diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 974104f4..26824b53 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -695,7 +695,7 @@ python manage.py test   # all tests, including vrtManager
 ruff check .
 ```
 
-Each app keeps its tests in a `tests/` package, so `python manage.py test instances` runs one app. The suite includes mocked regression tests and disk/clone tests on libvirt's in-process `test:///default` driver. Set `WEBVIRTCLOUD_DB_HOST` (and the other `WEBVIRTCLOUD_DB_*` variables) to run it against PostgreSQL, as CI does.
+Each app keeps its tests in a `tests/` package, so `python manage.py test instances` runs one app; `--parallel` spreads the tests over the CPUs. The suite includes mocked regression tests and disk/clone tests on libvirt's in-process `test:///default` driver. Set `WEBVIRTCLOUD_DB_HOST` (and the other `WEBVIRTCLOUD_DB_*` variables) to run it against PostgreSQL, as CI does.
 
 The compute tests try a local libvirt and skip when none answers; the instance tests run only when `TEST_LIBVIRT_HOST` is set. A green result with skips does not establish live KVM compatibility. The instance tests create `wvc-test-*` VMs and a temporary `wvc-test` pool (`/var/lib/libvirt/wvc-test`), remove them afterwards, and fail if any other VM or volume on the host changed:
 
diff --git a/dev/requirements.txt b/dev/requirements.txt
index 7dc6868a..8a3de2f3 100644
--- a/dev/requirements.txt
+++ b/dev/requirements.txt
@@ -7,3 +7,5 @@ django-debug-toolbar==8.0.0
 django-debug-toolbar-template-profiler==2.1.0
 pip-audit==2.10.1
 ruff==0.17.0
+# tracebacks of failures in manage.py test --parallel
+tblib==3.2.2
diff --git a/webvirtcloud/settings.py.template b/webvirtcloud/settings.py.template
index b63d266d..f0542cf1 100644
--- a/webvirtcloud/settings.py.template
+++ b/webvirtcloud/settings.py.template
@@ -178,6 +178,9 @@ LOGIN_URL = "/accounts/login/"
 if sys.argv[1:2] == ["test"]:
     PASSWORD_HASHERS = ["django.contrib.auth.hashers.MD5PasswordHasher"]
 
+# --parallel on SQLite (WAL) and with the process tests
+TEST_RUNNER = "webvirtcloud.test_runner.TestRunner"
+
 # Failed logins (django-axes): a user is locked for the address the logins
 # come from. The limit and the lock time are on the Settings page
 # (LOGIN_FAILURE_LIMIT, LOGIN_LOCKOUT_MINUTES); unlock with
diff --git a/webvirtcloud/test_runner.py b/webvirtcloud/test_runner.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f2dcc9ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/webvirtcloud/test_runner.py
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+"""manage.py test --parallel on the SQLite database in WAL mode."""
+
+import multiprocessing
+
+from django.test.runner import DiscoverRunner, ParallelTestSuite
+
+
+def _init_worker(*args, **kwargs):
+    # Pool processes are daemonic, and a daemonic process may have no
+    # children; the operations process tests start workers of their own.
+    multiprocessing.current_process().daemon = False
+    ParallelTestSuite.init_worker(*args, **kwargs)
+
+
+class _ParallelTestSuite(ParallelTestSuite):
+    init_worker = _init_worker
+
+
+class TestRunner(DiscoverRunner):
+    parallel_test_suite = _ParallelTestSuite
+
+    def setup_databases(self, **kwargs):
+        # Django clones a SQLite test database by copying its main file, but
+        # migrate's writes are still in the WAL file (operations/apps.py):
+        # create the database alone, write the WAL back, then clone.
+        parallel, self.parallel = self.parallel, 0
+        old_config = super().setup_databases(**kwargs)
+        self.parallel = parallel
+        for connection, _, created in old_config:
+            if not created or parallel < 2:
+                continue
+            if connection.vendor == "sqlite":
+                with connection.cursor() as cursor:
+                    cursor.execute("PRAGMA wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE)")
+            for index in range(parallel):
+                connection.creation.clone_test_db(
+                    suffix=str(index + 1), verbosity=self.verbosity, keepdb=self.keepdb
+                )
+        return old_config