diff --git a/bin/install-package-tests b/bin/install-package-tests
index 2646ebb1b..aa31ca68a 100755
--- a/bin/install-package-tests
+++ b/bin/install-package-tests
@@ -87,14 +87,16 @@ fi
 
 echo "Detecting database version..."
 
-TYPE="MySQL"
-CLIENT_VERSION=$(mysql --version 2>/dev/null)
-
-case "${CLIENT_VERSION}" in
-	*"MariaDB"*)
-		TYPE="MariaDB"
-		;;
-esac
+# Detect which client binary is available.
+CLIENT_BINARY=""
+if command -v mysql >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+	CLIENT_BINARY="mysql"
+elif command -v mariadb >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+	CLIENT_BINARY="mariadb"
+else
+	echo "${C_RED}Error: Neither 'mysql' nor 'mariadb' client binary found.${NO_FORMAT}"
+	exit 1
+fi
 
 if [ -z "$PS1" ]; then
 	# These vars are because github actions gave problems in the past.
@@ -105,11 +107,16 @@ else
 	MYSQL_WAIT=0
 fi
 
-if [ "${TYPE}" = "MySQL" ]; then
-	SERVER_VERSION=$(mysql -e "SELECT VERSION()" --skip-column-names ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}")
-else
-	SERVER_VERSION=$(mariadb -e "SELECT VERSION()" --skip-column-names ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}")
-fi
+# Use the detected client binary to query the server version.
+SERVER_VERSION=$(${CLIENT_BINARY} -e "SELECT VERSION()" --skip-column-names ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}" 2>/dev/null)
+
+# Detect the database type from the server version string.
+TYPE="MySQL"
+case "${SERVER_VERSION}" in
+	*"MariaDB"*|*"mariadb"*)
+		TYPE="MariaDB"
+		;;
+esac
 
 VERSION=$(echo "${SERVER_VERSION}" | grep -o '^[^-]*')
 MAJOR=$(echo "${VERSION}" | cut -d. -f1)
@@ -119,66 +126,49 @@ echo "Detected ${TYPE} at version ${MAJOR}.${MINOR}"
 
 echo 'Checking if database is ready...'
 
-if [ "${TYPE}" = "MySQL" ]; then
-	while ! mysql ${HOST_STRING} --user="${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}" --execute="SHOW DATABASES;" | grep 'information_schema' >/dev/null;
-	do
-		i=$((i+1))
-		if [ "${MYSQL_TRIES}" -gt 1 ]; then
-			echo "Waiting for MySQL(${i}/${MYSQL_TRIES})..."
-			sleep ${MYSQL_WAIT}
-		fi
-
-		if [ $i -ge $MYSQL_TRIES ]; then
-			echo "${C_RED}MySQL failed to start. Aborting.${NO_FORMAT}"
-			echo "Cannot connect to MySQL server. For all available variables, check the documentation at:"
-			echo " ${C_BLUE}https://github.com/wp-cli/wp-cli-tests?tab=readme-ov-file#the-database-credentials${NO_FORMAT}"
-			exit 1
-		fi
-	done
-else
-	while ! mariadb ${HOST_STRING} --user="${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}" --execute="SHOW DATABASES;" | grep 'information_schema' >/dev/null;
-	do
-		i=$((i+1))
-		if [ "${MYSQL_TRIES}" -gt 1 ]; then
-			echo "Waiting for MariaDB(${i}/${MYSQL_TRIES})..."
-			sleep ${MYSQL_WAIT}
-		fi
+i=0
+while ! ${CLIENT_BINARY} ${HOST_STRING} --user="${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}" --execute="SHOW DATABASES;" 2>/dev/null | grep 'information_schema' >/dev/null;
+do
+	i=$((i+1))
+	if [ "${MYSQL_TRIES}" -gt 1 ]; then
+		echo "Waiting for database server (${i}/${MYSQL_TRIES})..."
+		sleep ${MYSQL_WAIT}
+	fi
 
-		if [ $i -ge $MYSQL_TRIES ]; then
-			echo "${C_RED}MariaDB failed to start. Aborting.${NO_FORMAT}"
-			echo "Cannot connect to MariaDB server. For all available variables, check the documentation at:"
-			echo " ${C_BLUE}https://github.com/wp-cli/wp-cli-tests?tab=readme-ov-file#the-database-credentials${NO_FORMAT}"
-			exit 1
-		fi
-	done
-fi
+	if [ $i -ge $MYSQL_TRIES ]; then
+		echo "${C_RED}Database server failed to start. Aborting.${NO_FORMAT}"
+		echo "Cannot connect to database server. For all available variables, check the documentation at:"
+		echo " ${C_BLUE}https://github.com/wp-cli/wp-cli-tests?tab=readme-ov-file#the-database-credentials${NO_FORMAT}"
+		exit 1
+	fi
+done
 
 # Prepare the database for running the tests with a MySQL version 8.0 or higher.
 install_mysql_db_8_0_plus() {
 	set -ex # print all the commands.
-	mysql -e "CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS \`${TEST_DB}\`;" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
-	mysql -e "CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS \`${TEST_USER}\`@'%' IDENTIFIED WITH caching_sha2_password BY '${TEST_PASSWORD}'" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
-	mysql -e "GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON \`${TEST_DB}\`.* TO '${TEST_USER}'@'%'" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
-	mysql -e "GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON \`${TEST_DB}_scaffold\`.* TO '${TEST_USER}'@'%'" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
+	${CLIENT_BINARY} -e "CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS \`${TEST_DB}\`;" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
+	${CLIENT_BINARY} -e "CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS \`${TEST_USER}\`@'%' IDENTIFIED WITH caching_sha2_password BY '${TEST_PASSWORD}'" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
+	${CLIENT_BINARY} -e "GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON \`${TEST_DB}\`.* TO '${TEST_USER}'@'%'" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
+	${CLIENT_BINARY} -e "GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON \`${TEST_DB}_scaffold\`.* TO '${TEST_USER}'@'%'" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
 	{ set +ex; } 2> /dev/null # stop printing the commands
 }
 
 # Prepare the database for running the tests with a MySQL version lower than 8.0.
 install_mysql_db_lower_than_8_0() {
 	set -ex # print all the commands.
-	mysql -e "CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS \`${TEST_DB}\`;" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
-	mysql -e "GRANT ALL ON \`${TEST_DB}\`.* TO '${TEST_USER}'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY '${TEST_PASSWORD}'" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
-	mysql -e "GRANT ALL ON \`${TEST_DB}_scaffold\`.* TO '${TEST_USER}'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY '${TEST_PASSWORD}'" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
+	${CLIENT_BINARY} -e "CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS \`${TEST_DB}\`;" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
+	${CLIENT_BINARY} -e "GRANT ALL ON \`${TEST_DB}\`.* TO '${TEST_USER}'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY '${TEST_PASSWORD}'" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
+	${CLIENT_BINARY} -e "GRANT ALL ON \`${TEST_DB}_scaffold\`.* TO '${TEST_USER}'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY '${TEST_PASSWORD}'" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
 	{ set +ex; } 2> /dev/null # stop printing the commands
 }
 
 # Prepare the database for running the tests with MariaDB
 install_mariadb() {
 	set -ex
-	mariadb -e "CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS \`${TEST_DB}\`;" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
-	mariadb -e "CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS \`${TEST_USER}\`@'%' IDENTIFIED BY '${TEST_PASSWORD}'" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
-	mariadb -e "GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON \`${TEST_DB}\`.* TO '${TEST_USER}'@'%'" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
-	mariadb -e "GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON \`${TEST_DB}_scaffold\`.* TO '${TEST_USER}'@'%'" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
+	${CLIENT_BINARY} -e "CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS \`${TEST_DB}\`;" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
+	${CLIENT_BINARY} -e "CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS \`${TEST_USER}\`@'%' IDENTIFIED BY '${TEST_PASSWORD}'" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
+	${CLIENT_BINARY} -e "GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON \`${TEST_DB}\`.* TO '${TEST_USER}'@'%'" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
+	${CLIENT_BINARY} -e "GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON \`${TEST_DB}_scaffold\`.* TO '${TEST_USER}'@'%'" ${HOST_STRING} -u"${USER}" "${PASSWORD_STRING}"
 }
 
 if [ "${TYPE}" = "MariaDB" ]; then
@@ -189,5 +179,5 @@ else
 	install_mysql_db_lower_than_8_0
 fi
 
-echo "Succesfully prepared the database for running tests."
+echo "Successfully prepared the database for running tests."
 echo "This command does not have to be run again."
diff --git a/utils/behat-tags.php b/utils/behat-tags.php
index c6fa9833e..4da5af53a 100644
--- a/utils/behat-tags.php
+++ b/utils/behat-tags.php
@@ -40,10 +40,88 @@ function version_tags(
 	return $skip_tags;
 }
 
-function get_db_version() {
-	$version_string = exec( getenv( 'WP_CLI_TEST_DBTYPE' ) === 'mariadb' ? 'mariadb --version' : 'mysql -V' );
+function get_db_type_and_version() {
+	// Detect which client binary is available.
+	$client_binary = null;
+	$output        = array();
+	exec( 'command -v mysql 2>/dev/null', $output, $mysql_exit_code );
+	if ( 0 === $mysql_exit_code ) {
+		$client_binary = 'mysql';
+	} else {
+		$output = array();
+		exec( 'command -v mariadb 2>/dev/null', $output, $mariadb_exit_code );
+		if ( 0 === $mariadb_exit_code ) {
+			$client_binary = 'mariadb';
+		}
+	}
+
+	if ( null === $client_binary ) {
+		// No client binary found, return defaults.
+		return array(
+			'type'    => 'mysql',
+			'version' => '',
+		);
+	}
+
+	// Build connection parameters from environment variables.
+	$host = getenv( 'WP_CLI_TEST_DBHOST' ) ?: 'localhost';
+	$user = getenv( 'WP_CLI_TEST_DBROOTUSER' ) ?: 'root';
+	$pass = getenv( 'WP_CLI_TEST_DBROOTPASS' );
+
+	// Build the command to get the server version.
+	$host_parts = explode( ':', $host );
+	$host_arg   = '-h' . escapeshellarg( $host_parts[0] );
+
+	$port_arg = '';
+	if ( isset( $host_parts[1] ) ) {
+		// Check if it's a port number or socket path.
+		if ( is_numeric( $host_parts[1] ) ) {
+			$port_arg = ' --port=' . escapeshellarg( $host_parts[1] ) . ' --protocol=tcp';
+		} else {
+			$port_arg = ' --socket=' . escapeshellarg( $host_parts[1] ) . ' --protocol=socket';
+		}
+	}
+
+	$pass_arg = false !== $pass && '' !== $pass ? '-p' . escapeshellarg( $pass ) : '';
+
+	$cmd = sprintf(
+		'%s %s %s -u%s %s -e "SELECT VERSION()" --skip-column-names 2>/dev/null',
+		escapeshellcmd( $client_binary ),
+		$host_arg,
+		$port_arg,
+		escapeshellarg( $user ),
+		$pass_arg
+	);
+
+	$output      = array();
+	$return_code = 0;
+	exec( $cmd, $output, $return_code );
+	$version_string = isset( $output[0] ) ? $output[0] : '';
+
+	// If the connection failed, fall back to client binary version.
+	if ( 0 !== $return_code || empty( $version_string ) ) {
+		$client_version_cmd = sprintf( '%s --version 2>/dev/null', escapeshellcmd( $client_binary ) );
+		$version_string     = exec( $client_version_cmd );
+	}
+
+	// Detect database type from server version string.
+	$db_type = 'mysql';
+	if ( false !== stripos( $version_string, 'mariadb' ) ) {
+		$db_type = 'mariadb';
+	}
+
 	preg_match( '@[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+@', $version_string, $version );
-	return $version[0];
+	$db_version = isset( $version[0] ) ? $version[0] : '';
+
+	return array(
+		'type'    => $db_type,
+		'version' => $db_version,
+	);
+}
+
+function get_db_version() {
+	$db_info = get_db_type_and_version();
+	return $db_info['version'];
 }
 
 $features_folder = getenv( 'BEHAT_FEATURES_FOLDER' ) ?: 'features';
@@ -85,9 +163,13 @@ function get_db_version() {
 	$skip_tags[] = '@broken-trunk';
 }
 
-$db_version = get_db_version();
+$db_info    = get_db_type_and_version();
+$db_version = $db_info['version'];
+// Use detected database type from server, unless WP_CLI_TEST_DBTYPE is 'sqlite'.
+$env_db_type = getenv( 'WP_CLI_TEST_DBTYPE' );
+$db_type     = 'sqlite' === $env_db_type ? 'sqlite' : $db_info['type'];
 
-switch ( getenv( 'WP_CLI_TEST_DBTYPE' ) ) {
+switch ( $db_type ) {
 	case 'mariadb':
 		$skip_tags = array_merge(
 			$skip_tags,