diff --git a/.github/workflows/build_and_test_on_spawn.yml b/.github/workflows/build_and_test_on_spawn.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index c87d6fa45..000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/build_and_test_on_spawn.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,392 +0,0 @@
-# Builds and tests a database project (in this case tSQLt) 
-# 
-# Originally from: https://github.com/lizbaron/db-cicd-with-github-actions/blob/9a514ed0c41029daa231db22e30de7806636160c/.github/workflows/build_and_test_on_linux.yml
-
-name: Build and Test tSQLt on Spawn
-
-on:
-  push:
-    branches:
-      - main
-  workflow_dispatch: 
-    inputs:
-      spawnDataImages:
-        description: 'names of the data-images on spawn (e.g. all is currently equivalent to [["SQL2017","mssql-empty:v2017"],["SQL2019","mssql-empty:v2019"]] 2021-09-26)'
-        required: true
-        default: 'all'
-
-env:
-  MATRIX_NAME: 0
-  MATRIX_SPAWNIMAGE: 1
-  SPAWNDATAIMAGES_DEFAULT: 
-    '[["SQL2017","mssql-empty:v2017"],["SQL2019","mssql-empty:v2019"]]'
-  SQLPACKAGE_HOME: 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\160\DAC\bin\'
-
-jobs:
-  
-  set-up-env-vars:
-    name: set up matrix variables
-    #if: ${{ always() }}
-
-    # More types found here, https://docs.github.com/en/free-pro-team@latest/actions/reference/specifications-for-github-hosted-runners
-    runs-on: windows-latest
-
-    env:
-      TSQLT_ARTIFACT_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}\tSQLt\Build\output\tSQLt
-
-    steps:
-
-      - name: create variables
-        id: create-vars
-        shell: pwsh
-        run: |
-          $spawnDataImages = '${{ github.event.inputs.spawnDataImages }}';
-          Write-Host "✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ";
-          Write-Host "";
-          Write-Host ("input spawnDataImages: {0}" -f $spawnDataImages);
-          if ([string]::IsNullOrEmpty($spawnDataImages) -or ("all" -eq $spawnDataImages)) {
-            $spawnDataImages = '${{ env.spawndataimages_default }}';
-          }
-          Write-Host ("final spawnDataImages value: {0}" -f $spawnDataImages);
-          $matrixValues = '{{"data-image":{0} }}' -f $spawnDataImages;
-          Write-Host ("matrixValues value: {0}" -f $matrixValues);
-          Write-Host "";
-          Write-Host "✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ";
-
-          Write-Host ('::set-output name=matrixValues::' + $matrixValues);
-
-    outputs:
-      matrixValues: ${{ steps.create-vars.outputs.matrixValues }}
-
-
-# 💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖   
-  build-tSQLt:
-    name: build tSQLt
-    #if: ${{ false }}
-
-    runs-on: windows-latest
-
-    env:
-      PFX_PATH: ${{ github.workspace }}\tSQLt\Build\tSQLtOfficialSigningKey.pfx
-      ARTIFACT_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}\artifacts
-      MSBUILD_HOME: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Enterprise\MSBuild\Current\Bin
-
-    steps:
-      # Checks-out your repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE, so your job can access it. 
-      # But this is misleading, because this variable is only really helpful as ${{ github.workspace }}
-      - name: Checkout tSQLt
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
-        with:
-          path: tSQLt
-
-      # documentation: This is just what you need to do...
-      - name: create and install unofficial pfx file for signing dlls
-        shell: pwsh
-        run: |
-          $superSecurePassword = "ExtraSuperSecurePassword1!";
-          $cert = New-SelfSignedCertificate -FriendlyName "tSQLt_testKey" -Type CodeSigningCert -Subject "CN=localhost" -KeyAlgorithm RSA -HashAlgorithm SHA1 -KeyLength 2048 -SmimeCapabilities -CertStoreLocation "cert:/LocalMachine" -Provider "Microsoft Strong Cryptographic Provider"
-          $pfxFile = Export-PfxCertificate -cert ("Cert:\LocalMachine\My\" + $cert.thumbprint) -FilePath $env:PFX_PATH -Password (ConvertTo-SecureString -String $superSecurePassword -Force -AsPlainText)
-          &"${{ github.workspace }}\tSQLt\Build\SnInstallPfx" "$env:PFX_PATH" $superSecurePassword tSQLt_OfficialSigningKey
-
-      - name: ant Build\tSQLt.buildCLR.xml --> Build/output/CLRBuild/
-        run: ant -buildfile "${{ github.workspace }}\tSQLt\Build\tSQLt.buildCLR.xml" -D"msbuild.path"="$env:MSBUILD_HOME" all
- 
-      - name: ant Build/tSQLt.build.xml --> Build/output/tSQLtBuild
-        run: ant -buildfile "${{ github.workspace }}\tSQLt\Build\tSQLt.build.xml" all -D"commit.id"="${{ github.sha }}"
-
-      - name: copy tSQLt artifacts to ${{ env.artifact_dir }}
-        shell: pwsh
-        run: |
-          New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path "$env:ARTIFACT_DIR"
-          $basePath = "${{ github.workspace }}\tSQLt\Build\output\tSQLtBuild\";
-          $artifactFiles = @("ReadMe.txt","CommitId.txt","CreateBuildLog.sql","GetFriendlySQLServerVersion.sql","tSQLt.tests.zip","tSQLtFacade.zip","tSQLtFiles.zip","tSQLtSnippets(SQLPrompt).zip","Version.txt");
-          Get-ChildItem -Path ($basePath + "*")  -Include $artifactFiles | Copy-Item -Destination "$env:ARTIFACT_DIR";
-
-      - name: Archive production artifact
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v2
-        with:
-          if-no-files-found: error
-          name: tSQLtBuildArtifact
-          path: "${{ env.artifact_dir }}\\"
-          retention-days: 5
-
-
-# 💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖   
-  build-facades:
-    name: build facade dacpacs
-    needs: [build-tSQLt,set-up-env-vars]
-    #if: ${{ always() }}
-
-    env:
-      DACPAC_ARTIFACT_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}\tSQLt\Build\output\DacpacBuild
-
-    strategy:
-      matrix: ${{ fromJson(needs.set-up-env-vars.outputs.matrixValues) }}
-      fail-fast: true
-
-    # More types found here, https://docs.github.com/en/free-pro-team@latest/actions/reference/specifications-for-github-hosted-runners
-    runs-on: windows-latest
-
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout tSQLt
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
-        with:
-          path: tSQLt
-
-      - name: load namespace variables into env
-        id: create-vars
-        shell: pwsh
-        run: |
-          $sqlcmdPath = (Get-Command sqlcmd).Path.TrimEnd("\\SQLCMD.EXE");
-          Write-Host ('::set-output name=sqlcmdPath::'+$sqlcmdPath);
-
-      - name: Install spawnctl
-        shell: pwsh
-        run: |
-          echo "Downloading and installing spawnctl..."
-          Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://run.spawn.cc/spawnctl.exe" -UseBasicParsing -OutFile "${{ github.workspace }}\spawnctl.exe"
-          & "${{ github.workspace }}\spawnctl.exe" version
-
-      - name: Create Container
-        id: create-container
-        shell: pwsh
-        run: |
-          & "${{ github.workspace }}\spawnctl.exe" get data-images
-
-          $dataImageName = "${{ matrix.data-image[ env.MATRIX_SPAWNIMAGE ] }}";
-
-          echo "Creating 'tSQLtOnLinux' Spawn data container from image '$dataImageName'";
-          $containerName= & "${{ github.workspace }}\spawnctl.exe" create data-container --image $dataImageName --lifetime 30m -q
-          $containerJSON= & "${{ github.workspace }}\spawnctl.exe" get data-container $containerName -o json
-          $containerInfo = ConvertFrom-JSON -inputObject $containerJSON;
-          $containerFQDN=$containerInfo.host+", "+$containerInfo.port;
-          $containerUser=$containerInfo.user;
-          $containerPassword=$containerInfo.password;
-          echo "Successfully created Spawn data container '$containerName'"
-
-          Write-Host ('::set-output name=containerFQDN::'+$containerFQDN);
-          Write-Host ('::set-output name=containerUser::'+$containerUser);
-          Write-Host ('::set-output name=containerPassword::'+$containerPassword);
-
-        env:
-          SPAWNCTL_ACCESS_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SPAWNCTL_ACCESS_TOKEN }} 
-
-      - name: print sql version info
-        shell: pwsh
-        run: |
-          Write-Host "✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ";
-          Write-Host "";
-          # Write-Host Invoke-Sqlcmd -ConnectionTimeout 600 -Query "SELECT SUSER_NAME() U,SYSDATETIME() T,@@VERSION V;" -ServerInstance "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerFQDN }}" -Username "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerUser }}" -Password "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerPassword }}" -As DataSet
-          $DS = Invoke-Sqlcmd -ConnectionTimeout 600 -Query "SELECT SUSER_NAME() U,SYSDATETIME() T,@@VERSION V;" -ServerInstance "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerFQDN }}" -Username "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerUser }}" -Password "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerPassword }}" -As DataSet
-
-          $DS.Tables[0].Rows | %{ echo "{ $($_['U']), $($_['T']), $($_['V']) }" }    
-          Write-Host "";
-          Write-Host "✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ";
-
-      - name: download tSQLtBuildArtifact artifact
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4.1.7
-        with:
-          name: tSQLtBuildArtifact
-          path: "${{ github.workspace }}\\tSQLt\\Build\\output\\tSQLtBuild"
-
-      - name: build tSQLt and Facade Dacpacs --> Build/output/DacpacBuild/
-        shell: pwsh
-        working-directory: ${{ github.workspace }}\tSQLt\
-        run: |
-          .\Build\SetupDacpacBuild.ps1 -ErrorAction Stop 
-          .\Build\FacadeBuildDacpac.ps1 -ErrorAction Stop -ServerName "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerFQDN }}" -DatabaseName "tSQLt_dev" -Login "-U ${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerUser }} -P ${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerPassword }}" -SqlCmdPath "${{ steps.create-vars.outputs.sqlcmdPath }}" -SqlPackagePath "$env:SQLPACKAGE_HOME"
-          .\Build\BuildtSQLtDacpac.ps1 -ErrorAction Stop -ServerName "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerFQDN }}" -DatabaseName "tSQLt_dev_dacpac_src" -Login "-U ${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerUser }} -P ${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerPassword }}" -SqlCmdPath "${{ steps.create-vars.outputs.sqlcmdPath }}" -SqlPackagePath "$env:SQLPACKAGE_HOME"
-
-      - name: create dacpacs artifact
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v2
-        with:
-          if-no-files-found: error
-          name: dacpacs
-          path: "${{ env.dacpac_artifact_dir }}\\"
-          retention-days: 5
-
-
-# 💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖   
-  create-artifact:
-    name: create artifact
-    needs: [build-facades]
-    #if: ${{ always() }}
-
-    # More types found here, https://docs.github.com/en/free-pro-team@latest/actions/reference/specifications-for-github-hosted-runners
-    runs-on: windows-latest
-
-    env:
-      TSQLT_PUBLIC_ARTIFACT_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}\tSQLt\Build\output\tSQLt\public
-      TSQLT_VALIDATION_ARTIFACT_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}\tSQLt\Build\output\tSQLt\validation
-
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout tSQLt
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
-        with:
-          path: tSQLt
-
-      - name: download tSQLtBuildArtifact artifact
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4.1.7
-        with:
-          name: tSQLtBuildArtifact
-          path: "${{ github.workspace }}\\tSQLt\\Build\\output\\tSQLtBuild"
-
-      - name: download tSQLt dacpac artifact(s)
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4.1.7
-        with:
-          name: dacpacs
-          path: "${{ github.workspace }}\\tSQLt\\Build\\output\\DacpacBuild"
-
-      - name: inspect CreateArtifact directory
-        shell: pwsh
-        working-directory: ${{ github.workspace }}\tSQLt\Build\output
-        run: |
-          Get-ChildItem . -Recurse
-
-      - name: package Build/output/tSQLt /public and /validation files
-        shell: pwsh
-        working-directory: ${{ github.workspace }}\tSQLt\
-        run: |
-          .\Build\BuildtSQLtZip.ps1 -ErrorAction Stop
-
-      - name: create tSQLt public artifact
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v2
-        with:
-          if-no-files-found: error
-          name: tSQLtPublic
-          path: "${{ env.tsqlt_public_artifact_dir }}\\"
-          retention-days: 90
-
-      - name: create tSQLt validation artifact
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v2
-        with:
-          if-no-files-found: error
-          name: tSQLtValidation
-          path: "${{ env.tsqlt_validation_artifact_dir }}\\"
-          retention-days: 5
-
-# 💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖   
-  test-tSQLt-and-facade:
-    name: test build artifact
-    needs: [create-artifact,set-up-env-vars]
-    #if: ${{ always() }}
-
-    env:
-      TEST_ARTIFACT_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}\tSQLt\Build\temp\Validate\TestResults
-      DACPAC_ARTIFACT_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}\tSQLt\Build\output\DacpacBuild
-      MATRIX_VERSIONS: ${{ format('{{"data-image":{0} }}',github.event.inputs.spawnDataImages) }}
-
-    strategy:
-      matrix: ${{ fromJson(needs.set-up-env-vars.outputs.matrixValues) }}
-      fail-fast: false
-
-    # More types found here, https://docs.github.com/en/free-pro-team@latest/actions/reference/specifications-for-github-hosted-runners
-    runs-on: windows-latest
-
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout tSQLt
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
-        with:
-          path: tSQLt
-
-      - name: download public tSQLt artifact
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4.1.7
-        with:
-          name: tSQLtPublic
-          path: "${{ github.workspace }}\\tSQLt\\Build\\output\\tSQLt\\public"
-
-      - name: download validation tSQLt artifact
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4.1.7
-        with:
-          name: tSQLtValidation
-          path: "${{ github.workspace }}\\tSQLt\\Build\\output\\tSQLt\\validation"
-
-      - name: load namespace variables into env
-        id: create-vars
-        shell: pwsh
-        run: |
-          $sqlcmdPath = (Get-Command sqlcmd).Path.TrimEnd("\\SQLCMD.EXE");
-          Write-Host ('::set-output name=sqlcmdPath::'+$sqlcmdPath);
-
-      - name: Install spawnctl
-        shell: pwsh
-        run: |
-          echo "Downloading and installing spawnctl..."
-          Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://run.spawn.cc/spawnctl.exe" -UseBasicParsing -OutFile "${{ github.workspace }}\spawnctl.exe"
-          & "${{ github.workspace }}\spawnctl.exe" version
-
-      - name: Create Container
-        id: create-container
-        shell: pwsh
-        run: |
-          & "${{ github.workspace }}\spawnctl.exe" get data-images
-
-          $dataImageName = "${{ matrix.data-image[ env.MATRIX_SPAWNIMAGE] }}";
-
-          echo "Creating 'tSQLtOnLinux' Spawn data container from image '$dataImageName'";
-          $containerName= & "${{ github.workspace }}\spawnctl.exe" create data-container --image $dataImageName --lifetime 30m -q
-          $containerJSON= & "${{ github.workspace }}\spawnctl.exe" get data-container $containerName -o json
-          $containerInfo = ConvertFrom-JSON -inputObject $containerJSON;
-          $containerFQDN=$containerInfo.host+", "+$containerInfo.port;
-          $containerUser=$containerInfo.user;
-          $containerPassword=$containerInfo.password;
-          echo "Successfully created Spawn data container '$containerName'"
-
-          Write-Host ('::set-output name=containerFQDN::'+$containerFQDN);
-          Write-Host ('::set-output name=containerUser::'+$containerUser);
-          Write-Host ('::set-output name=containerPassword::'+$containerPassword);
-
-        env:
-          SPAWNCTL_ACCESS_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SPAWNCTL_ACCESS_TOKEN }} 
-
-      - name: print sql version info
-        shell: pwsh
-        run: |
-          Write-Host "✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ";
-          Write-Host "";
-          # Write-Host Invoke-Sqlcmd -ConnectionTimeout 600 -Query "SELECT SUSER_NAME() U,SYSDATETIME() T,@@VERSION V;" -ServerInstance "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerFQDN }}" -Username "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerUser }}" -Password "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerPassword }}" -As DataSet
-          $DS = Invoke-Sqlcmd -ConnectionTimeout 600 -Query "SELECT SUSER_NAME() U,SYSDATETIME() T,@@VERSION V;" -ServerInstance "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerFQDN }}" -Username "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerUser }}" -Password "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerPassword }}" -As DataSet
-
-          $DS.Tables[0].Rows | %{ echo "{ $($_['U']), $($_['T']), $($_['V']) }" }    
-          Write-Host "";
-          Write-Host "✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ✨   ";
-
-      - name: Setup SQL Users
-        shell: pwsh
-        run: |
-          $DS = Invoke-Sqlcmd -ConnectionTimeout 600 -InputFile "${{ github.workspace }}\tSQLt\Build\CreateLogin(tSQLt.Build).sql"  -ServerInstance "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerFQDN }}" -Username "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerUser }}" -Password "${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerPassword }}"
-
-      # @SM --> TODO: jUnit results
-      - name: ant Build/tSQLt.validatebuild.xml
-        working-directory: ${{ github.workspace }}\tSQLt\Build
-        run: ant -buildfile tSQLt.validatebuild.xml all -D"db.server"="${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerFQDN }}" -D"db.name"=tSQLt_dev -D"db.login"="-U ${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerUser }} -P ${{ steps.create-container.outputs.containerPassword }}" -D"sqlcmd.path"="${{ steps.create-vars.outputs.sqlcmdPath }}"  -D"sqlpackage.path"="$env:SQLPACKAGE_HOME" -D"logtable.name"="tempdb.dbo.[Full Build Log]"
-
-      - name: create junit artifact
-        shell: pwsh
-        run: |
-          $ArtifactPath = "$env:TEST_ARTIFACT_DIR\";
-          (Get-ChildItem $basePath -recurse -include "TestResults*.xml").FullName; 
-
-      - name: archive junit test artifact
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v2
-        with:
-          if-no-files-found: error
-          name: jUnitTests-${{ matrix.data-image[ env.MATRIX_NAME ] }}
-          path: "${{ env.test_artifact_dir }}\\"
-          retention-days: 90
-
-
-# # 💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖  💖   
-#   drop-data-container:
-#     name: drop the data container
-#     needs: test-tSQLt
-#     if: ${{ always() }}
-#     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-#     env:
-#     steps:
-#       - name: decode az sp cred
-#         id: cred-decode
-#         shell: pwsh
-#         run: |
-#           Write-Host ('#TODO');
-#       # documentation: https://github.com/azure/login#configure-azure-credentials
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0c6439730
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,170 @@
+# Builds tSQLt and runs the full validation suite against SQL Server on Linux.
+#
+# Mirrors the dev container setup (.devcontainer/): the CLR assemblies are signed
+# with a throwaway self-signed key, so the artifacts are for validation only and
+# must not be released.
+
+name: CI
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - develop
+      - main
+  pull_request:
+    branches:
+      - develop
+      - main
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+concurrency:
+  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: true
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
+jobs:
+  build-and-test:
+    name: build and test (SQL Server ${{ matrix.sqlserver }})
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    timeout-minutes: 90
+
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        sqlserver: ['2017', '2019', '2022']
+
+    services:
+      sqlserver:
+        image: mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:${{ matrix.sqlserver }}-latest
+        ports:
+          - 1433:1433
+        env:
+          ACCEPT_EULA: 'Y'
+          # Must match SA_PASSWORD below (the env context is not available to services).
+          MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD: 'P@ssw0rd'
+
+    env:
+      # Ephemeral credentials for the service container and the self-signed signing key.
+      SA_PASSWORD: 'P@ssw0rd'
+      PFX_PASSWORD: 'P@ssw0rdP@ssw0rdP@ssw0rdP@ssw0rd'
+      SQL_SERVER: 'localhost,1433'
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout tSQLt
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Install SqlServer PowerShell module
+        shell: pwsh
+        run: |
+          Set-PSRepository -Name PSGallery -InstallationPolicy Trusted
+          Install-Module -Name SqlServer -Scope CurrentUser -AllowClobber -Force
+          Get-Module -ListAvailable SqlServer | Select-Object Name, Version | Format-Table
+
+      - name: Install sqlpackage
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          curl -sSL https://aka.ms/sqlpackage-linux -o "$RUNNER_TEMP/sqlpackage.zip"
+          mkdir -p "$RUNNER_TEMP/sqlpackage"
+          unzip -q "$RUNNER_TEMP/sqlpackage.zip" -d "$RUNNER_TEMP/sqlpackage"
+          chmod +x "$RUNNER_TEMP/sqlpackage/sqlpackage"
+          echo "$RUNNER_TEMP/sqlpackage" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
+
+      - name: Create self-signed signing key
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          CERT_DIR="$RUNNER_TEMP/tSQLtCert"
+          mkdir -p "$CERT_DIR"
+          cd "$CERT_DIR"
+          openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:4096 -keyout tSQLtOfficialSigningKey.key -out tSQLtOfficialSigningKey.crt -days 1 -nodes -subj "/CN=tSQLt-CI"
+          openssl pkcs12 -export -out tSQLtOfficialSigningKey.pfx -inkey tSQLtOfficialSigningKey.key -in tSQLtOfficialSigningKey.crt -passout pass:"$PFX_PASSWORD"
+          echo "PFX_PATH=$CERT_DIR/tSQLtOfficialSigningKey.pfx" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
+      - name: Wait for SQL Server
+        shell: pwsh
+        run: |
+          $connectionString = "Server=$env:SQL_SERVER;User Id=sa;Password=$env:SA_PASSWORD;TrustServerCertificate=true;Connect Timeout=5;"
+          for ($i = 1; $i -le 60; $i++) {
+            try {
+              Invoke-Sqlcmd -ConnectionString $connectionString -Query "SELECT @@VERSION AS V;" -ErrorAction Stop | Format-List
+              exit 0
+            } catch {
+              Write-Host "SQL Server not ready yet (attempt $i): $($_.Exception.Message)"
+              Start-Sleep -Seconds 5
+            }
+          }
+          throw "SQL Server did not become ready in time."
+
+      - name: Build
+        shell: pwsh
+        run: |
+          Start-Transcript -Path "$env:RUNNER_TEMP/tSQLt-logs/build.log" -Force
+          try {
+            ./Build/LocalBuild.ps1 `
+              -ServerName $env:SQL_SERVER `
+              -UserName sa `
+              -Password (ConvertTo-SecureString $env:SA_PASSWORD -AsPlainText -Force) `
+              -pfxFilePath $env:PFX_PATH `
+              -pfxPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString $env:PFX_PASSWORD -AsPlainText -Force)
+          } finally {
+            Stop-Transcript
+          }
+
+      - name: Validate
+        shell: pwsh
+        run: |
+          Start-Transcript -Path "$env:RUNNER_TEMP/tSQLt-logs/validate.log" -Force
+          try {
+            ./Build/LocalValidate.ps1 `
+              -ServerName $env:SQL_SERVER `
+              -UserName sa `
+              -Password (ConvertTo-SecureString $env:SA_PASSWORD -AsPlainText -Force)
+          } finally {
+            Stop-Transcript
+          }
+
+      - name: Summarize test results
+        if: always()
+        shell: pwsh
+        run: |
+          $resultFiles = Get-ChildItem -Path ./Build/temp/Validate/Results -Filter 'TestResults*.xml' -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+          $summary = @("### tSQLt test results (SQL Server ${{ matrix.sqlserver }})", "", "| Suite | Tests | Failures | Errors | Skipped |", "|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|")
+          $totalTests = 0
+          $totalFailures = 0
+          $totalErrors = 0
+          foreach ($file in $resultFiles) {
+            [xml]$xml = Get-Content -Path $file.FullName -Raw
+            $suites = @($xml.SelectNodes('//testsuite'))
+            $sum = { param($attribute) $total = 0; foreach ($s in $suites) { $value = $s.GetAttribute($attribute); if ($value) { $total += [int]$value } }; $total }
+            $summary += "| $($file.BaseName) | $(& $sum 'tests') | $(& $sum 'failures') | $(& $sum 'errors') | $(& $sum 'skipped') |"
+            $totalTests += & $sum 'tests'
+            $totalFailures += & $sum 'failures'
+            $totalErrors += & $sum 'errors'
+          }
+          if (-not $resultFiles) { $summary += "| (no result files) | | | | |" }
+          $summary -join "`n" | Out-File -FilePath $env:GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY -Append -Encoding utf8
+          if ($totalTests -eq 0 -or $totalFailures -gt 0 -or $totalErrors -gt 0) {
+            throw "Validation did not pass: $totalTests tests, $totalFailures failures, $totalErrors errors. See the test results and logs."
+          }
+
+      - name: Upload test results
+        if: always()
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: test-results-sql${{ matrix.sqlserver }}
+          path: |
+            Build/temp/Validate/Results/
+            Build/output/Validate/
+            ${{ runner.temp }}/tSQLt-logs/
+          if-no-files-found: warn
+          retention-days: 30
+
+      - name: Upload build artifact
+        if: success()
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: tSQLt-sql${{ matrix.sqlserver }}
+          path: Build/output/tSQLt/
+          if-no-files-found: error
+          retention-days: 14
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index cd477cb9f..a5cbba295 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -13,4 +13,32 @@ tSQLt allows you to implement unit tests in T-SQL. This is important as you do n
 
 tSQLt is licensed under Apache 2.0 (https://github.com/tSQLt-org/tSQLt/blob/master/Build/License.txt)
 
+## Development in the masmgr fork
+
+`main` tracks the upstream tSQLt repository. `develop` integrates changes maintained
+in this fork. Open pull requests for bug fixes and enhancements against `develop`;
+keep each change in its own branch and validate it with CI before merging.
+
+## Continuous integration
+
+The GitHub Actions `CI` workflow runs on pushes to `develop` and `main`, pull
+requests targeting either branch, and manual dispatch. It builds tSQLt with
+`Build/LocalBuild.ps1` and runs the existing validation suite with
+`Build/LocalValidate.ps1` against SQL Server 2017, 2019, and 2022 on Linux using
+Ubuntu runners. No external service credentials or repository secrets are needed.
+
+Open the PR checks or the repository's **Actions > CI** page to view each SQL
+Server job. The run summary lists test counts, failures, errors, and skipped tests.
+Validation fails on test failures or errors, missing expected result files, or an
+empty test run.
+
+Each job uploads `test-results-sql<version>` containing the result XML files,
+validation output, and build/validation logs, including available files when a
+step fails. These artifacts are retained for 30 days. Successful jobs also upload
+`tSQLt-sql<version>` build artifacts, retained for 14 days.
+
+CI uses a temporary self-signed key. Its build artifacts are for validation only
+and must not be distributed as releases. This workflow covers Linux SQL Server;
+it does not establish compatibility with Windows or other SQL Server versions.
+
 
diff --git a/Tests/AssertEqualsTableTests.class.sql b/Tests/AssertEqualsTableTests.class.sql
index 08fb5b046..8da70c478 100644
--- a/Tests/AssertEqualsTableTests.class.sql
+++ b/Tests/AssertEqualsTableTests.class.sql
@@ -2,6 +2,26 @@ GO
 EXEC tSQLt.NewTestClass 'AssertEqualsTableTests';
 GO
 
+CREATE PROCEDURE AssertEqualsTableTests.[test DATE values before 1753 report assertion differences without CLR overflow]
+AS
+BEGIN
+  CREATE TABLE #Expected(DateColumn DATE);
+  CREATE TABLE #Actual(DateColumn DATE);
+  INSERT INTO #Expected VALUES ('0001-01-01'), ('1752-12-31');
+  INSERT INTO #Actual VALUES ('2000-01-01');
+
+  DECLARE @FailMessage NVARCHAR(MAX);
+  EXEC tSQLt_testutil.CaptureFailMessage
+    @Command = N'EXEC tSQLt.AssertEqualsTable N''#Expected'', N''#Actual'';',
+    @FailMessage = @FailMessage OUTPUT;
+
+  EXEC tSQLt.AssertLike N'%Unexpected/missing resultset rows!%', @FailMessage;
+  EXEC tSQLt.AssertLike N'%0001-01-01%', @FailMessage;
+  EXEC tSQLt.AssertLike N'%1752-12-31%', @FailMessage;
+  EXEC tSQLt.AssertLike N'%2000-01-01%', @FailMessage;
+END;
+GO
+
 CREATE PROCEDURE AssertEqualsTableTests.[test left table doesn't exist results in failure]
 AS
 BEGIN
diff --git a/Tests/TableToTextTests.class.sql b/Tests/TableToTextTests.class.sql
index a84aba4f5..6d3c19bf7 100644
--- a/Tests/TableToTextTests.class.sql
+++ b/Tests/TableToTextTests.class.sql
@@ -783,6 +783,31 @@ BEGIN
 END;
 GO
 
+CREATE PROCEDURE TableToTextTests.[test CLR TableToString works for DATE values across the full supported range]
+AS
+BEGIN
+    CREATE TABLE #DoesExist(T DATE);
+    INSERT INTO #DoesExist (T)VALUES('0001-01-01');
+    INSERT INTO #DoesExist (T)VALUES('1752-12-31');
+    INSERT INTO #DoesExist (T)VALUES('1753-01-01');
+    INSERT INTO #DoesExist (T)VALUES('9999-12-31');
+    INSERT INTO #DoesExist (T)VALUES(NULL);
+
+    DECLARE @result NVARCHAR(MAX);
+    SET @result = tSQLt.Private::TableToString('#DoesExist', 'T', '');
+
+    DECLARE @expected NVARCHAR(MAX);
+    SET @expected = '|T         |
++----------+
+|!NULL!    |
+|0001-01-01|
+|1752-12-31|
+|1753-01-01|
+|9999-12-31|';
+    EXEC tSQLt.AssertEqualsString @expected, @result;
+END;
+GO
+
 CREATE PROCEDURE TableToTextTests.[test TableToText works for CLR datatype that is not in tempdb]
 AS
 BEGIN
diff --git a/tSQLtCLR/tSQLtCLR/tSQLtPrivate.cs b/tSQLtCLR/tSQLtCLR/tSQLtPrivate.cs
index 6d18ddfec..dd3a9001f 100644
--- a/tSQLtCLR/tSQLtCLR/tSQLtPrivate.cs
+++ b/tSQLtCLR/tSQLtCLR/tSQLtPrivate.cs
@@ -320,8 +320,8 @@ private static string unquote(string columnName)
             return columnName.Replace("[","").Replace("]","");
         }
 
-        private static string SqlDateToString(SqlDateTime dtValue) {
-            return String.Format("{0:yyyy-MM-dd}", dtValue.Value);
+        private static string SqlDateToString(DateTime dtValue) {
+            return dtValue.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd", System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
         }
 
         private static String SqlDateTimeToString(SqlDateTime dtValue) {