diff --git a/tests/global-setup.ts b/tests/global-setup.ts
index c4d428e..d779515 100644
--- a/tests/global-setup.ts
+++ b/tests/global-setup.ts
@@ -1,57 +1,10 @@
 import { PostgreSqlContainer, type StartedPostgreSqlContainer } from "@testcontainers/postgresql";
-import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/node-postgres";
-import { migrate } from "drizzle-orm/node-postgres/migrator";
-import { Pool } from "pg";
-import path from "node:path";
 
 let container: StartedPostgreSqlContainer;
 
-// Every test file clones this database instead of replaying the migration
-// chain itself. Shared with tests/integration/setup.ts via TEST_TEMPLATE_DB.
-const TEMPLATE_DB = "ledgr_test_template";
-
 export async function setup() {
-  container = await new PostgreSqlContainer("postgres:17-alpine")
-    .withCommand([
-      "postgres",
-      // One throwaway database per test file, all on this single server. The
-      // default max_connections (100) sits below what the fork pool can demand
-      // — 14 workers holding a pool each exhausts it, and Postgres starts
-      // terminating connections mid-run (57P01).
-      "-c",
-      "max_connections=300",
-      // Durability buys nothing for a server destroyed at teardown.
-      "-c",
-      "fsync=off",
-      "-c",
-      "synchronous_commit=off",
-      "-c",
-      "full_page_writes=off",
-    ])
-    .start();
-
-  const connectionString = container.getConnectionUri();
-  process.env.DATABASE_URL = connectionString;
-  process.env.TEST_TEMPLATE_DB = TEMPLATE_DB;
-
-  // Migrate once, here, into a template database. Cloning that template per
-  // test file replaces one full migration run per file with a file copy.
-  const admin = new Pool({ connectionString, max: 1 });
-  await admin.query(`CREATE DATABASE "${TEMPLATE_DB}"`);
-  await admin.end();
-
-  const templateUrl = new URL(connectionString);
-  templateUrl.pathname = `/${TEMPLATE_DB}`;
-  const pool = new Pool({ connectionString: templateUrl.toString(), max: 1 });
-  try {
-    await migrate(drizzle({ client: pool }), {
-      migrationsFolder: path.join(process.cwd(), "src/db/migrations"),
-    });
-  } finally {
-    // The template must have no open connections, or CREATE DATABASE ...
-    // TEMPLATE fails with 55006 for every test file that follows.
-    await pool.end();
-  }
+  container = await new PostgreSqlContainer("postgres:17-alpine").start();
+  process.env.DATABASE_URL = container.getConnectionUri();
 }
 
 export async function teardown() {
diff --git a/tests/integration/setup.ts b/tests/integration/setup.ts
index 10f1c7f..8b3483b 100644
--- a/tests/integration/setup.ts
+++ b/tests/integration/setup.ts
@@ -5,35 +5,11 @@ import { randomUUID } from "crypto";
 import * as schema from "../../src/db/schema";
 import path from "node:path";
 
-// Each worker holds a pool for the life of its test file. Left at pg's default
-// of 10 these overrun the server's connection limit once vitest scales forks to
-// the core count; the suite needs only a couple of concurrent queries per file.
-const POOL_MAX = 4;
-
-// CREATE DATABASE ... TEMPLATE briefly conflicts when several workers clone the
-// same template at once (55006). It clears on its own, so retry rather than
-// serialize every worker behind a lock.
-const CLONE_RETRIES = 10;
-
-async function cloneTemplate(admin: Pool, dbName: string, template: string) {
-  for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt++) {
-    try {
-      await admin.query(`CREATE DATABASE "${dbName}" TEMPLATE "${template}"`);
-      return;
-    } catch (error) {
-      const code = (error as { code?: string }).code;
-      if (code !== "55006" || attempt >= CLONE_RETRIES) throw error;
-      await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 50 * (attempt + 1)));
-    }
-  }
-}
-
 export async function createTestDb() {
   const connectionString =
     process.env.DATABASE_URL || "postgresql://ledgr:ledgr@localhost:5432/ledgr_test";
 
   const dbName = `test_${randomUUID().replace(/-/g, "")}`;
-  const template = process.env.TEST_TEMPLATE_DB;
 
   // Isolate each test file in its own *database* (not a schema). Migrations
   // reference tables as `"public"."<table>"`, which only resolves when the
@@ -41,27 +17,18 @@ export async function createTestDb() {
   // on those qualified references. A throwaway database per file gives every test
   // its own public schema, keeps the concurrent suite isolated, and is robust to
   // future migrations regardless of how they qualify identifiers.
-  const admin = new Pool({ connectionString, max: 1 });
-  if (template) {
-    await cloneTemplate(admin, dbName, template);
-  } else {
-    await admin.query(`CREATE DATABASE "${dbName}"`);
-  }
+  const admin = new Pool({ connectionString });
+  await admin.query(`CREATE DATABASE "${dbName}"`);
   await admin.end();
 
   const url = new URL(connectionString);
   url.pathname = `/${dbName}`;
 
-  const pool = new Pool({ connectionString: url.toString(), max: POOL_MAX });
+  const pool = new Pool({ connectionString: url.toString() });
   const db = drizzle({ client: pool, schema });
-
-  // The template arrives already migrated. Without one (a direct DATABASE_URL,
-  // no global setup) fall back to replaying the chain.
-  if (!template) {
-    await migrate(db, {
-      migrationsFolder: path.join(process.cwd(), "src/db/migrations"),
-    });
-  }
+  await migrate(db, {
+    migrationsFolder: path.join(process.cwd(), "src/db/migrations"),
+  });
 
   return {
     db,
@@ -69,7 +36,7 @@ export async function createTestDb() {
       await pool.end();
       // DROP DATABASE cannot run while connections are open; FORCE terminates any
       // stragglers (Postgres 13+).
-      const admin2 = new Pool({ connectionString, max: 1 });
+      const admin2 = new Pool({ connectionString });
       await admin2.query(`DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS "${dbName}" WITH (FORCE)`);
       await admin2.end();
     },