diff --git a/core/commands.inc.sh b/core/commands.inc.sh
index 9f1365cddae..f2c49d88cac 100644
--- a/core/commands.inc.sh
+++ b/core/commands.inc.sh
@@ -91,7 +91,14 @@ do_test() {
   if [[ $target =~ ^(x86|x64)$ ]]; then
     cmd //C build.bat $target $BUILDER_CONFIGURATION test $testparams
   else
-    meson test -C "$MESON_PATH" $testparams
+    if [[ $target == wasm ]] && [[ $BUILDER_OS == mac ]]; then
+      # 11794 -- parallel tests failing on some mac build agents; temporary
+      # mitigation until we diagnose root cause
+      meson test -j 1 -C "$MESON_PATH" $testparams
+    else
+      meson test -C "$MESON_PATH" $testparams
+    fi
+
   fi
   builder_finish_action success test:$target
 }
diff --git a/docs/build/macos.md b/docs/build/macos.md
index aa1eea34bfd..f22aac4dd3a 100644
--- a/docs/build/macos.md
+++ b/docs/build/macos.md
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ PATH="$HOMEBREW_PREFIX/opt/coreutils/libexec/gnubin:$PATH"
 * node.js 18+, emscripten, openjdk 8
 
 ```shell
-brew install node emscripten openjdk@8
+brew install node emscripten
 ```
 
 Note: if you install emscripten with brew on macOS, only emscripten binaries are