diff --git a/.env.testing b/.env.testing
index 6b2cbec9..21577466 100644
--- a/.env.testing
+++ b/.env.testing
@@ -11,8 +11,13 @@ BCRYPT_ROUNDS=4
 LOG_CHANNEL=stack
 LOG_STACK=single
 
-DB_CONNECTION=sqlite
-DB_DATABASE=:memory:
+# Host and credentials must match docker/dev/docker-compose.yml; nothing enforces it.
+DB_CONNECTION=mysql
+DB_HOST=db
+DB_PORT=3306
+DB_DATABASE=ffr_testing
+DB_USERNAME=ffr
+DB_PASSWORD=ffr
 
 SESSION_DRIVER=array
 
diff --git a/.forgejo/workflows/ci.yml b/.forgejo/workflows/ci.yml
index 80a1b1fd..82c494cd 100644
--- a/.forgejo/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.forgejo/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -10,7 +10,20 @@ jobs:
   ci:
     runs-on: docker
     container:
-      image: forge.lvl0.xyz/lvl0/fedi-feed-router-ci:php8.3-3
+      image: forge.lvl0.xyz/lvl0/fedi-feed-router-ci:php8.3-4
+    services:
+      db:
+        image: mariadb:11
+        env:
+          MARIADB_DATABASE: ffr_testing
+          MARIADB_USER: ffr
+          MARIADB_PASSWORD: ffr
+          MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: ffr_root_ci
+        options: >-
+          --health-cmd="healthcheck.sh --connect --innodb_initialized"
+          --health-interval=10s
+          --health-timeout=5s
+          --health-retries=10
     steps:
       - uses: https://data.forgejo.org/actions/checkout@v4
 
diff --git a/docker/dev/docker-compose.yml b/docker/dev/docker-compose.yml
index fcb03bbf..fa03e12e 100644
--- a/docker/dev/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker/dev/docker-compose.yml
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ services:
       MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: "${DB_ROOT_PASSWORD:-ffr_root_dev}"
     volumes:
       - db_data:/var/lib/mysql
+      - ./initdb:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d:ro
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD", "healthcheck.sh", "--connect", "--innodb_initialized"]
       interval: 10s
diff --git a/docker/dev/initdb/01-create-test-database.sql b/docker/dev/initdb/01-create-test-database.sql
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e62b491f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/dev/initdb/01-create-test-database.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+-- Runs only on an empty data directory. Recreate the volume to apply changes.
+CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS ffr_testing
+    CHARACTER SET utf8mb4
+    COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
+
+GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON ffr_testing.* TO 'ffr'@'%';
+FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
diff --git a/phpunit.xml b/phpunit.xml
index 17f11850..05ea7cc1 100644
--- a/phpunit.xml
+++ b/phpunit.xml
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@
         <server name="APP_MAINTENANCE_DRIVER" value="file" force="true"/>
         <server name="BCRYPT_ROUNDS" value="4" force="true"/>
         <server name="CACHE_STORE" value="array" force="true"/>
-        <server name="DB_CONNECTION" value="sqlite" force="true"/>
-        <server name="DB_DATABASE" value=":memory:" force="true"/>
+        <server name="DB_CONNECTION" value="mysql" force="true"/>
+        <server name="DB_DATABASE" value="ffr_testing" force="true"/>
         <server name="MAIL_MAILER" value="array" force="true"/>
         <server name="PULSE_ENABLED" value="false" force="true"/>
         <server name="QUEUE_CONNECTION" value="sync" force="true"/>
diff --git a/tests/Feature/KeyPlatformChannelPostsMigrationTest.php b/tests/Feature/KeyPlatformChannelPostsMigrationTest.php
index 1febf897..3c306ca0 100644
--- a/tests/Feature/KeyPlatformChannelPostsMigrationTest.php
+++ b/tests/Feature/KeyPlatformChannelPostsMigrationTest.php
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ public function test_maps_rows_to_the_local_channel_by_name(): void
     {
         $this->restoreLegacyTable();
 
-        $channel = PlatformChannel::factory()->create(['name' => 'newsbottest', 'channel_id' => 'newsbottest']);
+        $channel = PlatformChannel::factory()->create(['name' => 'newsbottest']);
         $this->seedLegacyRow('217', 'newsbottest', '1');
         $this->seedLegacyRow('217', 'newsbottest', '2');
 
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ public function test_drops_rows_that_match_no_channel(): void
     {
         $this->restoreLegacyTable();
 
-        PlatformChannel::factory()->create(['name' => 'newsbottest', 'channel_id' => 'newsbottest']);
+        PlatformChannel::factory()->create(['name' => 'newsbottest']);
         $this->seedLegacyRow('999', 'a-community-that-no-longer-exists', '1');
 
         $this->runMigration();
@@ -94,12 +94,10 @@ public function test_drops_rows_whose_channel_name_is_ambiguous_across_instances
         PlatformChannel::factory()->create([
             'platform_instance_id' => $first->id,
             'name' => 'news',
-            'channel_id' => 'news',
         ]);
         PlatformChannel::factory()->create([
             'platform_instance_id' => $second->id,
             'name' => 'news',
-            'channel_id' => 'news-two',
         ]);
 
         $this->seedLegacyRow('8', 'news', '1');
@@ -113,7 +111,7 @@ public function test_leaves_a_schema_the_new_code_can_use(): void
     {
         $this->restoreLegacyTable();
 
-        $channel = PlatformChannel::factory()->create(['name' => 'newsbottest', 'channel_id' => 'newsbottest']);
+        $channel = PlatformChannel::factory()->create(['name' => 'newsbottest']);
         $this->seedLegacyRow('217', 'newsbottest', '1');
 
         $this->runMigration();
diff --git a/tests/Feature/MirrorDuplicateDetectionTest.php b/tests/Feature/MirrorDuplicateDetectionTest.php
index 09bd6a5e..8243648c 100644
--- a/tests/Feature/MirrorDuplicateDetectionTest.php
+++ b/tests/Feature/MirrorDuplicateDetectionTest.php
@@ -41,7 +41,6 @@ protected function setUp(): void
         $instance = PlatformInstance::factory()->create(['url' => 'https://lemmy.test']);
         $channel = PlatformChannel::factory()->create([
             'platform_instance_id' => $instance->id,
-            'channel_id' => 'news',
             'name' => 'news',
         ]);
         $account = PlatformAccount::factory()->create(['instance_url' => 'https://lemmy.test']);
@@ -180,7 +179,6 @@ public function test_a_second_instance_with_the_same_community_name_does_not_col
         $otherInstance = PlatformInstance::factory()->create(['url' => 'https://other.test']);
         $otherChannel = PlatformChannel::factory()->create([
             'platform_instance_id' => $otherInstance->id,
-            'channel_id' => 'news',
             'name' => 'news',
         ]);
 
diff --git a/tests/Feature/ValidateArticleListenerTest.php b/tests/Feature/ValidateArticleListenerTest.php
index dd491355..427ca903 100644
--- a/tests/Feature/ValidateArticleListenerTest.php
+++ b/tests/Feature/ValidateArticleListenerTest.php
@@ -89,7 +89,8 @@ public function test_listener_skips_already_validated_articles(): void
     public function test_listener_skips_articles_with_existing_publication(): void
     {
         $feed = Feed::factory()->create();
-        Route::factory()->active()->create(['feed_id' => $feed->id]);
+        /** @var Route $route */
+        $route = Route::factory()->active()->create(['feed_id' => $feed->id]);
 
         $article = Article::factory()->create([
             'feed_id' => $feed->id,
@@ -98,7 +99,7 @@ public function test_listener_skips_articles_with_existing_publication(): void
         ArticlePublication::create([
             'article_id' => $article->id,
             'post_id' => 'test-post-id',
-            'platform_channel_id' => 1,
+            'platform_channel_id' => $route->platform_channel_id,
             'published_at' => now(),
             'published_by' => 'test-user',
         ]);