60` plus
+    // a `compose build` step; the default 5s hook timeout fires long before
+    // that on a cold cache.
+  }, 120_000);
 
   function getCaseStatus(testID: number) {
     return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {