diff --git a/test/appcast.test.ts b/test/appcast.test.ts
index 7abad4740ce..cce46caf054 100644
--- a/test/appcast.test.ts
+++ b/test/appcast.test.ts
@@ -32,9 +32,10 @@ describe("appcast.xml", () => {
     expect(items.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
 
     for (const item of items) {
-      expect(item.shortVersion, item.raw).not.toBeNull();
-      expect(item.sparkleVersion, item.raw).not.toBeNull();
-      expect(item.sparkleVersion).toBe(canonicalSparkleBuildFromVersion(item.shortVersion!));
+      if (item.shortVersion === null || item.sparkleVersion === null) {
+        throw new Error(`Appcast entry missing version fields: ${item.raw}`);
+      }
+      expect(item.sparkleVersion).toBe(canonicalSparkleBuildFromVersion(item.shortVersion));
     }
   });
 
diff --git a/test/cli-json-stdout.e2e.test.ts b/test/cli-json-stdout.e2e.test.ts
index f47d3678d16..912113d289c 100644
--- a/test/cli-json-stdout.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/test/cli-json-stdout.e2e.test.ts
@@ -34,14 +34,10 @@ describe("cli json stdout contract", () => {
         const stdout = result.stdout.trim();
         expect(stdout.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
         const parsed = JSON.parse(stdout) as unknown;
-        expect(typeof parsed).toBe("object");
-        expect(parsed).not.toBeNull();
-        expect(Array.isArray(parsed)).toBe(false);
-        expect(Object.keys(parsed as Record<string, unknown>).sort()).toEqual([
-          "availability",
-          "channel",
-          "update",
-        ]);
+        if (parsed === null || typeof parsed !== "object" || Array.isArray(parsed)) {
+          throw new Error(`Expected JSON object stdout, got: ${stdout}`);
+        }
+        expect(Object.keys(parsed).sort()).toEqual(["availability", "channel", "update"]);
         expect(stdout).not.toContain("Doctor warnings");
         expect(stdout).not.toContain("Doctor changes");
         expect(stdout).not.toContain("Config invalid");