diff --git a/crates/ui-egui/src/tests_masking.rs b/crates/ui-egui/src/tests_masking.rs
index 2abc141f3..9c8ea349e 100644
--- a/crates/ui-egui/src/tests_masking.rs
+++ b/crates/ui-egui/src/tests_masking.rs
@@ -371,10 +371,10 @@ fn local_folder_tree_expands_and_browses() {
     let base_s = base.to_string_lossy().to_string();
     let r = h.request("ui.clickWidget", json!({"id": format!("folderToggle:{base_s}")}), T);
     assert_eq!(r["ok"], true, "{r}");
-    for _ in 0..3 {
-        h.step();
-    }
     let trip = base.join("Trip").to_string_lossy().to_string();
+    // the folder listing can land a few frames later on a loaded machine (FreeBSD CI): wait for the row
+    let row = format!("source:local:{trip}");
+    h.step_until(SETTLE, |h| h.app.widgets.iter().any(|(w, _)| *w == row));
     let r = h.request("ui.clickWidget", json!({"id": format!("source:local:{trip}")}), T);
     assert_eq!(r["ok"], true, "the subfolder is listed: {r}");
     assert_eq!(h.app.session.browse.as_ref().map(|b| b.path.clone()), Some(trip.clone()), "clicking it browses it");