diff --git a/tests/test_issue45_restore.py b/tests/test_issue45_restore.py
index 66eb254..188e722 100644
--- a/tests/test_issue45_restore.py
+++ b/tests/test_issue45_restore.py
@@ -157,10 +157,22 @@ class Rig:
         return self.argv_log.exists() and f"--resume {session_id}" in self.argv_log.read_text()
 
 
+def _process_env(pid: int) -> list:
+    """A process's environment as KEY=VALUE strings: /proc on Linux; on macOS
+    `ps -E` appends it to the command line, so the entries are matched there."""
+    proc = Path(f"/proc/{pid}/environ")
+    if proc.exists():
+        return [e.decode(errors="replace") for e in proc.read_bytes().split(b"\0") if e]
+    out = subprocess.run(["ps", "-E", "-ww", "-o", "command=", "-p", str(pid)],
+                         capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=10).stdout
+    return out.split()
+
+
 @pytest.fixture
 def rig(mam_sandbox, monkeypatch):
     # A pytest tmp_path is too long for a unix socket path under it.
-    root = Path(tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix="m45", dir="/tmp"))
+    # Resolved: on macOS /tmp is a link to /private/tmp and herdr reports real paths.
+    root = Path(tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix="m45", dir="/tmp")).resolve()
     session = f"mamt45-{os.getpid()}-{uuid.uuid4().hex[:4]}"
     for k in SCOPE_ENV:
         monkeypatch.delenv(k, raising=False)
@@ -224,8 +236,8 @@ def test_a_mam_server_does_not_relaunch_saved_agents(rig, user_session_table):
     info = rig.hd("pane", "process-info", "--pane", pane["pane_id"])["process_info"]
     assert info["foreground_process_group_id"] == info["shell_pid"], info
     # and it got there through HERDR_CONFIG_PATH
-    environ = Path(f"/proc/{rig.server_pids()[0]}/environ").read_bytes().split(b"\0")
-    assert f"HERDR_CONFIG_PATH={rig.user_cfg.parent / herdr_config.OUTPUT_NAME}".encode() in environ
+    want = f"HERDR_CONFIG_PATH={rig.user_cfg.parent / herdr_config.OUTPUT_NAME}"
+    assert want in _process_env(rig.server_pids()[0]), want
 
     # Positive control: the same saved layout under a plain server relaunches
     # the agent, so the "not resumed" above is not vacuous.
diff --git a/tests/test_issue9_server_env.py b/tests/test_issue9_server_env.py
index 9edca48..cc8e7c7 100644
--- a/tests/test_issue9_server_env.py
+++ b/tests/test_issue9_server_env.py
@@ -154,7 +154,6 @@ def test_bootstrap_hands_the_server_a_no_restore_config(mam_sandbox):
     """Issue #45: the server starts with HERDR_CONFIG_PATH = the user's herdr
     config plus [session] resume_agents_on_restore = false (that herdr obeys it
     is test_issue45_restore.py, on a real server)."""
-    import tomllib
     env = _install_fake_herdr(mam_sandbox)
     user_cfg = mam_sandbox / ".config" / "herdr" / "config.toml"
     user_cfg.parent.mkdir(parents=True)
@@ -167,8 +166,21 @@ def test_bootstrap_hands_the_server_a_no_restore_config(mam_sandbox):
     server_env = json.loads(Path(env["FAKE_HERDR_ENV_DUMP"]).read_text())
     assert server_env.get("HERDR_CONFIG_PATH") == str(user_cfg.parent / "mam-server-config.toml")
     assert "MAM_SERVER_CFG" not in server_env
-    cfg = tomllib.loads(Path(server_env["HERDR_CONFIG_PATH"]).read_text())
-    assert cfg == {"ui": {"confirm_close": False}, "session": {"resume_agents_on_restore": False}}
+    # The bootstrap builds the file with the python3 on PATH; parse it with that
+    # same python3. Without tomllib there (Python < 3.11, macOS's 3.9) the file is
+    # the key-only config and the bootstrap warns that the other settings are gone.
+    out = Path(server_env["HERDR_CONFIG_PATH"])
+    parse = subprocess.run(["python3", "-c", "import json, sys, tomllib; "
+                            "print(json.dumps(tomllib.loads(open(sys.argv[1]).read())))", str(out)],
+                           capture_output=True, text=True, env=env, timeout=30)
+    if parse.returncode == 0:
+        assert json.loads(parse.stdout) == {"ui": {"confirm_close": False},
+                                            "session": {"resume_agents_on_restore": False}}
+    else:
+        assert "No module named 'tomllib'" in parse.stderr, parse.stderr
+        text = out.read_text()
+        assert "resume_agents_on_restore = false" in text and "confirm_close" not in text, text
+        assert "no tomllib" in res.stderr, res.stderr
 
 
 def test_no_autostart_skips_bootstrap_but_still_routes_the_call(mam_sandbox):