diff --git a/tests/wl-smoke-test.sh b/tests/wl-smoke-test.sh
index 1d05c71..cf17316 100755
--- a/tests/wl-smoke-test.sh
+++ b/tests/wl-smoke-test.sh
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ if [ -z "$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR" ]; then
     export XDG_RUNTIME_DIR
 fi
 
-WMAKER_USE_WAYLAND=1 WMAKER_WAYLAND_NESTED=0 src/wmaker \
+WMAKER_USE_WAYLAND=1 src/wmaker \
     --no-dock --no-clip --no-autolaunch \
     --dont-restore --static \
     --for-real 2>/tmp/wl-smoke-stderr &
@@ -287,13 +287,14 @@ fi
 # succeeds (both nested and headless modes).
 grep -q 'scene graph created' /tmp/wl-smoke-stderr \
     || die "compositor did not log scene graph creation (wlr_scene_create failed)"
-# Verify headless compositor mode (WMAKER_WAYLAND_NESTED not set in test)
-grep -q 'headless compositor mode' /tmp/wl-smoke-stderr \
-    || die "compositor did not log headless compositor mode"
+# Verify compositor mode (headless or nested — auto-detected from WAYLAND_DISPLAY)
+grep -qE 'headless compositor mode|nested Wayland compositor mode' /tmp/wl-smoke-stderr \
+    || die "compositor did not log compositor mode (neither headless nor nested)"
+WL_MODE=$(grep -oE 'headless compositor mode|nested Wayland compositor mode' /tmp/wl-smoke-stderr | head -1)
 # Verify scene_output was created in handle_backend_new_output (ordering fix)
 grep -q 'scene output created' /tmp/wl-smoke-stderr \
     || die "compositor did not log scene output creation (scene was NULL in new_output handler)"
-echo "  scene check: scene graph created + scene_output wired (headless compositor mode)"
+echo "  scene check: scene graph created + scene_output wired ($WL_MODE)"
 
 # -- 5. Core Wayland globals must be advertised ---------------------------
 #