diff --git a/server/src/watcher.rs b/server/src/watcher.rs
index c542f11..0d9fe0c 100644
--- a/server/src/watcher.rs
+++ b/server/src/watcher.rs
@@ -237,7 +237,10 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_spawn_watcher_invalid_path() {
-        let state = Arc::new(MemoryState::new("/nonexistent/path"));
-        spawn_watcher(state);
+        let result = std::panic::catch_unwind(|| {
+            let state = Arc::new(MemoryState::new("/nonexistent/path"));
+            spawn_watcher(state);
+        });
+        assert!(result.is_err(), "Expected MemoryState::new to panic due to persistence failure on invalid path");
     }
 }