diff --git a/tests/run-bats.sh b/tests/run-bats.sh
index 5aa0221..9059661 100755
--- a/tests/run-bats.sh
+++ b/tests/run-bats.sh
@@ -29,4 +29,53 @@ if [[ ${#TEST_FILES[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
     exit 0
 fi
 
-"$BATS" "${TEST_FILES[@]}"
+# Each file gets its own `bats` process, run concurrently (bounded by core
+# count) instead of one `bats` invocation working through all files serially.
+# A single test file is still serial internally -- this only overlaps the
+# fixed per-process startup cost (git/apm subprocess spawns dominate several
+# of these suites) across files, which is where the wall-clock actually goes.
+# Output is buffered per file so concurrent TAP streams can't interleave, then
+# flushed in stable sorted order once every job has finished.
+SCRATCH_ROOT="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$SCRATCH_ROOT"' EXIT
+
+# A failing test is the normal case a CI runner must handle, and a failing
+# background job makes `wait`/`wait -n` return non-zero -- under `set -e` that
+# would abort the script right here, before the per-file report below ever
+# runs. Every wait in this dispatcher is therefore explicitly guarded.
+JOBS="$(nproc 2>/dev/null || echo 4)"
+running=0
+i=0
+for f in "${TEST_FILES[@]}"; do
+    i=$((i + 1))
+    ( "$BATS" "$f" >"$SCRATCH_ROOT/$i.log" 2>&1; echo $? >"$SCRATCH_ROOT/$i.status" ) &
+    running=$((running + 1))
+    if [[ "$running" -ge "$JOBS" ]]; then
+        wait -n || true
+        running=$((running - 1))
+    fi
+done
+wait || true
+
+FAIL=0
+TOTAL_OK=0
+TOTAL_NOT_OK=0
+i=0
+for f in "${TEST_FILES[@]}"; do
+    i=$((i + 1))
+    rel="${f#"$REPO_ROOT"/}"
+    echo "=== $rel ==="
+    cat "$SCRATCH_ROOT/$i.log"
+    echo ""
+    file_ok="$(grep -c '^ok ' "$SCRATCH_ROOT/$i.log" || true)"
+    file_not_ok="$(grep -c '^not ok ' "$SCRATCH_ROOT/$i.log" || true)"
+    status="$(cat "$SCRATCH_ROOT/$i.status" 2>/dev/null || echo 1)"
+    TOTAL_OK=$((TOTAL_OK + file_ok))
+    TOTAL_NOT_OK=$((TOTAL_NOT_OK + file_not_ok))
+    if [[ "$file_not_ok" -gt 0 || "$status" -ne 0 ]]; then
+        FAIL=1
+    fi
+done
+
+echo "$((TOTAL_OK + TOTAL_NOT_OK)) tests, $TOTAL_NOT_OK failures"
+exit "$FAIL"
diff --git a/tests/run-tests.sh b/tests/run-tests.sh
index 1e73765..26de1d4 100755
--- a/tests/run-tests.sh
+++ b/tests/run-tests.sh
@@ -49,14 +49,42 @@ done < <(
     | sort
 )
 
-# bash before 4.4 treats "${arr[@]}" on an empty array as unbound under
-# `set -u`, so every array expansion here uses the ${arr[@]+"${arr[@]}"} guard,
-# including the SKIPPED/FAILED loops already fenced by a count check.
+# Each test-*.sh is independent (fixtures live under its own mktemp dir, none
+# write back into the live repo tree -- verified before adding this), so they
+# run concurrently in fixed-size batches instead of one at a time. Batches
+# (not a rolling pool) because a bounded rolling pool needs `wait -n`, which
+# is bash 4.3+ and this script is explicitly bash-3.2-safe (see the hazard
+# scan in test-vale-wrap.sh); plain `wait` -- waiting for every job in the
+# current batch -- is available since ancient bash. `getconf` over `nproc`
+# for the same reason: `nproc` doesn't exist on macOS.
+SCRATCH_ROOT="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$SCRATCH_ROOT"' EXIT
+JOBS_LIMIT="$(getconf _NPROCESSORS_ONLN 2>/dev/null || echo 4)"
+
+running=0
+idx=0
 for script in ${SCRIPTS[@]+"${SCRIPTS[@]}"}; do
+  idx=$((idx + 1))
+  (
+    rc=0
+    bash "$script" >"$SCRATCH_ROOT/$idx.log" 2>&1 || rc=$?
+    echo "$rc" >"$SCRATCH_ROOT/$idx.status"
+  ) &
+  running=$((running + 1))
+  if [[ $running -ge $JOBS_LIMIT ]]; then
+    wait
+    running=0
+  fi
+done
+wait
+
+idx=0
+for script in ${SCRIPTS[@]+"${SCRIPTS[@]}"}; do
+  idx=$((idx + 1))
   rel="${script#"$SEARCH_ROOT/"}"
   echo "=== $rel ==="
-  rc=0
-  bash "$script" || rc=$?
+  cat "$SCRATCH_ROOT/$idx.log"
+  rc="$(cat "$SCRATCH_ROOT/$idx.status" 2>/dev/null || echo 1)"
   if [[ $rc -eq 0 ]]; then
     PASSED=$((PASSED + 1))
   elif [[ $rc -eq $SKIP_EXIT ]]; then