Why: the initiative branch's merge resolution kept a stale test_svc_recover.py that lost main's free_fixture_port helper while its callers (test_svc_superadmin_envfile) reference it, breaking the CI test job on every initiative-branch head.
Evidence: main @33d6ef69 has the helper and a fully green CI (test/test-pg/svc-realcombo success); this branch's callers now match.
Impact: Test helper alignment only; no production code.
Refs: initiative PR #635; merge af2e6b41