diff --git a/.github/workflows/ros-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/ros-tests.yml
index b2e4d5e..10161e8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ros-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ros-tests.yml
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ jobs:
         curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ros/rosdistro/master/ros.key -o /usr/share/keyrings/ros-archive-keyring.gpg
         echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/ros-archive-keyring.gpg] http://packages.ros.org/ros2/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ros2.list
         apt-get update -qq
-        apt-get install -y python3-rosdep python3-colcon-common-extensions build-essential cmake git python3-pip
+        apt-get install -y python3-rosdep python3-colcon-common-extensions build-essential cmake git python3-pip ros-${{ matrix.ros_distro }}-ros-base
       shell: bash
 
     - name: Initialize rosdep and install dependencies
@@ -102,18 +102,18 @@ jobs:
         colcon build --packages-up-to greenwave_monitor
       shell: bash
 
-    - name: Install r2s_gw with pip
+    - name: Install r2s_gw
       run: |
         source /opt/ros/${{ matrix.ros_distro }}/setup.bash
         source install/setup.bash
-        cd r2s_gw
         if [[ "${{ matrix.ros_distro }}" == "jazzy" || \
               "${{ matrix.ros_distro }}" == "kilted" || \
               "${{ matrix.ros_distro }}" == "rolling" ]]; then
-          pip3 install --break-system-packages --ignore-installed pygments -e .
+          pip3 install --break-system-packages --ignore-installed pygments -r r2s_gw/requirements.txt
         else
-          pip3 install --ignore-installed pygments -e .
+          pip3 install --ignore-installed pygments -r r2s_gw/requirements.txt
         fi
+        colcon build --packages-up-to r2s_gw
       shell: bash
 
     - name: Smoke test README commands
@@ -121,9 +121,19 @@ jobs:
         source /opt/ros/${{ matrix.ros_distro }}/setup.bash
         source install/setup.bash
         set -e
-        timeout 10s bash -lc "script -qfec 'ros2 run greenwave_monitor ncurses_dashboard' /dev/null <<< \$'q'" || true
-        timeout 10s bash -lc "script -qfec 'ros2 run r2s_gw r2s_gw_dashboard' /dev/null <<< \$'q'" || true
-        timeout 5s ros2 launch greenwave_monitor hz.launch.py topics:='["/topic1"]' || true
+        export TERM=xterm
+        timeout 10s bash -lc "script -qfec 'ros2 run greenwave_monitor ncurses_dashboard' /dev/null <<< \$'q'"
+        timeout 10s bash -lc "script -qfec 'ros2 run greenwave_monitor ncurses_dashboard --demo' /dev/null <<< \$'q'"
+        timeout 10s bash -lc "script -qfec 'ros2 run r2s_gw r2s_gw_dashboard' /dev/null <<< \$'q'"
+        timeout 10s bash -lc "script -qfec 'ros2 run r2s_gw r2s_gw_dashboard -- --demo' /dev/null <<< \$'q'"
+        # Start topic publishers in background for hz.launch.py test
+        ros2 topic pub /topic1 std_msgs/msg/String "{data: 'test'}" --rate 10 &
+        PUB1_PID=$!
+        ros2 topic pub /topic2 std_msgs/msg/String "{data: 'test'}" --rate 10 &
+        PUB2_PID=$!
+        trap "kill $PUB1_PID $PUB2_PID 2>/dev/null || true" EXIT
+        sleep 1
+        timeout --signal=INT --preserve-status 5s ros2 launch greenwave_monitor hz.launch.py gw_monitored_topics:='["/topic1", "/topic2"]'
       shell: bash
 
     - name: Run tests