diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 4ad66d7981..1c4cffd570 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -103,6 +103,10 @@ else
 	gotestsum --junitfile $(ARTIFACT_DIR)/integration-junit.xml ./test/integration/... -count 1 -p 1
 endif
 
+.PHONY: ci-integration
+ci-integration:
+	./scripts/integration.sh
+
 images:
 	$(DOCKER) build .
 
diff --git a/scripts/integration.sh b/scripts/integration.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..3b979f7b01
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/integration.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Run integration tests with automatic PostgreSQL setup.
+#
+# In a devcontainer (or CI with a sidecar Postgres), uses the existing
+# PostgreSQL service. On a bare host, spins up a temporary Postgres
+# container with Podman and tears it down on exit.
+#
+# Set SIPPY_INTEGRATION_DSN to skip container management and connect
+# to an already-running Postgres instance directly.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+DOCKER="podman"
+PSQL_CONTAINER="sippy-integration-test-postgresql"
+PSQL_PORT="23434"
+
+EXIT_CODE=0
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# If the caller already provided a DSN, just run the tests.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+if [ -n "${SIPPY_INTEGRATION_DSN:-}" ]; then
+    echo "Using caller-provided SIPPY_INTEGRATION_DSN"
+    make integration
+    exit $?
+fi
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Devcontainer vs host setup
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+if [ -f /run/.containerenv ]; then
+    # Inside devcontainer: reuse the existing PostgreSQL service.
+    ADMIN_DSN="${SIPPY_DATABASE_DSN:-postgresql://postgres:password@sippy-postgres:5432/postgres}"
+    export SIPPY_INTEGRATION_DSN="$ADMIN_DSN"
+    echo "Detected devcontainer — using existing PostgreSQL"
+    echo "  DSN: ${SIPPY_INTEGRATION_DSN%%@*}@***"
+
+    clean_up() {
+        ARG=$?
+        [ $ARG -ne 0 ] && EXIT_CODE=$ARG
+        exit $EXIT_CODE
+    }
+    trap clean_up EXIT
+else
+    # On host: start a temporary Postgres container.
+    clean_up() {
+        ARG=$?
+        [ $ARG -ne 0 ] && EXIT_CODE=$ARG
+        echo "Tearing down container $PSQL_CONTAINER"
+        $DOCKER stop -i $PSQL_CONTAINER 2>/dev/null || true
+        $DOCKER rm -i $PSQL_CONTAINER 2>/dev/null || true
+        exit $EXIT_CODE
+    }
+    trap clean_up EXIT
+
+    echo "Cleaning up old integration test container if present"
+    $DOCKER stop -i $PSQL_CONTAINER 2>/dev/null || true
+    $DOCKER rm -i $PSQL_CONTAINER 2>/dev/null || true
+
+    echo "Starting PostgreSQL container: $PSQL_CONTAINER"
+    $DOCKER run --name $PSQL_CONTAINER \
+        -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=password \
+        -p $PSQL_PORT:5432 \
+        -d quay.io/enterprisedb/postgresql
+
+    echo "Waiting for PostgreSQL to start..."
+    TIMEOUT=30
+    ELAPSED=0
+    while [ $ELAPSED -lt $TIMEOUT ]; do
+        if $DOCKER exec $PSQL_CONTAINER pg_isready -U postgres > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "PostgreSQL is ready after ${ELAPSED}s"
+            break
+        fi
+        sleep 1
+        ELAPSED=$((ELAPSED + 1))
+    done
+    if [ $ELAPSED -ge $TIMEOUT ]; then
+        echo "Timeout waiting for PostgreSQL to start"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+
+    export SIPPY_INTEGRATION_DSN="postgresql://postgres:password@localhost:$PSQL_PORT/postgres"
+    echo "  DSN: ${SIPPY_INTEGRATION_DSN%%@*}@***"
+fi
+
+make integration
+EXIT_CODE=$?
diff --git a/test/integration/jobs_test.go b/test/integration/jobs_test.go
index 209bbfdfd7..c41e37faf4 100644
--- a/test/integration/jobs_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/jobs_test.go
@@ -31,9 +31,13 @@ func runTests(m *testing.M) int {
 	ctx := context.Background()
 
 	var err error
-	pgContainer, err = intutil.StartPostgresContainer(ctx)
+	if dsn := os.Getenv("SIPPY_INTEGRATION_DSN"); dsn != "" {
+		pgContainer, err = intutil.ConnectToExternalPostgres(ctx, dsn)
+	} else {
+		pgContainer, err = intutil.StartPostgresContainer(ctx)
+	}
 	if err != nil {
-		panic("failed to start postgres container: " + err.Error())
+		panic("failed to start postgres: " + err.Error())
 	}
 	defer func() {
 		if err := pgContainer.Terminate(ctx); err != nil {
diff --git a/test/integration/util/testdb.go b/test/integration/util/testdb.go
index 828e6404eb..3d71678cab 100644
--- a/test/integration/util/testdb.go
+++ b/test/integration/util/testdb.go
@@ -126,9 +126,26 @@ func StartPostgresContainer(ctx context.Context) (*PostgresContainer, error) {
 	}, nil
 }
 
-// Terminate stops and removes the container.
+// ConnectToExternalPostgres connects to an existing Postgres instance and
+// creates a template database with the integration schema applied. Use this
+// in CI environments where a Postgres service is provided externally and
+// testcontainers cannot be used (no container runtime available).
+func ConnectToExternalPostgres(ctx context.Context, dsn string) (*PostgresContainer, error) {
+	if err := createTemplateDB(dsn); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("creating template database: %w", err)
+	}
+	return &PostgresContainer{
+		baseDSN: dsn,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+// Terminate stops and removes the container. When using an external
+// Postgres (container is nil), this is a no-op.
 func (pc *PostgresContainer) Terminate(ctx context.Context) error {
-	return pc.container.Terminate(ctx)
+	if pc.container != nil {
+		return pc.container.Terminate(ctx)
+	}
+	return nil
 }
 
 // createTemplateDB creates a fresh database, applies the integration schema,
@@ -140,6 +157,10 @@ func createTemplateDB(baseDSN string) error {
 	}
 	defer adminDB.Close()
 
+	// Unmark as template first (required before dropping a template database),
+	// then drop if it exists. Ignore errors here because the database may not
+	// exist yet on a fresh Postgres instance.
+	_, _ = adminDB.Exec(fmt.Sprintf("ALTER DATABASE %s IS_TEMPLATE = false", templateDB))
 	if _, err := adminDB.Exec(fmt.Sprintf("DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS %s", templateDB)); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("dropping old template: %w", err)
 	}