diff --git a/.github/workflows/test-snap-can-build.yml b/.github/workflows/test-snap-can-build.yml
index dceb6b828..fede56740 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test-snap-can-build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test-snap-can-build.yml
@@ -40,6 +40,11 @@ jobs:
           # Start a desktop VM
           lxc launch images:ubuntu/22.04/desktop test-vm --vm \
             -c limits.cpu=1 -c limits.memory=6GiB -d root,size=12GiB
+          
+          # Wait for the VM agent to be running
+          while ! lxc exec test-vm -- cat /etc/hostname &>/dev/null; do
+            sleep 2
+          done
 
           # Push the snap we just built into the VM and install it
           lxc file push "${{ steps.build.outputs.snap }}" test-vm/home/ubuntu/signal.snap