diff --git a/abx_plugins/plugins/claudecode/claudecode_utils.py b/abx_plugins/plugins/claudecode/claudecode_utils.py
index ca3a2b29..97f94466 100755
--- a/abx_plugins/plugins/claudecode/claudecode_utils.py
+++ b/abx_plugins/plugins/claudecode/claudecode_utils.py
@@ -165,7 +165,9 @@ def run_claude_code(
     Returns: (stdout, stderr, returncode)
     """
     config = load_config(Path(__file__).with_name("config.json"))
-    binary = str(config.CLAUDECODE_BINARY)
+    binary = str(os.environ.get("CLAUDECODE_BINARY") or config.CLAUDECODE_BINARY)
+    if not Path(binary).exists():
+        return "", f"Claude Code binary not found: {binary}", 1
 
     cmd = [binary]
 
diff --git a/abx_plugins/plugins/ytdlp/templates/card.html b/abx_plugins/plugins/ytdlp/templates/card.html
index 6fe32098..9238b877 100644
--- a/abx_plugins/plugins/ytdlp/templates/card.html
+++ b/abx_plugins/plugins/ytdlp/templates/card.html
@@ -1,13 +1,61 @@
 <!-- YT-DLP output list -->
 {% if media_files %}
-    <div class="loose-items" style="pointer-events: auto;">
+    <div class="ytdlp-media-card" style="pointer-events: auto;">
         {% for file in media_files %}
-            <a href="{{ file.url|default:file.path|urlencode }}" target="preview"
-               title="{{ file.name }}">
-                📄 {{ file.name }}
-            </a>
+            {% if file.is_browser_playable %}
+                <div class="ytdlp-media-item" style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
+                    <button
+                        type="button"
+                        class="ytdlp-load-player"
+                        data-src="{{ file.url|default:file.path|urlencode }}"
+                        data-media-type="{{ file.media_type }}"
+                        data-name="{{ file.name }}"
+                        style="cursor: pointer; width: 100%; text-align: left; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius: 4px; background: #f8f8f8; padding: 6px 8px;"
+                    >
+                        {% if file.is_video %}🎬{% else %}🎧{% endif %} Play {{ file.name }}
+                    </button>
+                    <a href="{{ file.url|default:file.path|urlencode }}" target="preview" title="{{ file.name }}">
+                        Download file
+                    </a>
+                </div>
+            {% else %}
+                <div class="loose-items" style="pointer-events: auto;">
+                    <a href="{{ file.url|default:file.path|urlencode }}" target="preview" title="{{ file.name }}">
+                        {% if file.is_video %}🎬{% elif file.is_audio %}🎧{% else %}📄{% endif %} {{ file.name }}
+                    </a>
+                </div>
+            {% endif %}
         {% endfor %}
     </div>
+    <script>
+        (function () {
+            if (window.__archiveboxYtdlpCardLoader) return;
+            window.__archiveboxYtdlpCardLoader = true;
+
+            document.addEventListener("click", function (event) {
+                var button = event.target.closest && event.target.closest(".ytdlp-load-player");
+                if (!button) return;
+
+                var src = button.getAttribute("data-src");
+                var mediaType = button.getAttribute("data-media-type");
+                var name = button.getAttribute("data-name") || "archived media";
+                if (!src) return;
+
+                var media = document.createElement(mediaType === "audio" ? "audio" : "video");
+                media.setAttribute("controls", "controls");
+                media.setAttribute("preload", "none");
+                media.setAttribute("data-no-preview", "1");
+                media.setAttribute("aria-label", name);
+                media.src = src;
+                media.style.width = "100%";
+                media.style.maxHeight = mediaType === "audio" ? "" : "220px";
+                media.style.background = "#000";
+                media.style.display = "block";
+
+                button.replaceWith(media);
+            });
+        }());
+    </script>
 {% else %}
     <div class="thumbnail-compact" data-plugin="ytdlp" data-compact="1">
         <span class="thumbnail-compact-icon">🎬</span>
diff --git a/abx_plugins/plugins/ytdlp/tests/test_ytdlp.py b/abx_plugins/plugins/ytdlp/tests/test_ytdlp.py
index e7747808..726b41f8 100755
--- a/abx_plugins/plugins/ytdlp/tests/test_ytdlp.py
+++ b/abx_plugins/plugins/ytdlp/tests/test_ytdlp.py
@@ -124,6 +124,27 @@ def test_hook_script_exists():
     assert YTDLP_HOOK.exists(), f"Hook not found: {YTDLP_HOOK}"
 
 
+def test_card_template_loads_browser_media_on_click():
+    """Card template should not fetch archived media until the user asks to play it."""
+    template = (PLUGIN_DIR / "templates" / "card.html").read_text()
+
+    assert "ytdlp-load-player" in template
+    assert 'data-src="{{ file.url|default:file.path|urlencode }}"' in template
+    assert "media.src = src" in template
+    assert "<video" not in template
+    assert "<audio" not in template
+
+
+def test_card_template_links_non_browser_media_without_player():
+    """Non-browser-playable yt-dlp outputs should stay as regular file links."""
+    template = (PLUGIN_DIR / "templates" / "card.html").read_text()
+
+    assert "{% if file.is_browser_playable %}" in template
+    assert "{% else %}" in template
+    assert "Download file" in template
+    assert 'href="{{ file.url|default:file.path|urlencode }}"' in template
+
+
 def test_verify_deps_with_abxpkg():
     """Verify yt-dlp resolves through the real dependency preflight."""
     binary_path = require_ytdlp_binary()
diff --git a/conftest.py b/conftest.py
index f95f6bd7..440f0054 100755
--- a/conftest.py
+++ b/conftest.py
@@ -255,6 +255,13 @@ def ensure_claude_code_prereqs(tmp_path_factory):
     live Anthropic credentials are unavailable.
     """
 
+    api_key = os.environ.get("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY", "")
+    if not api_key:
+        pytest.skip(
+            "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY not set. Claude Code integration tests "
+            "require live Anthropic credentials.",
+        )
+
     def install_claude_code_with_abxpkg() -> str:
         from abx_plugins.plugins.chrome.tests.chrome_test_helpers import get_test_env
         from abx_plugins.plugins.base.utils import load_required_binary
@@ -336,14 +343,6 @@ def install_claude_code_with_abxpkg() -> str:
     elif not Path(claude_bin).exists():
         pytest.fail(f"CLAUDECODE_BINARY is set but does not exist: {claude_bin}")
 
-    # Check API key
-    api_key = os.environ.get("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY", "")
-    if not api_key:
-        pytest.fail(
-            "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY not set.  Claude Code integration tests "
-            "require a valid API key.",
-        )
-
     # Quick smoke test: claude --version
     result = subprocess.run(
         [claude_bin, "--version"],
@@ -367,8 +366,8 @@ def ensure_anthropic_api_key():
     """
     api_key = os.environ.get("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY", "")
     if not api_key:
-        pytest.fail(
-            "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY not set.  Integration tests that call the "
-            "Anthropic API require a valid API key.",
+        pytest.skip(
+            "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY not set. Integration tests that call the "
+            "Anthropic API require live credentials.",
         )
     return api_key