diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index ff90717bb..817bf6708 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ Key capabilities:
 **Container-only builds are required.** Do not run `make` or `make bin` on the host — use containers to avoid dependency conflicts.
 
 ```bash
-PGVERSION=16 make build          # Build in container (Docker)
-DOCKER=podman PGVERSION=16 make build  # If using Podman instead of Docker
+PGVERSION=18 make build          # Build in container (Docker)
+DOCKER=podman PGVERSION=18 make build  # If using Podman instead of Docker
 ```
 
 ### Build dependencies (installed inside the container)
@@ -29,9 +29,9 @@ DOCKER=podman PGVERSION=16 make build  # If using Podman instead of Docker
 Always run tests before committing. Tests use Docker Compose to spin up PostgreSQL source/target instances.
 
 ```bash
-PGVERSION=16 make tests          # Run all 17 test suites
-PGVERSION=16 make tests/pagila   # Run a specific suite
-PGVERSION=16 make tests/unit     # Unit tests
+PGVERSION=18 make tests          # Run all test suites
+PGVERSION=18 make tests/pagila   # Run a specific suite
+PGVERSION=18 make tests/unit     # Unit tests
 ```
 
 Test suites by category:
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ Documentation lives in `docs/` and is built with Sphinx (reStructuredText).
 When adding or modifying CLI commands:
 
 1. Update help text in the C source files
-2. Build in container: `PGVERSION=16 make build`
+2. Build in container: `PGVERSION=18 make build`
 3. Run `make update-docs` to regenerate `docs/include/*.rst`
 4. Commit both the code changes and the generated docs
 
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 361dea94d..99eccf18d 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ FROM debian:12-slim AS build
 ARG TARGETPLATFORM
 ARG TARGETOS
 ARG TARGETARCH
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 
 # Configure apt to retry on transient failures
 RUN echo 'Acquire::Retries "3";' > /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/80-retries
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ FROM debian:12-slim AS run
 ARG TARGETPLATFORM
 ARG TARGETOS
 ARG TARGETARCH
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 
 # used to configure Github Packages
 LABEL org.opencontainers.image.source=https://github.com/dimitri/pgcopydb
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 876516abc..da87c0eb3 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 TOP := $(dir $(abspath $(lastword $(MAKEFILE_LIST))))
 PGCOPYDB ?= $(TOP)src/bin/pgcopydb/pgcopydb
-PGVERSION ?= 16
+PGVERSION ?= 18
 DOCKER ?= docker
 
 all: bin ;
diff --git a/tests/Dockerfile.pagila b/tests/Dockerfile.pagila
index 1874d0fe0..eba49cf14 100644
--- a/tests/Dockerfile.pagila
+++ b/tests/Dockerfile.pagila
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 ARG PGCOPYDB_IMAGE=pgcopydb:latest
 
 # Create a named stage from the pgcopydb image for COPY --from
diff --git a/tests/Makefile b/tests/Makefile
index 14d9474e9..4610abbd2 100644
--- a/tests/Makefile
+++ b/tests/Makefile
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2021 The PostgreSQL Global Development Group.
 # Licensed under the PostgreSQL License.
 
-PGVERSION ?= 17
+PGVERSION ?= 18
 export PGVERSION
 
 # Auto-detect docker or podman
diff --git a/tests/blob-snapshot-release/compose.yaml b/tests/blob-snapshot-release/compose.yaml
index 31a95347d..1f66e542f 100644
--- a/tests/blob-snapshot-release/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/blob-snapshot-release/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ services:
       -c wal_level=logical
 
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/blobs/compose.yaml b/tests/blobs/compose.yaml
index 66f6203d4..1bc84a44c 100644
--- a/tests/blobs/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/blobs/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ services:
       POSTGRES_PASSWORD: h4ckm3
       POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD: trust
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/cdc-endpos-between-transaction/Dockerfile.pg b/tests/cdc-endpos-between-transaction/Dockerfile.pg
index 52bcaa3a2..dcbcfc862 100644
--- a/tests/cdc-endpos-between-transaction/Dockerfile.pg
+++ b/tests/cdc-endpos-between-transaction/Dockerfile.pg
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 FROM postgres:${PGVERSION}
 
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 USER root
 RUN apt-get update \
     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends postgresql-${PGVERSION}-wal2json \
diff --git a/tests/cdc-endpos-between-transaction/compose.yaml b/tests/cdc-endpos-between-transaction/compose.yaml
index 24825ba72..f916030e5 100644
--- a/tests/cdc-endpos-between-transaction/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/cdc-endpos-between-transaction/compose.yaml
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ services:
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.pg
+      args:
+        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -16,7 +18,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/cdc-filtering-pgoutput/compose.yaml b/tests/cdc-filtering-pgoutput/compose.yaml
index aad70bf3e..65186878a 100644
--- a/tests/cdc-filtering-pgoutput/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/cdc-filtering-pgoutput/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/cdc-filtering/Dockerfile.pg b/tests/cdc-filtering/Dockerfile.pg
index 52bcaa3a2..dcbcfc862 100644
--- a/tests/cdc-filtering/Dockerfile.pg
+++ b/tests/cdc-filtering/Dockerfile.pg
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 FROM postgres:${PGVERSION}
 
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 USER root
 RUN apt-get update \
     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends postgresql-${PGVERSION}-wal2json \
diff --git a/tests/cdc-filtering/compose.yaml b/tests/cdc-filtering/compose.yaml
index 24825ba72..f916030e5 100644
--- a/tests/cdc-filtering/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/cdc-filtering/compose.yaml
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ services:
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.pg
+      args:
+        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -16,7 +18,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/cdc-low-level/compose.yaml b/tests/cdc-low-level/compose.yaml
index 87db1ffd3..c8d1c0cd3 100644
--- a/tests/cdc-low-level/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/cdc-low-level/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/cdc-message-handling/Dockerfile.pg b/tests/cdc-message-handling/Dockerfile.pg
index 52bcaa3a2..dcbcfc862 100644
--- a/tests/cdc-message-handling/Dockerfile.pg
+++ b/tests/cdc-message-handling/Dockerfile.pg
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 FROM postgres:${PGVERSION}
 
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 USER root
 RUN apt-get update \
     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends postgresql-${PGVERSION}-wal2json \
diff --git a/tests/cdc-message-handling/compose.yaml b/tests/cdc-message-handling/compose.yaml
index 24825ba72..f916030e5 100644
--- a/tests/cdc-message-handling/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/cdc-message-handling/compose.yaml
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ services:
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.pg
+      args:
+        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -16,7 +18,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/cdc-pgoutput/compose.yaml b/tests/cdc-pgoutput/compose.yaml
index aad70bf3e..65186878a 100644
--- a/tests/cdc-pgoutput/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/cdc-pgoutput/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/cdc-prune/Dockerfile.pg b/tests/cdc-prune/Dockerfile.pg
index 52bcaa3a2..dcbcfc862 100644
--- a/tests/cdc-prune/Dockerfile.pg
+++ b/tests/cdc-prune/Dockerfile.pg
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 FROM postgres:${PGVERSION}
 
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 USER root
 RUN apt-get update \
     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends postgresql-${PGVERSION}-wal2json \
diff --git a/tests/cdc-prune/compose.yaml b/tests/cdc-prune/compose.yaml
index bfc12ad1f..8f372057b 100644
--- a/tests/cdc-prune/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/cdc-prune/compose.yaml
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ services:
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.pg
+      args:
+        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -13,7 +15,7 @@ services:
       -c wal_level=logical
       -c output_plugin_libraries=pgoutput,test_decoding,wal2json
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/cdc-test-decoding/compose.yaml b/tests/cdc-test-decoding/compose.yaml
index d3cf9418b..aaa9006a0 100644
--- a/tests/cdc-test-decoding/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/cdc-test-decoding/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/cdc-wal2json/Dockerfile.pg b/tests/cdc-wal2json/Dockerfile.pg
index 52bcaa3a2..dcbcfc862 100644
--- a/tests/cdc-wal2json/Dockerfile.pg
+++ b/tests/cdc-wal2json/Dockerfile.pg
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 FROM postgres:${PGVERSION}
 
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 USER root
 RUN apt-get update \
     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends postgresql-${PGVERSION}-wal2json \
diff --git a/tests/cdc-wal2json/compose.yaml b/tests/cdc-wal2json/compose.yaml
index 24825ba72..f916030e5 100644
--- a/tests/cdc-wal2json/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/cdc-wal2json/compose.yaml
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ services:
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.pg
+      args:
+        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -16,7 +18,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/copy-source-reconnect/compose.yaml b/tests/copy-source-reconnect/compose.yaml
index de666474f..4533ddcf4 100644
--- a/tests/copy-source-reconnect/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/copy-source-reconnect/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/defer-validate-fks/compose.yaml b/tests/defer-validate-fks/compose.yaml
index cfebc6da2..f2f4d881d 100644
--- a/tests/defer-validate-fks/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/defer-validate-fks/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/endpos-in-multi-wal-txn/Dockerfile.pg b/tests/endpos-in-multi-wal-txn/Dockerfile.pg
index 52bcaa3a2..dcbcfc862 100644
--- a/tests/endpos-in-multi-wal-txn/Dockerfile.pg
+++ b/tests/endpos-in-multi-wal-txn/Dockerfile.pg
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 FROM postgres:${PGVERSION}
 
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 USER root
 RUN apt-get update \
     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends postgresql-${PGVERSION}-wal2json \
diff --git a/tests/endpos-in-multi-wal-txn/compose.yaml b/tests/endpos-in-multi-wal-txn/compose.yaml
index 24825ba72..f916030e5 100644
--- a/tests/endpos-in-multi-wal-txn/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/endpos-in-multi-wal-txn/compose.yaml
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ services:
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.pg
+      args:
+        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -16,7 +18,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/exclude-extension/Dockerfile b/tests/exclude-extension/Dockerfile
index e12412bef..42fb8cfcc 100644
--- a/tests/exclude-extension/Dockerfile
+++ b/tests/exclude-extension/Dockerfile
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-ARG PGCOPYDB_IMAGE=pgcopydb:pg16
+ARG PGCOPYDB_IMAGE=pgcopydb:pg18
 FROM ${PGCOPYDB_IMAGE}
 
 USER root
diff --git a/tests/exclude-extension/Dockerfile.pg b/tests/exclude-extension/Dockerfile.pg
index 987acc5d0..6d2b66c5c 100644
--- a/tests/exclude-extension/Dockerfile.pg
+++ b/tests/exclude-extension/Dockerfile.pg
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 FROM postgres:${PGVERSION}
 
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 USER root
 
 RUN apt-get update && \
diff --git a/tests/exclude-extension/compose.yaml b/tests/exclude-extension/compose.yaml
index 1311ee3fa..a6c0dfa03 100644
--- a/tests/exclude-extension/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/exclude-extension/compose.yaml
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ services:
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.pg
+      args:
+        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -16,7 +18,7 @@ services:
       -c max_replication_slots=10
 
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -29,7 +31,7 @@ services:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile
       args:
-        PGCOPYDB_IMAGE: pgcopydb:pg${PGVERSION:-16}
+        PGCOPYDB_IMAGE: pgcopydb:pg${PGVERSION:-18}
     environment:
       PGCOPYDB_SOURCE_PGURI: postgres://postgres:h4ckm3@source/postgres
       PGCOPYDB_TARGET_PGURI: postgres://postgres:h4ckm3@target/postgres
diff --git a/tests/extensions/Dockerfile.pg b/tests/extensions/Dockerfile.pg
index fb15398e3..c346d4f0a 100644
--- a/tests/extensions/Dockerfile.pg
+++ b/tests/extensions/Dockerfile.pg
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 FROM postgres:${PGVERSION}
 
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 USER root
 RUN apt-get update \
   && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
diff --git a/tests/extensions/compose.yaml b/tests/extensions/compose.yaml
index 511c61ca5..5c0144ea9 100644
--- a/tests/extensions/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/extensions/compose.yaml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ services:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.pg
       args:
-        - PGVERSION=${PGVERSION:-16}
+        - PGVERSION=${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ services:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.pg
       args:
-        - PGVERSION=${PGVERSION:-16}
+        - PGVERSION=${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/filtering-standby/compose.yaml b/tests/filtering-standby/compose.yaml
index a0fbc4281..ec586fcf9 100644
--- a/tests/filtering-standby/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/filtering-standby/compose.yaml
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ x-postgres-base-env-allow-replication: &x-postgres-base-env-allow-replication
   POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD: "trust\nhost replication all 0.0.0.0/0 trust"
 
 x-postgres-base: &x-postgres-base
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     user: postgres
     expose:
       - 5432
diff --git a/tests/filtering/compose.yaml b/tests/filtering/compose.yaml
index ae6763feb..a1d3d24cf 100644
--- a/tests/filtering/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/filtering/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/fk-not-valid/compose.yaml b/tests/fk-not-valid/compose.yaml
index cfebc6da2..f2f4d881d 100644
--- a/tests/fk-not-valid/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/fk-not-valid/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/fk-partition-clone/compose.yaml b/tests/fk-partition-clone/compose.yaml
index cfebc6da2..f2f4d881d 100644
--- a/tests/fk-partition-clone/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/fk-partition-clone/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/follow-9.6/compose.yaml b/tests/follow-9.6/compose.yaml
index 8d40e0409..318e9ee2d 100644
--- a/tests/follow-9.6/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/follow-9.6/compose.yaml
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
 
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     env_file:
diff --git a/tests/follow-data-only/Dockerfile.pg b/tests/follow-data-only/Dockerfile.pg
index 52bcaa3a2..dcbcfc862 100644
--- a/tests/follow-data-only/Dockerfile.pg
+++ b/tests/follow-data-only/Dockerfile.pg
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 FROM postgres:${PGVERSION}
 
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 USER root
 RUN apt-get update \
     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends postgresql-${PGVERSION}-wal2json \
diff --git a/tests/follow-data-only/compose.yaml b/tests/follow-data-only/compose.yaml
index 4782f332e..bb39b004d 100644
--- a/tests/follow-data-only/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/follow-data-only/compose.yaml
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ services:
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.pg
+      args:
+        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     env_file:
@@ -14,7 +16,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
 
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     env_file:
diff --git a/tests/follow-defer-indexes/Dockerfile.pg b/tests/follow-defer-indexes/Dockerfile.pg
index 33143b5fc..dcbcfc862 100644
--- a/tests/follow-defer-indexes/Dockerfile.pg
+++ b/tests/follow-defer-indexes/Dockerfile.pg
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-ARG PGVERSION=17
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 FROM postgres:${PGVERSION}
 
-ARG PGVERSION=17
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 USER root
 RUN apt-get update \
     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends postgresql-${PGVERSION}-wal2json \
diff --git a/tests/follow-defer-indexes/compose.yaml b/tests/follow-defer-indexes/compose.yaml
index 4f5a9c5ad..363b07a88 100644
--- a/tests/follow-defer-indexes/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/follow-defer-indexes/compose.yaml
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres-wal2json:${PGVERSION:-17}
+    image: postgres-wal2json:${PGVERSION:-18}
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.pg
       args:
-        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-17}
+        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-18}
     user: postgres
     expose:
       - 5432
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ services:
       -c max_replication_slots=10
 
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-17}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     user: postgres
     expose:
       - 5432
diff --git a/tests/follow-defer-validate-fks/Dockerfile.pg b/tests/follow-defer-validate-fks/Dockerfile.pg
index 33143b5fc..dcbcfc862 100644
--- a/tests/follow-defer-validate-fks/Dockerfile.pg
+++ b/tests/follow-defer-validate-fks/Dockerfile.pg
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-ARG PGVERSION=17
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 FROM postgres:${PGVERSION}
 
-ARG PGVERSION=17
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 USER root
 RUN apt-get update \
     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends postgresql-${PGVERSION}-wal2json \
diff --git a/tests/follow-defer-validate-fks/compose.yaml b/tests/follow-defer-validate-fks/compose.yaml
index 0a732999e..6a597d35c 100644
--- a/tests/follow-defer-validate-fks/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/follow-defer-validate-fks/compose.yaml
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres-wal2json:${PGVERSION:-17}
+    image: postgres-wal2json:${PGVERSION:-18}
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.pg
       args:
-        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-17}
+        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-18}
     user: postgres
     expose:
       - 5432
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ services:
       -c max_replication_slots=10
 
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-17}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     user: postgres
     expose:
       - 5432
diff --git a/tests/follow-pgoutput/compose.yaml b/tests/follow-pgoutput/compose.yaml
index 25d5131e7..da17fe093 100644
--- a/tests/follow-pgoutput/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/follow-pgoutput/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     env_file:
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
 
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     env_file:
diff --git a/tests/follow-sequence-reset/Dockerfile.pg b/tests/follow-sequence-reset/Dockerfile.pg
index 52bcaa3a2..dcbcfc862 100644
--- a/tests/follow-sequence-reset/Dockerfile.pg
+++ b/tests/follow-sequence-reset/Dockerfile.pg
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 FROM postgres:${PGVERSION}
 
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 USER root
 RUN apt-get update \
     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends postgresql-${PGVERSION}-wal2json \
diff --git a/tests/follow-sequence-reset/compose.yaml b/tests/follow-sequence-reset/compose.yaml
index 24825ba72..f916030e5 100644
--- a/tests/follow-sequence-reset/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/follow-sequence-reset/compose.yaml
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ services:
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.pg
+      args:
+        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -16,7 +18,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/follow-standby/Dockerfile.pg b/tests/follow-standby/Dockerfile.pg
index 52bcaa3a2..dcbcfc862 100644
--- a/tests/follow-standby/Dockerfile.pg
+++ b/tests/follow-standby/Dockerfile.pg
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 FROM postgres:${PGVERSION}
 
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 USER root
 RUN apt-get update \
     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends postgresql-${PGVERSION}-wal2json \
diff --git a/tests/follow-standby/compose.yaml b/tests/follow-standby/compose.yaml
index cf93dc95d..25d5095bc 100644
--- a/tests/follow-standby/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/follow-standby/compose.yaml
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ x-postgres-wal2json: &x-postgres-wal2json
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.pg
       args:
-        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-16}
+        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-18}
     user: postgres
     expose:
       - 5432
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ services:
         condition: service_healthy
 
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/follow-target-reconnect/Dockerfile.pg b/tests/follow-target-reconnect/Dockerfile.pg
index 52bcaa3a2..dcbcfc862 100644
--- a/tests/follow-target-reconnect/Dockerfile.pg
+++ b/tests/follow-target-reconnect/Dockerfile.pg
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 FROM postgres:${PGVERSION}
 
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 USER root
 RUN apt-get update \
     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends postgresql-${PGVERSION}-wal2json \
diff --git a/tests/follow-target-reconnect/compose.yaml b/tests/follow-target-reconnect/compose.yaml
index 8ec729119..b708c15da 100644
--- a/tests/follow-target-reconnect/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/follow-target-reconnect/compose.yaml
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres-wal2json:${PGVERSION:-16}-bullseye
+    image: postgres-wal2json:${PGVERSION:-18}
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.pg
+      args:
+        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     env_file:
@@ -16,7 +18,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
 
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     env_file:
diff --git a/tests/follow-wal2json/Dockerfile.pg b/tests/follow-wal2json/Dockerfile.pg
index 52bcaa3a2..dcbcfc862 100644
--- a/tests/follow-wal2json/Dockerfile.pg
+++ b/tests/follow-wal2json/Dockerfile.pg
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 FROM postgres:${PGVERSION}
 
-ARG PGVERSION=16
+ARG PGVERSION=18
 USER root
 RUN apt-get update \
     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends postgresql-${PGVERSION}-wal2json \
diff --git a/tests/follow-wal2json/compose.yaml b/tests/follow-wal2json/compose.yaml
index 9c7bd6bf2..300251743 100644
--- a/tests/follow-wal2json/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/follow-wal2json/compose.yaml
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres-wal2json:13-bullseye
+    image: postgres-wal2json:${PGVERSION:-18}
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.pg
+      args:
+        PGVERSION: ${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     env_file:
@@ -16,7 +18,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
 
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     env_file:
diff --git a/tests/pagila-multi-steps/compose.yaml b/tests/pagila-multi-steps/compose.yaml
index c33d02d58..b598c7652 100644
--- a/tests/pagila-multi-steps/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/pagila-multi-steps/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ services:
       POSTGRES_PASSWORD: h4ckm3
       POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD: trust
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/pagila-standby/compose.yaml b/tests/pagila-standby/compose.yaml
index 1d29a09db..82570baf9 100644
--- a/tests/pagila-standby/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/pagila-standby/compose.yaml
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ x-postgres-base-env-allow-replication: &x-postgres-base-env-allow-replication
   POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD: "trust\nhost replication all 0.0.0.0/0 trust"
 
 x-postgres-base: &x-postgres-base
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     user: postgres
     expose:
       - 5432
diff --git a/tests/pagila/compose.yaml b/tests/pagila/compose.yaml
index 2b757ce2f..304c6159a 100644
--- a/tests/pagila/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/pagila/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/pgoutput-privileges/compose.yaml b/tests/pgoutput-privileges/compose.yaml
index b79448f99..cc440d60c 100644
--- a/tests/pgoutput-privileges/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/pgoutput-privileges/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ services:
       -c ssl_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
       -c ssl_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/skip-large-objects/Makefile b/tests/skip-large-objects/Makefile
index 6a8a8329d..e2c76072a 100644
--- a/tests/skip-large-objects/Makefile
+++ b/tests/skip-large-objects/Makefile
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 DOCKER ?= docker
-PGVERSION ?= 17
+PGVERSION ?= 18
 
 test:
 	$(DOCKER) compose down
diff --git a/tests/skip-large-objects/compose.yaml b/tests/skip-large-objects/compose.yaml
index 4ce76b24d..7161a20c4 100644
--- a/tests/skip-large-objects/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/skip-large-objects/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-17}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ services:
       POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD: trust
 
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-17}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/skip-publications/Makefile b/tests/skip-publications/Makefile
index 1bd646d64..3cc4329a4 100644
--- a/tests/skip-publications/Makefile
+++ b/tests/skip-publications/Makefile
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 DOCKER ?= docker
-PGVERSION ?= 16
+PGVERSION ?= 18
 
 test:
 	$(DOCKER) compose down
diff --git a/tests/skip-publications/compose.yaml b/tests/skip-publications/compose.yaml
index 4ce76b24d..7161a20c4 100644
--- a/tests/skip-publications/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/skip-publications/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-17}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ services:
       POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD: trust
 
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-17}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/skip-vacuum/Makefile b/tests/skip-vacuum/Makefile
index b3e303155..77880f598 100644
--- a/tests/skip-vacuum/Makefile
+++ b/tests/skip-vacuum/Makefile
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 DOCKER ?= docker
-PGVERSION ?= 17
+PGVERSION ?= 18
 
 test:
 	$(DOCKER) compose down
diff --git a/tests/skip-vacuum/compose.yaml b/tests/skip-vacuum/compose.yaml
index 4ce76b24d..7161a20c4 100644
--- a/tests/skip-vacuum/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/skip-vacuum/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-17}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ services:
       POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD: trust
 
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-17}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/timescaledb/compose.yml b/tests/timescaledb/compose.yml
index 1a68bbb90..b3d872d46 100644
--- a/tests/timescaledb/compose.yml
+++ b/tests/timescaledb/compose.yml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: timescale/timescaledb:latest-pg${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: timescale/timescaledb:latest-pg${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ services:
       POSTGRES_PASSWORD: h4ckm3
       POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD: trust
   target:
-    image: timescale/timescaledb:latest-pg${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: timescale/timescaledb:latest-pg${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
diff --git a/tests/unit/compose.yaml b/tests/unit/compose.yaml
index 66f6203d4..1bc84a44c 100644
--- a/tests/unit/compose.yaml
+++ b/tests/unit/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
   source:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment:
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ services:
       POSTGRES_PASSWORD: h4ckm3
       POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD: trust
   target:
-    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-16}
+    image: postgres:${PGVERSION:-18}
     expose:
       - 5432
     environment: