diff --git a/.github/workflows/docker.yml b/.github/workflows/docker.yml
index 6810bab..6bd84c9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/docker.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/docker.yml
@@ -130,6 +130,7 @@ jobs:
         docker run --rm --name ingestor-test \
           -e POTATOMESH_INSTANCE=http://localhost:41447 \
           -e API_TOKEN=test-token \
+          -e MESH_SERIAL=mock \
           -e DEBUG=1 \
           ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_PREFIX }}-ingestor-linux-amd64:${{ steps.version.outputs.version }} &
         sleep 5
diff --git a/data/mesh.py b/data/mesh.py
index b8465bd..0713a1d 100644
--- a/data/mesh.py
+++ b/data/mesh.py
@@ -42,6 +42,43 @@ INSTANCE = os.environ.get("POTATOMESH_INSTANCE", "").rstrip("/")
 API_TOKEN = os.environ.get("API_TOKEN", "")
 
 
+# --- Serial interface helpers --------------------------------------------------
+
+
+class _DummySerialInterface:
+    """In-memory replacement for ``meshtastic.serial_interface.SerialInterface``.
+
+    The GitHub Actions release tests run the ingestor container without access
+    to a serial device.  When ``MESH_SERIAL`` is set to ``"mock"`` (or similar)
+    we provide this stub interface so the daemon can start and exercise its
+    background loop without failing due to missing hardware.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.nodes = {}
+
+    def close(self):
+        """Mirror the real interface API."""
+        pass
+
+
+def _create_serial_interface(port: str):
+    """Return an appropriate serial interface for ``port``.
+
+    Passing ``mock`` (case-insensitive) or an empty value skips hardware access
+    and returns :class:`_DummySerialInterface`.  This makes it possible to run
+    the container in CI environments that do not expose serial devices while
+    keeping production behaviour unchanged.
+    """
+
+    port_value = (port or "").strip()
+    if port_value.lower() in {"", "mock", "none", "null", "disabled"}:
+        if DEBUG:
+            print(f"[debug] using dummy serial interface for port={port_value!r}")
+        return _DummySerialInterface()
+    return SerialInterface(devPath=port_value)
+
+
 # --- POST queue ----------------------------------------------------------------
 _POST_QUEUE_LOCK = threading.Lock()
 _POST_QUEUE = []
@@ -422,7 +459,7 @@ def main():
     # Subscribe to PubSub topics (reliable in current meshtastic)
     pub.subscribe(on_receive, "meshtastic.receive")
 
-    iface = SerialInterface(devPath=PORT)
+    iface = _create_serial_interface(PORT)
 
     stop = threading.Event()
 
diff --git a/tests/test_mesh.py b/tests/test_mesh.py
index 000b80d..0a04619 100644
--- a/tests/test_mesh.py
+++ b/tests/test_mesh.py
@@ -102,6 +102,33 @@ def test_snapshot_interval_defaults_to_60_seconds(mesh_module):
     assert mesh.SNAPSHOT_SECS == 60
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("value", ["mock", "Mock", " disabled "])
+def test_create_serial_interface_allows_mock(mesh_module, value):
+    mesh = mesh_module
+
+    iface = mesh._create_serial_interface(value)
+
+    assert isinstance(iface.nodes, dict)
+    iface.close()
+
+
+def test_create_serial_interface_uses_serial_module(mesh_module, monkeypatch):
+    mesh = mesh_module
+    created = {}
+    sentinel = object()
+
+    def fake_interface(*, devPath):
+        created["devPath"] = devPath
+        return SimpleNamespace(nodes={"!foo": sentinel}, close=lambda: None)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(mesh, "SerialInterface", fake_interface)
+
+    iface = mesh._create_serial_interface("/dev/ttyTEST")
+
+    assert created["devPath"] == "/dev/ttyTEST"
+    assert iface.nodes == {"!foo": sentinel}
+
+
 def test_node_to_dict_handles_nested_structures(mesh_module):
     mesh = mesh_module