diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 8544e74..5ef90f2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -14,3 +14,27 @@ The codebase is designed for fast, lightweight performance with an offline-first
 ## Theme & Styling
 
 The app adopts the brand guidelines of Zync: Deep Slate background (`#060B14`), card layouts (`#0D1421`), and cyan/brand blue highlights (`#1A8FD1`).
+
+## Testing Strategy
+
+We implement a custom, decoupled unit testing framework integrated directly into the LÖVE lifecycle.
+
+### Phased Testing Structure
+
+1. **Persistence Phase**: Validates that filesystem utility methods correctly write and load structured JSON cache files.
+   - *Test file*: [test_file_manager.lua](file:///C:/Users/Chitkul%20Lakshya/.gemini/antigravity/brain/3be101ac-c6b9-4c2f-bf9e-330790a2d575/scratch/temp-lua-work/src/tests/test_file_manager.lua)
+2. **API Mocking Phase**: Employs decoupling mocks ([mocks.lua](file:///C:/Users/Chitkul%20Lakshya/.gemini/antigravity/brain/3be101ac-c6b9-4c2f-bf9e-330790a2d575/scratch/temp-lua-work/src/tests/mocks.lua)) to inject a mock HTTP client, validating url endpoint binding, API parameters, and response caching.
+   - *Test file*: [test_project_manager.lua](file:///C:/Users/Chitkul%20Lakshya/.gemini/antigravity/brain/3be101ac-c6b9-4c2f-bf9e-330790a2d575/scratch/temp-lua-work/src/tests/test_project_manager.lua)
+3. **Session Store Phase**: Validates authentication managers load and dump active token credentials cleanly.
+   - *Test file*: [test_auth_manager.lua](file:///C:/Users/Chitkul%20Lakshya/.gemini/antigravity/brain/3be101ac-c6b9-4c2f-bf9e-330790a2d575/scratch/temp-lua-work/src/tests/test_auth_manager.lua)
+4. **Connectivity Check Phase**: Validates socket verification routing and exception handling.
+   - *Test file*: [test_connectivity_check.lua](file:///C:/Users/Chitkul%20Lakshya/.gemini/antigravity/brain/3be101ac-c6b9-4c2f-bf9e-330790a2d575/scratch/temp-lua-work/src/tests/test_connectivity_check.lua)
+
+### Running Tests
+
+To run the phased unit testing suite using the LÖVE CLI runner, pass the `--test` flag:
+```bash
+love src/ --test
+```
+All tests are managed by [runner.lua](file:///C:/Users/Chitkul%20Lakshya/.gemini/antigravity/brain/3be101ac-c6b9-4c2f-bf9e-330790a2d575/scratch/temp-lua-work/src/tests/runner.lua) which reports test run status and exit codes.
+
diff --git a/src/api/project_manager.lua b/src/api/project_manager.lua
index b0d7d62..a807663 100644
--- a/src/api/project_manager.lua
+++ b/src/api/project_manager.lua
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
-local http = require("api.http_client")
+local default_http = require("api.http_client")
 local file_manager = require("utils.file_manager")
-local project_manager = {}
+local project_manager = {
+    http = default_http
+}
 
 function project_manager.fetch_projects()
-    local response = http.request("https://zync-pd9r.onrender.com/api/projects", "GET")
+    local response = project_manager.http.request("https://zync-pd9r.onrender.com/api/projects", "GET")
     if response.status == 200 then
         file_manager.save_json("projects_cache.json", response.body)
         return true
diff --git a/src/api/task_manager.lua b/src/api/task_manager.lua
index 99c67c8..d1c7341 100644
--- a/src/api/task_manager.lua
+++ b/src/api/task_manager.lua
@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
-local http = require("api.http_client")
+local default_http = require("api.http_client")
 local file_manager = require("utils.file_manager")
-local task_manager = {}
+local task_manager = {
+    http = default_http
+}
 
 function task_manager.fetch_tasks(project_id)
     local url = "https://zync-pd9r.onrender.com/api/tasks?projectId=" .. project_id
-    local response = http.request(url, "GET")
+    local response = task_manager.http.request(url, "GET")
     if response.status == 200 then
         file_manager.save_json("tasks_" .. project_id .. ".json", response.body)
         return true
diff --git a/src/main.lua b/src/main.lua
index a7d7520..ccef747 100644
--- a/src/main.lua
+++ b/src/main.lua
@@ -1,4 +1,13 @@
-function love.load()
+function love.load(arg)
+    -- Check if testing flag is passed
+    if arg then
+        for _, val in ipairs(arg) do
+            if val == "--test" then
+                require("tests.runner")
+                return
+            end
+        end
+    end
     print("ZYNC Desktop Loaded")
 end
 function love.draw()
diff --git a/src/tests/mocks.lua b/src/tests/mocks.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9b57f89
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tests/mocks.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+local mocks = {}
+
+function mocks.create_http_client()
+    local client = {
+        should_fail = false,
+        response_status = 200,
+        response_body = "{}",
+        calls = {}
+    }
+
+    function client.request(url, method, body, headers)
+        table.insert(client.calls, { url = url, method = method, body = body, headers = headers })
+        if client.should_fail then
+            return { status = 500, body = "Error" }
+        else
+            return { status = client.response_status, body = client.response_body }
+        end
+    end
+
+    return client
+end
+
+return mocks
diff --git a/src/tests/runner.lua b/src/tests/runner.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..56594cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tests/runner.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+local test_file_manager = require("tests.test_file_manager")
+local test_project_manager = require("tests.test_project_manager")
+local test_auth_manager = require("tests.test_auth_manager")
+local test_connectivity_check = require("tests.test_connectivity_check")
+
+print("==================================================")
+print("ZYNC Desktop (Lua) Phased Unit Tests Runner")
+print("==================================================")
+
+local suites = {
+    { name = "FileManager persistence tests", suite = test_file_manager },
+    { name = "ProjectManager API tests", suite = test_project_manager },
+    { name = "AuthManager session tests", suite = test_auth_manager },
+    { name = "ConnectivityCheck socket tests", suite = test_connectivity_check }
+}
+
+local passed = 0
+local failed = 0
+
+for _, item in ipairs(suites) do
+    print("Running Suite: " .. item.name .. "...")
+    local ok, err = pcall(item.suite.run)
+    if ok then
+        print("✓ " .. item.name .. " PASSED\n")
+        passed = passed + 1
+    else
+        print("❌ " .. item.name .. " FAILED")
+        print("Error: " .. tostring(err) .. "\n")
+        failed = failed + 1
+    end
+end
+
+print("==================================================")
+print("Test Run Summary:")
+print("Passed: " .. passed)
+print("Failed: " .. failed)
+print("==================================================")
+
+-- Clean up any test files left
+os.remove("test.json")
+os.remove("projects_cache.json")
+
+if failed > 0 then
+    os.exit(1)
+else
+    os.exit(0)
+end
diff --git a/src/tests/test_auth_manager.lua b/src/tests/test_auth_manager.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cc9bcd4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tests/test_auth_manager.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+local auth_manager = require("api.auth_manager")
+
+local function run_tests()
+    local test_token = "zync_test_session_token_12345"
+
+    -- Save token
+    local saved = auth_manager.save_token(test_token)
+    assert(saved == true, "Auth token save failed")
+
+    -- Load token
+    local loaded = auth_manager.get_token()
+    assert(loaded == test_token, "Auth token loaded mismatch")
+
+    -- Clean up session file
+    os.remove("session.json")
+
+    print("All auth_manager tests passed!")
+end
+
+return { run = run_tests }
diff --git a/src/tests/test_connectivity_check.lua b/src/tests/test_connectivity_check.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..92059ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tests/test_connectivity_check.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+local connectivity_check = require("utils.connectivity_check")
+
+local function run_tests()
+    -- Check that the function exists
+    assert(type(connectivity_check.is_backend_online) == "function", "is_backend_online should be a function")
+
+    -- Wrap in pcall since luasocket might not be present in CLI test run environment
+    local status, result = pcall(connectivity_check.is_backend_online)
+    if status then
+        assert(type(result) == "boolean", "is_backend_online must return a boolean")
+    else
+        print("luasocket not available, skipped socket runtime check: " .. tostring(result))
+    end
+
+    print("All connectivity_check tests passed!")
+end
+
+return { run = run_tests }
diff --git a/src/tests/test_project_manager.lua b/src/tests/test_project_manager.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c77860b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tests/test_project_manager.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+local project_manager = require("api.project_manager")
+local mocks = require("tests.mocks")
+local file_manager = require("utils.file_manager")
+
+local function run_tests()
+    local mock_http = mocks.create_http_client()
+    project_manager.http = mock_http
+
+    -- Test case 1: Successful fetch
+    mock_http.response_body = '[{"id": "p1", "name": "Test project"}]'
+    mock_http.response_status = 200
+    mock_http.should_fail = false
+
+    local success = project_manager.fetch_projects()
+    assert(success == true, "Project fetch failed on successful mock request")
+    assert(#mock_http.calls == 1, "Expected exactly 1 HTTP call")
+    assert(mock_http.calls[1].method == "GET", "Expected GET request method")
+    assert(mock_http.calls[1].url == "https://zync-pd9r.onrender.com/api/projects", "Target URL mismatch")
+
+    -- Verify cache file was written
+    local cached = file_manager.load_json("projects_cache.json")
+    assert(cached ~= nil, "Cache JSON file was not written or loaded")
+
+    -- Test case 2: Server failure
+    mock_http.should_fail = true
+    local fail_success = project_manager.fetch_projects()
+    assert(fail_success == false, "Project fetch should return false on server error")
+
+    print("All project_manager tests passed!")
+end
+
+return { run = run_tests }