diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 67c7260..5adfcec 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ BINARY := sfdupes
 VERSION := $(shell git describe --tags --always --dirty 2>/dev/null || echo dev)
 LDFLAGS := -X main.Version=$(VERSION)
 
-.PHONY: sfdupes build bootstrap setup test lint fmt fmt-check check docker hooks clean
+.PHONY: sfdupes build bootstrap setup test test-race lint fmt fmt-check check docker hooks clean
 
 # Standard targets are thin shims; the implementations live in script/
 # per the scripts-to-rule-them-all pattern.
@@ -27,6 +27,9 @@ setup:
 test:
 	@script/test
 
+test-race:
+	@script/test-race
+
 lint:
 	@script/lint
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b4078a2..41afbc8 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -742,14 +742,23 @@ entrypoints are:
   installed: they run in Docker (see `script/lint` and `script/fmt`) and never
   from a host install, so there is no host copy to drift from the pin. A missing
   `docker` is warned about rather than installed or treated as fatal —
-  everything except linting and formatting works without it. Ends with
-  `go mod download`.
+  everything except linting, formatting and `make test-race` works without it.
+  Ends with `go mod download`.
 - `script/setup` — make a fresh clone ready for development: runs
   `script/bootstrap`, then `script/install-precommit`.
 - `script/projectname` — print this project's name (`sfdupes`). Scripts that
   need the name call it, so they stay identical across repositories.
 - `script/test` — run the test suite with a 30-second timeout and coverage
   enabled, rerunning verbosely on failure so the logs show which test failed.
+- `script/test-race` — run the test suite under the race detector with a
+  60-second timeout. The detector needs cgo and a C compiler, which the build
+  never uses, so the tests run in a digest-pinned Debian `golang` image that has
+  `gcc`, with the checkout mounted read-only; the container is removed when it
+  exits. They run as the calling user, or as `nobody` when that is root, because
+  several tests make a file unreadable and root reads it anyway; only then must
+  the checkout be readable by other users. Not part of `script/check`. Every run
+  starts with empty caches, so it needs the network and takes minutes, and the
+  mount needs a local docker daemon.
 - `script/lint` — run the linter. It builds `Dockerfile.lint`, which copies the
   repository into the digest-pinned `golangci/golangci-lint` image and runs
   `golangci-lint config verify` and `golangci-lint run` as build steps, so a
@@ -840,6 +849,8 @@ compile recipe:
 - `make setup` — prepare a fresh clone: `bootstrap` plus the pre-commit hook.
 - `make test` — run the test suite (30-second timeout; reruns with `-v` on
   failure).
+- `make test-race` — run the test suite under the race detector, in Docker (see
+  `script/test-race`); requires `docker`. Not part of `make check`.
 - `make lint` — run `golangci-lint` with the repo config, in Docker (see
   `script/lint`); requires `docker`.
 - `make fmt` / `make fmt-check` — format the Go sources and the Markdown /
diff --git a/TODO.md b/TODO.md
index a962fe4..6b7118a 100644
--- a/TODO.md
+++ b/TODO.md
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- `make test-race` runs the test suite under the race detector in a cgo-enabled
+  container, outside `make check` (2026-10-04,
+  https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/sfdupes/issues/18)
+
 - a bare `docker build .` fails with a message naming `script/cibuild` and
   `script/docker` instead of serving the gates from cache (2026-10-04,
   https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/sfdupes/issues/39)
@@ -497,5 +501,6 @@ Accepted divergences (no action):
 
 - flat single-package layout with `.go` files in the repo root — fine for a
   small single-binary tool per the Go styleguide; the tracker audit agrees
-- `go test` runs without `-race` — the repo mandates `CGO_ENABLED=0` (pure-Go
-  builds) and the race detector requires cgo
+- `make test` runs without `-race` — the repo mandates `CGO_ENABLED=0` (pure-Go
+  builds) and the race detector requires cgo, so the detector runs in a separate
+  cgo-enabled container, `make test-race`, which is not part of `make check`
diff --git a/script/bootstrap b/script/bootstrap
index 380191d..224e8dd 100755
--- a/script/bootstrap
+++ b/script/bootstrap
@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@
 # installed: golangci-lint (script/lint) and prettier (script/fmt,
 # script/fmt-check) run via docker only, pinned by hash, so their only
 # prerequisite is a working docker — which is warned about, not
-# installed, because everything except linting and formatting works
-# without it.
+# installed, because everything except linting, formatting and
+# make test-race works without it.
 set -eu
 
 ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd -P)"
@@ -75,13 +75,14 @@ main() {
 
     # Linting and Markdown formatting run via docker only, so docker is
     # their prerequisite rather than something bootstrap installs. Warn,
-    # do not fail: everything except `make lint`, `make fmt` and
-    # `make fmt-check` — and, through them, `make check`, `make docker`
-    # and the pre-commit hook — works without it.
+    # do not fail: everything except `make lint`, `make fmt`,
+    # `make fmt-check` and `make test-race` — and, through them,
+    # `make check`, `make docker` and the pre-commit hook — works
+    # without it.
     if missing docker; then
         echo "bootstrap: WARNING: docker not found; make lint, make fmt," >&2
-        echo "bootstrap: make fmt-check, make check and make docker" >&2
-        echo "bootstrap: require it." >&2
+        echo "bootstrap: make fmt-check, make check, make docker and" >&2
+        echo "bootstrap: make test-race require it." >&2
     fi
 
     go mod download
diff --git a/script/test-race b/script/test-race
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..8e85862
--- /dev/null
+++ b/script/test-race
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# script/test-race: run the test suite under the race detector. Not part
+# of script/check.
+#
+# The race detector needs cgo and a C compiler, which the host build
+# never uses, so the tests run in a golang image that has gcc. The
+# checkout is mounted read-only, so the docker daemon must be local. The
+# container starts with empty caches every time: each run downloads the
+# dependencies and compiles them with the detector, which needs the
+# network and takes minutes.
+#
+# The tests run as the calling user, never as root: several of them make
+# a file unreadable and expect reading it to fail, and root reads it
+# anyway. When the caller is root they run as nobody, and then the
+# checkout must be readable by other users. Neither user has a home
+# directory in the image, so HOME is /tmp, where Go puts its build cache.
+set -eu
+
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd -P)"
+
+# golang:1.25-trixie, 2026-10-04. Debian rather than the Alpine image the
+# Dockerfile builds with, because this one includes gcc.
+IMAGE="golang@sha256:2c4c60ef415fbfa5e90300722293bef36c5e63fae17570ce18f580af933dbd73"
+
+main() {
+    user="$(id -u):$(id -g)"
+    if [ "$(id -u)" -eq 0 ]; then
+        user=65534:65534
+    fi
+    docker run --rm \
+        --user "$user" \
+        --env HOME=/tmp \
+        --env CGO_ENABLED=1 \
+        --volume "$ROOT:/src:ro" \
+        --workdir /src \
+        "$IMAGE" \
+        go test -race -timeout 60s ./...
+}
+
+main "$@"