test(infra): fail-loud DB/ffmpeg lane + client/as_user/make_user fixtures (E1 S2, TEST-4)

The DB-backed lane and the two ffmpeg tests skipped SILENTLY when the DB was
unreachable or ffmpeg was absent, so `siftlode check` could print green while
~60 tests never ran. Make the compose lane authoritative:
- SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB=1 in docker-compose.test.yml; conftest.pytest_configure
  turns a would-be skip (no Postgres, or no ffmpeg) into a hard UsageError.
- install ffmpeg in Dockerfile.test so the thumbnail/poster tests actually run.
- `-rs` in pytest.ini so skip reasons are always visible.

Add the shared TestClient fixtures the risk-core suites build on: `make_user`
(create + commit a login-ready User), `client` (real auth/session stack, no
current_user override — for login/wallet/epoch), and `as_user` (a client
pre-authenticated as a given user, for tests that aren't exercising login).

backend/Dockerfile.test

@@ -8,5 +8,11 @@
 #   docker run --rm -v "<repo>/backend:/app" -w /app siftlode-test:local python -m pytest
 FROM python:3.12-slim
 WORKDIR /app
+# ffmpeg so the thumbnail/poster tests (needs_ffmpeg) actually run in the gate instead of skipping
+# silently — the runtime image already ships ffmpeg, so the test image should too (see conftest's
+# SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB, which now also refuses to run if ffmpeg is missing).
+RUN apt-get update \
+    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends ffmpeg \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 COPY requirements.txt requirements-dev.txt ./
 RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt -r requirements-dev.txt

backend/docker-compose.test.yml

@@ -29,6 +29,9 @@ services:
         condition: service_healthy
     environment:
       DATABASE_URL: postgresql+psycopg://siftlode:siftlode@testdb:5432/siftlode_test
+      # This lane HAS a Postgres + ffmpeg, so the DB/ffmpeg tests must actually run here: conftest turns
+      # a would-be silent skip into a hard failure (SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB).
+      SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB: "1"
     volumes:
       - ./:/app
     working_dir: /app

backend/pytest.ini

@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 [pytest]
 # Run from backend/ (the image's /app). `pythonpath = .` puts the app package on sys.path so tests
-# import it as `app.*`, matching runtime. The suite is pure-logic only (no DB/network) — see tests/.
+# import it as `app.*`, matching runtime. Most of the suite is pure-logic; the DB-backed lane opts in
+# via the `db` fixture and runs in the compose test image. `-rs` reports skip REASONS so a silently
+# skipped lane is visible (the compose lane sets SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB=1 to make skips a hard error).
 testpaths = tests
 pythonpath = .
-addopts = -q
+addopts = -q -rs

backend/tests/conftest.py

@@ -12,14 +12,26 @@ config the videos.search_vector generated column needs). Building it via migrati
 that the migration chain applies cleanly. Each test then gets a clean database via TRUNCATE so
 tests that COMMIT (the whole point of this lane — transaction-ownership behaviour) don't leak.
 """
+import os
+import shutil
+
 import pytest
 from alembic import command
 from alembic.config import Config
+from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
 from sqlalchemy import create_engine, text
 
 import app.models  # noqa: F401 — register every model on Base.metadata
+from app import security
+from app.auth import current_user
 from app.config import settings
-from app.db import Base, SessionLocal, engine
+from app.db import Base, SessionLocal, engine, get_db
+from app.main import app
+from app.models import User
+
+# The compose test lane sets this so a would-be silent skip (no DB, or no ffmpeg) becomes a hard error
+# — the gate must not print green while the DB-backed / ffmpeg tests were quietly not run.
+_REQUIRE_FULL = os.getenv("SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB") == "1"
 
 
 def _db_reachable() -> bool:
@@ -59,6 +71,23 @@ def _truncate_all():
         conn.execute(text(f"TRUNCATE {tables} RESTART IDENTITY CASCADE"))
 
 
+def pytest_configure(config):
+    """Fail the whole run — loudly, once — when SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB=1 but the environment can't
+    actually run the full suite. Without this, an unreachable DATABASE_URL or a missing ffmpeg turns
+    ~60 DB tests + the poster tests into silent skips and the gate still exits green."""
+    if not _REQUIRE_FULL:
+        return
+    if not _DB_REACHABLE:
+        raise pytest.UsageError(
+            "SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB=1 but no Postgres is reachable at the test DATABASE_URL — the "
+            "DB-backed lane would silently skip. Fix the DB wiring or unset the flag."
+        )
+    if shutil.which("ffmpeg") is None:
+        raise pytest.UsageError(
+            "SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB=1 but ffmpeg is missing — the thumbnail/poster tests would skip."
+        )
+
+
 @pytest.fixture
 def db(_schema):
     """A real session against the test Postgres, on a clean (empty) database. The code under test
@@ -70,3 +99,53 @@ def db(_schema):
     finally:
         session.rollback()
         session.close()
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def make_user(db):
+    """Factory: create + commit a User in the test DB. Defaults produce a login-ready account (email
+    verified, active, with a known password); override any of it via kwargs (e.g. `role="admin"`,
+    `is_suspended=True`, `password=None` for a Google-only account). Returns the User."""
+    seq = {"n": 0}
+
+    def _make(email: str | None = None, *, password: str | None = "correct horse battery", **kw):
+        seq["n"] += 1
+        kw.setdefault("email_verified", True)
+        user = User(
+            email=email or f"user{seq['n']}@example.com",
+            password_hash=security.hash_password(password) if password else None,
+            **kw,
+        )
+        db.add(user)
+        db.commit()
+        return user
+
+    return _make
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def client(db):
+    """A TestClient wired to the test DB that goes through the REAL auth/session stack — no
+    `current_user` override — so login, the wallet gate and epoch revoke are exercised end to end.
+    Starlette's SessionMiddleware round-trips the signed cookie, so a login in one call authenticates
+    the next on this same instance. No lifespan (the scheduler / HLS sweep stay off)."""
+    app.dependency_overrides[get_db] = lambda: db
+    try:
+        yield TestClient(app)
+    finally:
+        app.dependency_overrides.clear()
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def as_user(db):
+    """Factory -> a TestClient already authenticated as a given User (via a `current_user` override),
+    for tests that need an authed request but aren't exercising the login flow itself."""
+    def _as(user: User) -> TestClient:
+        app.dependency_overrides[get_db] = lambda: db
+        app.dependency_overrides[current_user] = lambda: user
+        return TestClient(app)
+
+    try:
+        yield _as
+    finally:
+        app.dependency_overrides.clear()