diff --git a/shortcuts/bot/handler_test.go b/shortcuts/bot/handler_test.go
index ada4791ba..3e48abaac 100644
--- a/shortcuts/bot/handler_test.go
+++ b/shortcuts/bot/handler_test.go
@@ -70,11 +70,9 @@ func TestNewBotHandler_MissingSessionManager(t *testing.T) {
 
 // TestBotHandler_extractTextContent tests text content extraction
 func TestBotHandler_extractTextContent(t *testing.T) {
-	handler, _ := NewBotHandler(BotHandlerConfig{
-		ClaudeClient:   NewClaudeClient(ClaudeClientConfig{}),
-		SessionManager: nil, // OK for this test
-		WorkDir:        "/tmp",
-	})
+	// Use &BotHandler{} directly for helper-level tests that only exercise
+	// extractTextContent (doesn't touch receiver state)
+	handler := &BotHandler{}
 
 	tests := []struct {
 		name         string
@@ -185,11 +183,9 @@ func TestBotHandler_parseMessageEvent(t *testing.T) {
 
 // TestBotHandler_parseMessageEvent_MissingFields tests error handling for incomplete events
 func TestBotHandler_parseMessageEvent_MissingFields(t *testing.T) {
-	handler, _ := NewBotHandler(BotHandlerConfig{
-		ClaudeClient:   NewClaudeClient(ClaudeClientConfig{}),
-		SessionManager: nil,
-		WorkDir:        "/tmp",
-	})
+	// Use &BotHandler{} directly since parseMessageEvent only parses event data
+	// and doesn't require SessionManager or ClaudeClient
+	handler := &BotHandler{}
 
 	tests := []struct {
 		name     string
diff --git a/shortcuts/bot/session_test.go b/shortcuts/bot/session_test.go
index 7c726d751..b873b6d2f 100644
--- a/shortcuts/bot/session_test.go
+++ b/shortcuts/bot/session_test.go
@@ -217,7 +217,8 @@ func TestSessionManager_CleanupExpired(t *testing.T) {
 	// Wait for expiration
 	time.Sleep(60 * time.Millisecond)
 
-	// Refresh the active session to keep it alive
+	// Refresh the active session AFTER the sleep to keep it alive.
+	// This updates its mtime so it won't be expired when CleanupExpired runs.
 	sm.Set("chat_active", "session_active_refreshed")
 
 	// Cleanup expired