diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 78b560cac..66fa806f8 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ federated-testing:
     - mix deps.get
     - mix ecto.create
     - mix ecto.migrate
+    - epmd -daemon
     - mix test --trace --only federated
 
 unit-testing-rum: