diff --git a/deploy/bootstrap.sh b/deploy/bootstrap.sh
index 1f7ce48..8194e67 100644
--- a/deploy/bootstrap.sh
+++ b/deploy/bootstrap.sh
@@ -448,9 +448,11 @@ PG_LOCKOUT_LINE="# The felis database moved into k3s (felis-postgres); nothing e
 # The units that write to the database from the host; the move stops them and starts
 # again the ones that were running.
 PG_MOVE_TIMERS=(felis-db-backup felis-offsite felis-update-check felis-watchdog)
-# Each public table with its exact row count, one per line, in a collation-independent
-# order, so the two servers' answers compare byte for byte.
-PG_TABLE_COUNTS="SELECT c.relname || ' ' || (xpath('/row/n/text()', query_to_xml(format('SELECT count(*) AS n FROM public.%I', c.relname), false, true, '')))[1]::text FROM pg_class c JOIN pg_namespace s ON s.oid = c.relnamespace WHERE s.nspname = 'public' AND c.relkind IN ('r', 'p') ORDER BY 1 COLLATE \"C\""
+# Each public table with its exact row count, one per line, in byte order of the table names
+# whatever the servers' collations (relname is a name, which sorts in collation "C" since
+# PostgreSQL 12), so the two servers' answers compare byte for byte. internal/pgint runs it
+# on the oldest and newest server the installer meets; the shell tests stub psql.
+PG_TABLE_COUNTS="SELECT c.relname || ' ' || (xpath('/row/n/text()', query_to_xml(format('SELECT count(*) AS n FROM public.%I', c.relname), false, true, '')))[1]::text FROM pg_class c JOIN pg_namespace s ON s.oid = c.relnamespace WHERE s.nspname = 'public' AND c.relkind IN ('r', 'p') ORDER BY c.relname"
 PG_MOVE_STAGE=""
 PG_MOVE_HBA=""
 PG_MOVE_UNITS=()
diff --git a/internal/pgint/installer_test.go b/internal/pgint/installer_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aaa059c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/pgint/installer_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+//go:build pgint
+
+package pgint
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"database/sql"
+	"fmt"
+	"os/exec"
+	"slices"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// The row-count query deploy/bootstrap.sh runs on the host PostgreSQL and on felis-postgres
+// when it moves the database into k3s, comparing the two answers byte for byte: every public
+// table with its exact row count, one per line, in byte order of the table names. The shell
+// tests stub psql, so this is the only place the SQL itself runs before a real host does.
+func TestInstallerTableCounts(t *testing.T) {
+	// bash reads the assignment the way the installer does, quoting and escapes included.
+	out, err := exec.Command("bash", "-c", `eval "$(grep '^PG_TABLE_COUNTS=' "$1")" && printf %s "$PG_TABLE_COUNTS"`,
+		"bash", "../../deploy/bootstrap.sh").Output()
+	if err != nil || len(out) == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("reading PG_TABLE_COUNTS from deploy/bootstrap.sh: %v (%q)", err, out)
+	}
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	// Tables the schema does not have yet but a migration may add: a name needing quotes,
+	// which byte order puts before every lowercase one and a locale's order does not, and a
+	// partitioned table.
+	for _, stmt := range []string{
+		`CREATE TABLE public."Pgint_Counts" (id int)`,
+		`INSERT INTO public."Pgint_Counts" VALUES (1), (2), (3)`,
+		`CREATE TABLE public.pgint_counts_parted (id int) PARTITION BY RANGE (id)`,
+		`CREATE TABLE public.pgint_counts_parted_all PARTITION OF public.pgint_counts_parted FOR VALUES FROM (0) TO (100)`,
+		`INSERT INTO public.pgint_counts_parted VALUES (1), (2)`,
+	} {
+		if _, err := db.ExecContext(ctx, stmt); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("%s: %v", stmt, err)
+		}
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		_, _ = db.ExecContext(context.Background(), `DROP TABLE IF EXISTS public."Pgint_Counts", public.pgint_counts_parted`)
+	})
+	// One snapshot for the query and the counts it is checked against.
+	tx, err := db.BeginTx(ctx, &sql.TxOptions{Isolation: sql.LevelRepeatableRead, ReadOnly: true})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer func() { _ = tx.Rollback() }()
+
+	rows, err := tx.QueryContext(ctx, string(out))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("PG_TABLE_COUNTS: %v", err)
+	}
+	var got []string
+	for rows.Next() {
+		var line string
+		if err := rows.Scan(&line); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		got = append(got, line)
+	}
+	if err := rows.Err(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("PG_TABLE_COUNTS: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	names, err := publicTables(ctx, tx)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(names) // byte order, what COLLATE "C" sorts by
+	var want []string
+	for _, name := range names {
+		var n int64
+		q := `SELECT count(*) FROM public."` + strings.ReplaceAll(name, `"`, `""`) + `"`
+		if err := tx.QueryRowContext(ctx, q).Scan(&n); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		want = append(want, fmt.Sprintf("%s %d", name, n))
+	}
+	if !slices.Contains(want, "Pgint_Counts 3") || !slices.Contains(want, "pgint_counts_parted 2") {
+		t.Fatalf("the tables this test made are not what it counts: %q", want)
+	}
+	if !slices.Equal(got, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("PG_TABLE_COUNTS returned\n%s\nwant\n%s", strings.Join(got, "\n"), strings.Join(want, "\n"))
+	}
+}
+
+func publicTables(ctx context.Context, tx *sql.Tx) ([]string, error) {
+	rows, err := tx.QueryContext(ctx, "SELECT tablename FROM pg_tables WHERE schemaname = 'public'")
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	defer rows.Close()
+	var names []string
+	for rows.Next() {
+		var name string
+		if err := rows.Scan(&name); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		names = append(names, name)
+	}
+	return names, rows.Err()
+}