diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index fed8f75f6..b05b7a4f6 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ federated-testing:
     - mix deps.get
     - mix ecto.create
     - mix ecto.migrate
+    - epmd -daemon
     - mix test --trace --only federated
 
 unit-testing-rum: