diff --git a/test-pr.sh b/test-pr.sh
index bd319f2d3b065..b1909ce1c0666 100755
--- a/test-pr.sh
+++ b/test-pr.sh
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ if [ -z "$BASHBREW_SECOND_STAGE" ]; then
 
 	cmd=( ./test-pr.sh "$pull" "$@" )
 
-	if [ -t 1 ]; then
+	if [ -t 0 ] && [ -t 1 ]; then
 		# only add "-t" if we have a TTY
 		args+=( -t )
 	fi
diff --git a/test/tests/convertigo-hello-world/run.sh b/test/tests/convertigo-hello-world/run.sh
index ee963f05cd424..dbc069cc399bc 100755
--- a/test/tests/convertigo-hello-world/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/convertigo-hello-world/run.sh
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ serverImage="$1"
 
 # Use a client image with curl for testing
 clientImage='buildpack-deps:buster-curl'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 # Create an instance of the container-under-test
 cid="$(docker run -d "$serverImage")"
diff --git a/test/tests/docker-registry-push-pull/run.sh b/test/tests/docker-registry-push-pull/run.sh
index 516793e77cbf0..53718b5edd861 100755
--- a/test/tests/docker-registry-push-pull/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/docker-registry-push-pull/run.sh
@@ -8,10 +8,16 @@ case "${image##*/}" in
 	docker:*dind*)
 		dockerImage="$image"
 		registryImage='registry'
+		if ! docker image inspect "$registryImage" &> /dev/null; then
+			docker pull "$registryImage" > /dev/null
+		fi
 		;;
 	registry:*|registry)
 		registryImage="$image"
 		dockerImage='docker:dind'
+		if ! docker image inspect "$dockerImage" &> /dev/null; then
+			docker pull "$dockerImage" > /dev/null
+		fi
 		;;
 	*)
 		echo >&2 "error: unable to determine whether '$image' is registry or docker:dind"
diff --git a/test/tests/elasticsearch-basics/run.sh b/test/tests/elasticsearch-basics/run.sh
index 2c34446f8cc66..714becd8b9bc7 100755
--- a/test/tests/elasticsearch-basics/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/elasticsearch-basics/run.sh
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ image="$1"
 
 # Use a client image with curl for testing
 clientImage='buildpack-deps:buster-curl'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 # Create an instance of the container-under-test
 # (explicitly setting a low memory limit since the image defaults to 2GB)
diff --git a/test/tests/ghost-basics/run.sh b/test/tests/ghost-basics/run.sh
index f0ade04e24675..82db25d03cef5 100755
--- a/test/tests/ghost-basics/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/ghost-basics/run.sh
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ serverImage="$1"
 
 # Use a client image with curl for testing
 clientImage='buildpack-deps:buster-curl'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 # Create an instance of the container-under-test
 cid="$(docker run -d "$serverImage")"
diff --git a/test/tests/haproxy-basics/run.sh b/test/tests/haproxy-basics/run.sh
index f1ed465b07dd2..0bcc109d038ca 100755
--- a/test/tests/haproxy-basics/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/haproxy-basics/run.sh
@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@ dir="$(dirname "$(readlink -f "$BASH_SOURCE")")"
 image="$1"
 
 clientImage='buildpack-deps:buster-curl'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 # Create an instance of the container-under-test
 serverImage="$("$dir/../image-name.sh" librarytest/haproxy-basics "$image")"
diff --git a/test/tests/jetty-hello-web/run.sh b/test/tests/jetty-hello-web/run.sh
index 1cc363533b28f..a64f8218175db 100755
--- a/test/tests/jetty-hello-web/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/jetty-hello-web/run.sh
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ image="$1"
 
 # Use a client image with curl for testing
 clientImage='buildpack-deps:buster-curl'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 # Create an instance of the container-under-test
 serverImage="$("$dir/../image-name.sh" librarytest/jetty-hello-web "$image")"
diff --git a/test/tests/logstash-basics/run.sh b/test/tests/logstash-basics/run.sh
index ead016fb31a2d..00e588bb03030 100755
--- a/test/tests/logstash-basics/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/logstash-basics/run.sh
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ image="$1"
 
 # Use a client image with curl for testing
 clientImage='buildpack-deps:buster-curl'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 # input via HTTP (default port 0.0.0.0:8080)
 # output via stdout, newline-delimited nothing-but-the-message
diff --git a/test/tests/memcached-basics/run.sh b/test/tests/memcached-basics/run.sh
index ad9dcf8019874..553b45e23c293 100755
--- a/test/tests/memcached-basics/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/memcached-basics/run.sh
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ image="$1"
 
 # for "nc"
 clientImage='busybox'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 cname="memcached-container-$RANDOM-$RANDOM"
 cid="$(docker run -d --name "$cname" "$image")"
diff --git a/test/tests/mongo-express-run/run.sh b/test/tests/mongo-express-run/run.sh
index bcfcb6ae8e844..029f666dbb0c8 100755
--- a/test/tests/mongo-express-run/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/mongo-express-run/run.sh
@@ -3,10 +3,19 @@ set -Eeuo pipefail
 
 dir="$(dirname "$(readlink -f "$BASH_SOURCE")")"
 
+serverImage="$1"
+
 clientImage='buildpack-deps:buster-curl'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 mongoImage='mongo:4.0'
-serverImage="$1"
+# ensure the mongoImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$mongoImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$mongoImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 # Create an instance of the container-under-test
 mongoCid="$(docker run -d "$mongoImage")"
diff --git a/test/tests/nextcloud-apache-run/run.sh b/test/tests/nextcloud-apache-run/run.sh
index 483ec96c27799..f2d6be248b52c 100755
--- a/test/tests/nextcloud-apache-run/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/nextcloud-apache-run/run.sh
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ serverImage="$1"
 
 # Use a client image with curl for testing
 clientImage='buildpack-deps:buster-curl'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 # Create an instance of the container-under-test
 cid="$(docker run -d "$serverImage")"
diff --git a/test/tests/nextcloud-cli-mysql/run.sh b/test/tests/nextcloud-cli-mysql/run.sh
index 8b946e9450962..b0b5e129864d0 100755
--- a/test/tests/nextcloud-cli-mysql/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/nextcloud-cli-mysql/run.sh
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ set -eo pipefail
 dir="$(dirname "$(readlink -f "$BASH_SOURCE")")"
 
 dbImage='mariadb:10.3'
+# ensure the dbImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$dbImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$dbImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 serverImage="$1"
 dbPass="test-$RANDOM-password-$RANDOM-$$"
 dbName="test-$RANDOM-db"
diff --git a/test/tests/nextcloud-cli-postgres/run.sh b/test/tests/nextcloud-cli-postgres/run.sh
index 23f3d086b2b84..e9a27caacabbd 100755
--- a/test/tests/nextcloud-cli-postgres/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/nextcloud-cli-postgres/run.sh
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ set -eo pipefail
 dir="$(dirname "$(readlink -f "$BASH_SOURCE")")"
 
 dbImage='postgres:11-alpine'
+# ensure the dbImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$dbImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$dbImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 serverImage="$1"
 dbPass="test-$RANDOM-password-$RANDOM-$$"
 dbName="test_${RANDOM}_db" # dbName has to be set to something that does not require escaping: https://github.com/docker-library/official-images/pull/6252#issuecomment-520095703
diff --git a/test/tests/open-liberty-hello-world/run.sh b/test/tests/open-liberty-hello-world/run.sh
index 1bb0a44bf2dc7..aa67aa649293f 100755
--- a/test/tests/open-liberty-hello-world/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/open-liberty-hello-world/run.sh
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ image="$1"
 
 # Use a client image with curl for testing
 clientImage='buildpack-deps:buster-curl'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 serverImage="$1"
 
diff --git a/test/tests/php-apache-hello-web/run.sh b/test/tests/php-apache-hello-web/run.sh
index 7cf8f4a6ff0b4..90a731e85a4df 100755
--- a/test/tests/php-apache-hello-web/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/php-apache-hello-web/run.sh
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ image="$1"
 
 # Use a client image with curl for testing
 clientImage='buildpack-deps:buster-curl'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 serverImage="$("$dir/../image-name.sh" librarytest/php-apache-hello-web "$image")"
 "$dir/../docker-build.sh" "$dir" "$serverImage" <<EOD
diff --git a/test/tests/rapidoid-hello-world/run.sh b/test/tests/rapidoid-hello-world/run.sh
index 66918e1e70310..6c4edead662cd 100755
--- a/test/tests/rapidoid-hello-world/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/rapidoid-hello-world/run.sh
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ image="$1"
 
 # Use a client image with curl for testing
 clientImage='buildpack-deps:buster-curl'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 # Create an instance of the container-under-test
 serverImage="$("$dir/../image-name.sh" librarytest/rapidoid-hello-web "$image")"
diff --git a/test/tests/rapidoid-load-balancer/run.sh b/test/tests/rapidoid-load-balancer/run.sh
index 90da7ee8b509d..6d9beab9b1982 100755
--- a/test/tests/rapidoid-load-balancer/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/rapidoid-load-balancer/run.sh
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ image="$1"
 
 # Use a client image with curl for testing
 clientImage='buildpack-deps:buster-curl'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 app1id="$(docker run -d "$image" rapidoid.port=80 id=app1 app.services=ping,status)"
 app2id="$(docker run -d "$image" rapidoid.port=80 id=app2 app.services=ping,status)"
diff --git a/test/tests/redmine-basics/run.sh b/test/tests/redmine-basics/run.sh
index 34444e1563ae7..61e99f8132baa 100755
--- a/test/tests/redmine-basics/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/redmine-basics/run.sh
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ serverImage="$1"
 
 # Use a client image with curl for testing
 clientImage='buildpack-deps:buster-curl'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 # Create an instance of the container-under-test
 cid="$(docker run -d "$serverImage")"
diff --git a/test/tests/silverpeas-basics/run.sh b/test/tests/silverpeas-basics/run.sh
index 756eea9e69217..38187be0fd999 100755
--- a/test/tests/silverpeas-basics/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/silverpeas-basics/run.sh
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ image="$1"
 
 # Use a client image with curl for testing
 clientImage='buildpack-deps:buster-curl'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 cname="silverpeas-container-$RANDOM-$RANDOM"
 # when running the first time, a silverpeas process is spawn before starting Silverpeas
diff --git a/test/tests/tomcat-hello-world/run.sh b/test/tests/tomcat-hello-world/run.sh
index 8319da0616d13..c0dcc8a71719f 100755
--- a/test/tests/tomcat-hello-world/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/tomcat-hello-world/run.sh
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ image="$1"
 
 # Use a client image with curl for testing
 clientImage='buildpack-deps:buster-curl'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 serverImage="$("$dir/../image-name.sh" librarytest/tomcat-hello-world "$image")"
 "$dir/../docker-build.sh" "$dir" "$serverImage" <<EOD
diff --git a/test/tests/wordpress-apache-run/run.sh b/test/tests/wordpress-apache-run/run.sh
index 113798f6d74d5..30e9197e8ec5f 100755
--- a/test/tests/wordpress-apache-run/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/wordpress-apache-run/run.sh
@@ -5,8 +5,16 @@ dir="$(dirname "$(readlink -f "$BASH_SOURCE")")"
 
 # Use a client image with curl for testing
 clientImage='buildpack-deps:buster-curl'
+# ensure the clientImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$clientImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$clientImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 mysqlImage='mysql:5.7'
+# ensure the mysqlImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$mysqlImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$mysqlImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 serverImage="$1"
 
 # Create an instance of the container-under-test
diff --git a/test/tests/wordpress-fpm-run/run.sh b/test/tests/wordpress-fpm-run/run.sh
index 14f716b9e0763..b459a8e2f5f4f 100755
--- a/test/tests/wordpress-fpm-run/run.sh
+++ b/test/tests/wordpress-fpm-run/run.sh
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ ENTRYPOINT ["cgi-fcgi"]
 EOF
 
 mysqlImage='mysql:5.7'
+# ensure the mysqlImage is ready and available
+if ! docker image inspect "$mysqlImage" &> /dev/null; then
+	docker pull "$mysqlImage" > /dev/null
+fi
 
 # Create an instance of the container-under-test
 mysqlCid="$(docker run -d -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD="test-$RANDOM-password-$RANDOM-$$" "$mysqlImage")"