diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/regress.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/regress.sgml
index 8a0b384dec6..f721694230f 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/regress.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/regress.sgml
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@
    parallel method starts up multiple server processes to run groups
    of tests in parallel.  Parallel testing adds confidence that
    interprocess communication and locking are working correctly.
+   Some tests may run sequentially even in the <quote>parallel</quote>
+   mode in case this is required by the test.
   </para>
 
   <sect2 id="regress-run-temp-inst">
@@ -43,12 +45,12 @@ make check
 </screen>
    in the top-level directory.  (Or you can change to
    <filename>src/test/regress</filename> and run the command there.)
+   Tests which are run in parallel are prefixed with <quote>+</quote>, and
+   tests which run sequentially are prefixed with <quote>-</quote>.
    At the end you should see something like:
 <screen>
 <computeroutput>
-=======================
- All 193 tests passed.
-=======================
+# All 213 tests passed.
 </computeroutput>
 </screen>
    or otherwise a note about which tests failed.  See <xref
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 5e708d90450..84b60c8933c 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -3118,6 +3118,7 @@ foreach test_dir : tests
       env.prepend('PATH', temp_install_bindir, test_dir['bd'])
 
       test_kwargs = {
+        'protocol': 'tap',
         'priority': 10,
         'timeout': 1000,
         'depends': test_deps + t.get('deps', []),
diff --git a/src/Makefile.global.in b/src/Makefile.global.in
index fb3e197fc06..736dd1ed5ed 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.global.in
+++ b/src/Makefile.global.in
@@ -444,7 +444,7 @@ ifeq ($(enable_tap_tests),yes)
 
 ifndef PGXS
 define prove_installcheck
-echo "+++ tap install-check in $(subdir) +++" && \
+echo "# +++ tap install-check in $(subdir) +++" && \
 rm -rf '$(CURDIR)'/tmp_check && \
 $(MKDIR_P) '$(CURDIR)'/tmp_check && \
 cd $(srcdir) && \
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ cd $(srcdir) && \
 endef
 else # PGXS case
 define prove_installcheck
-echo "+++ tap install-check in $(subdir) +++" && \
+echo "# +++ tap install-check in $(subdir) +++" && \
 rm -rf '$(CURDIR)'/tmp_check && \
 $(MKDIR_P) '$(CURDIR)'/tmp_check && \
 cd $(srcdir) && \
@@ -471,7 +471,7 @@ endef
 endif # PGXS
 
 define prove_check
-echo "+++ tap check in $(subdir) +++" && \
+echo "# +++ tap check in $(subdir) +++" && \
 rm -rf '$(CURDIR)'/tmp_check && \
 $(MKDIR_P) '$(CURDIR)'/tmp_check && \
 cd $(srcdir) && \
@@ -665,7 +665,7 @@ pg_regress_locale_flags = $(if $(ENCODING),--encoding=$(ENCODING)) $(NOLOCALE)
 pg_regress_clean_files = results/ regression.diffs regression.out tmp_check/ tmp_check_iso/ log/ output_iso/
 
 pg_regress_check = \
-    echo "+++ regress check in $(subdir) +++" && \
+    echo "\# +++ regress check in $(subdir) +++" && \
     $(with_temp_install) \
     $(top_builddir)/src/test/regress/pg_regress \
     --temp-instance=./tmp_check \
@@ -674,14 +674,14 @@ pg_regress_check = \
     $(TEMP_CONF) \
     $(pg_regress_locale_flags) $(EXTRA_REGRESS_OPTS)
 pg_regress_installcheck = \
-    echo "+++ regress install-check in $(subdir) +++" && \
+    echo "\# +++ regress install-check in $(subdir) +++" && \
     $(top_builddir)/src/test/regress/pg_regress \
     --inputdir=$(srcdir) \
     --bindir='$(bindir)' \
     $(pg_regress_locale_flags) $(EXTRA_REGRESS_OPTS)
 
 pg_isolation_regress_check = \
-    echo "+++ isolation check in $(subdir) +++" && \
+    echo "\# +++ isolation check in $(subdir) +++" && \
     $(with_temp_install) \
     $(top_builddir)/src/test/isolation/pg_isolation_regress \
     --temp-instance=./tmp_check_iso \
@@ -690,7 +690,7 @@ pg_isolation_regress_check = \
     $(TEMP_CONF) \
     $(pg_regress_locale_flags) $(EXTRA_REGRESS_OPTS)
 pg_isolation_regress_installcheck = \
-    echo "+++ isolation install-check in $(subdir) +++" && \
+    echo "\# +++ isolation install-check in $(subdir) +++" && \
     $(top_builddir)/src/test/isolation/pg_isolation_regress \
     --inputdir=$(srcdir) --outputdir=output_iso \
     --bindir='$(bindir)' \
diff --git a/src/test/regress/pg_regress.c b/src/test/regress/pg_regress.c
index 7b23cc80dcd..f7bcb30ca4f 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/pg_regress.c
+++ b/src/test/regress/pg_regress.c
@@ -68,6 +68,25 @@ const char *basic_diff_opts = "-w";
 const char *pretty_diff_opts = "-w -U3";
 #endif
 
+/*
+ * The width of the testname field when printing to ensure vertical alignment
+ * of test runtimes. This number is somewhat arbitrarily chosen to match the
+ * older pre-TAP output format.
+ */
+#define TESTNAME_WIDTH 36
+
+typedef enum TAPtype
+{
+	DIAG = 0,
+	BAIL,
+	NOTE,
+	NOTE_DETAIL,
+	NOTE_END,
+	TEST_STATUS,
+	PLAN,
+	NONE
+}			TAPtype;
+
 /* options settable from command line */
 _stringlist *dblist = NULL;
 bool		debug = false;
@@ -103,6 +122,8 @@ static const char *sockdir;
 static const char *temp_sockdir;
 static char sockself[MAXPGPATH];
 static char socklock[MAXPGPATH];
+static StringInfo failed_tests = NULL;
+static bool in_note = false;
 
 static _resultmap *resultmap = NULL;
 
@@ -115,12 +136,29 @@ static int	fail_count = 0;
 static bool directory_exists(const char *dir);
 static void make_directory(const char *dir);
 
-static void header(const char *fmt,...) pg_attribute_printf(1, 2);
-static void status(const char *fmt,...) pg_attribute_printf(1, 2);
+static void test_status_print(bool ok, const char *testname, double runtime, bool parallel);
+static void test_status_ok(const char *testname, double runtime, bool parallel);
+static void test_status_failed(const char *testname, double runtime, bool parallel);
+static void bail_out(bool noatexit, const char *fmt,...) pg_attribute_printf(2, 3);
+static void emit_tap_output(TAPtype type, const char *fmt,...) pg_attribute_printf(2, 3);
+static void emit_tap_output_v(TAPtype type, const char *fmt, va_list argp) pg_attribute_printf(2, 0);
+
 static StringInfo psql_start_command(void);
 static void psql_add_command(StringInfo buf, const char *query,...) pg_attribute_printf(2, 3);
 static void psql_end_command(StringInfo buf, const char *database);
 
+/*
+ * Convenience macros for printing TAP output with a more shorthand syntax
+ * aimed at making the code more readable.
+ */
+#define plan(x)				emit_tap_output(PLAN, "1..%i", (x))
+#define note(...)			emit_tap_output(NOTE, __VA_ARGS__)
+#define note_detail(...)	emit_tap_output(NOTE_DETAIL, __VA_ARGS__)
+#define diag(...)			emit_tap_output(DIAG, __VA_ARGS__)
+#define note_end()			emit_tap_output(NOTE_END, "\n");
+#define bail_noatexit(...)	bail_out(true, __VA_ARGS__)
+#define bail(...)			bail_out(false, __VA_ARGS__)
+
 /*
  * allow core files if possible.
  */
@@ -133,9 +171,7 @@ unlimit_core_size(void)
 	getrlimit(RLIMIT_CORE, &lim);
 	if (lim.rlim_max == 0)
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr,
-				_("%s: could not set core size: disallowed by hard limit\n"),
-				progname);
+		diag("could not set core size: disallowed by hard limit");
 		return;
 	}
 	else if (lim.rlim_max == RLIM_INFINITY || lim.rlim_cur < lim.rlim_max)
@@ -201,53 +237,172 @@ split_to_stringlist(const char *s, const char *delim, _stringlist **listhead)
 }
 
 /*
- * Print a progress banner on stdout.
+ * Bailing out is for unrecoverable errors which prevents further testing to
+ * occur and after which the test run should be aborted. By passing noatexit
+ * as true the process will terminate with _exit(2) and skipping registered
+ * exit handlers, thus avoid any risk of bottomless recursion calls to exit.
  */
 static void
-header(const char *fmt,...)
+bail_out(bool noatexit, const char *fmt,...)
 {
-	char		tmp[64];
 	va_list		ap;
 
 	va_start(ap, fmt);
-	vsnprintf(tmp, sizeof(tmp), fmt, ap);
+	emit_tap_output_v(BAIL, fmt, ap);
 	va_end(ap);
 
-	fprintf(stdout, "============== %-38s ==============\n", tmp);
-	fflush(stdout);
+	if (noatexit)
+		_exit(2);
+
+	exit(2);
 }
 
 /*
- * Print "doing something ..." --- supplied text should not end with newline
+ * Print the result of a test run and associated metadata like runtime. Care
+ * is taken to align testnames and runtimes vertically to ensure the output
+ * is human readable while still TAP compliant. Tests run in parallel are
+ * prefixed with a '+' and sequential tests with a '-'. This distinction was
+ * previously indicated by 'test' prefixing sequential tests while parallel
+ * tests were indented by four leading spaces. The meson TAP parser consumes
+ * leading space however, so a non-whitespace prefix of the same length is
+ * required for both.
  */
 static void
-status(const char *fmt,...)
+test_status_print(bool ok, const char *testname, double runtime, bool parallel)
 {
-	va_list		ap;
+	int			testnumber = fail_count + success_count;
 
-	va_start(ap, fmt);
-	vfprintf(stdout, fmt, ap);
-	fflush(stdout);
-	va_end(ap);
+	/*
+	 * Testnumbers are padded to 5 characters to ensure that testnames align
+	 * vertically (assuming at most 9999 tests).  Testnames are prefixed with
+	 * a leading character to indicate being run in parallel or not. A leading
+	 * '+' indicates a parellel test, '-' indicates a single test.
+	 */
+	emit_tap_output(TEST_STATUS, "%sok %-5i%*s %c %-*s %8.0f ms",
+					(ok ? "" : "not "),
+					testnumber,
+	/* If ok, indent with four spaces matching "not " */
+					(ok ? (int) strlen("not ") : 0), "",
+	/* Prefix a parallel test '+' and a single test with '-' */
+					(parallel ? '+' : '-'),
+	/* Testnames are padded to align runtimes */
+					TESTNAME_WIDTH, testname,
+					runtime);
+}
 
-	if (logfile)
+static void
+test_status_ok(const char *testname, double runtime, bool parallel)
+{
+	success_count++;
+
+	test_status_print(true, testname, runtime, parallel);
+}
+
+static void
+test_status_failed(const char *testname, double runtime, bool parallel)
+{
+	/*
+	 * Save failed tests in a buffer such that we can print a summary at the
+	 * end with diag() to ensure it's shown even under test harnesses.
+	 */
+	if (!failed_tests)
+		failed_tests = makeStringInfo();
+	else
+		appendStringInfoChar(failed_tests, ',');
+
+	appendStringInfo(failed_tests, " %s", testname);
+
+	fail_count++;
+
+	test_status_print(false, testname, runtime, parallel);
+}
+
+
+static void
+emit_tap_output(TAPtype type, const char *fmt,...)
+{
+	va_list		argp;
+
+	va_start(argp, fmt);
+	emit_tap_output_v(type, fmt, argp);
+	va_end(argp);
+}
+
+static void
+emit_tap_output_v(TAPtype type, const char *fmt, va_list argp)
+{
+	va_list		argp_logfile;
+	FILE	   *fp;
+
+	/*
+	 * Diagnostic output will be hidden by prove unless printed to stderr. The
+	 * Bail message is also printed to stderr to aid debugging under a harness
+	 * which might otherwise not emit such an important message.
+	 */
+	if (type == DIAG || type == BAIL)
+		fp = stderr;
+	else
+		fp = stdout;
+
+	/*
+	 * If we are ending a note_detail line we can avoid further processing and
+	 * immediately return following a newline.
+	 */
+	if (type == NOTE_END)
 	{
-		va_start(ap, fmt);
-		vfprintf(logfile, fmt, ap);
-		va_end(ap);
+		in_note = false;
+		fprintf(fp, "\n");
+		if (logfile)
+			fprintf(logfile, "\n");
+		return;
 	}
-}
 
-/*
- * Done "doing something ..."
- */
-static void
-status_end(void)
-{
-	fprintf(stdout, "\n");
-	fflush(stdout);
+	/* Make a copy of the va args for printing to the logfile */
+	va_copy(argp_logfile, argp);
+
+	/*
+	 * Non-protocol output such as diagnostics or notes must be prefixed by a
+	 * '#' character. We print the Bail message like this too.
+	 */
+	if ((type == NOTE || type == DIAG || type == BAIL)
+		|| (type == NOTE_DETAIL && !in_note))
+	{
+		fprintf(fp, "# ");
+		if (logfile)
+			fprintf(logfile, "# ");
+	}
+	vfprintf(fp, fmt, argp);
 	if (logfile)
-		fprintf(logfile, "\n");
+		vfprintf(logfile, fmt, argp_logfile);
+
+	/*
+	 * If we are entering into a note with more details to follow, register
+	 * that the leading '#' has been printed such that subsequent details
+	 * aren't prefixed as well.
+	 */
+	if (type == NOTE_DETAIL)
+		in_note = true;
+
+	/*
+	 * If this was a Bail message, the bail protocol message must go to stdout
+	 * separately.
+	 */
+	if (type == BAIL)
+	{
+		fprintf(stdout, "Bail out!");
+		if (logfile)
+			fprintf(logfile, "Bail out!");
+	}
+
+	va_end(argp_logfile);
+
+	if (type != NOTE_DETAIL)
+	{
+		fprintf(fp, "\n");
+		if (logfile)
+			fprintf(logfile, "\n");
+	}
+	fflush(NULL);
 }
 
 /*
@@ -271,9 +426,8 @@ stop_postmaster(void)
 		r = system(buf);
 		if (r != 0)
 		{
-			fprintf(stderr, _("\n%s: could not stop postmaster: exit code was %d\n"),
-					progname, r);
-			_exit(2);			/* not exit(), that could be recursive */
+			/* Not using the normal bail() as we want _exit */
+			bail_noatexit(_("could not stop postmaster: exit code was %d"), r);
 		}
 
 		postmaster_running = false;
@@ -331,9 +485,8 @@ make_temp_sockdir(void)
 	temp_sockdir = mkdtemp(template);
 	if (temp_sockdir == NULL)
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr, _("%s: could not create directory \"%s\": %s\n"),
-				progname, template, strerror(errno));
-		exit(2);
+		bail("could not create directory \"%s\": %s",
+			 template, strerror(errno));
 	}
 
 	/* Stage file names for remove_temp().  Unsafe in a signal handler. */
@@ -455,9 +608,8 @@ load_resultmap(void)
 		/* OK if it doesn't exist, else complain */
 		if (errno == ENOENT)
 			return;
-		fprintf(stderr, _("%s: could not open file \"%s\" for reading: %s\n"),
-				progname, buf, strerror(errno));
-		exit(2);
+		bail("could not open file \"%s\" for reading: %s",
+			 buf, strerror(errno));
 	}
 
 	while (fgets(buf, sizeof(buf), f))
@@ -476,26 +628,20 @@ load_resultmap(void)
 		file_type = strchr(buf, ':');
 		if (!file_type)
 		{
-			fprintf(stderr, _("incorrectly formatted resultmap entry: %s\n"),
-					buf);
-			exit(2);
+			bail("incorrectly formatted resultmap entry: %s", buf);
 		}
 		*file_type++ = '\0';
 
 		platform = strchr(file_type, ':');
 		if (!platform)
 		{
-			fprintf(stderr, _("incorrectly formatted resultmap entry: %s\n"),
-					buf);
-			exit(2);
+			bail("incorrectly formatted resultmap entry: %s", buf);
 		}
 		*platform++ = '\0';
 		expected = strchr(platform, '=');
 		if (!expected)
 		{
-			fprintf(stderr, _("incorrectly formatted resultmap entry: %s\n"),
-					buf);
-			exit(2);
+			bail("incorrectly formatted resultmap entry: %s", buf);
 		}
 		*expected++ = '\0';
 
@@ -741,13 +887,13 @@ initialize_environment(void)
 		}
 
 		if (pghost && pgport)
-			printf(_("(using postmaster on %s, port %s)\n"), pghost, pgport);
+			note("using postmaster on %s, port %s", pghost, pgport);
 		if (pghost && !pgport)
-			printf(_("(using postmaster on %s, default port)\n"), pghost);
+			note("using postmaster on %s, default port", pghost);
 		if (!pghost && pgport)
-			printf(_("(using postmaster on Unix socket, port %s)\n"), pgport);
+			note("using postmaster on Unix socket, port %s", pgport);
 		if (!pghost && !pgport)
-			printf(_("(using postmaster on Unix socket, default port)\n"));
+			note("using postmaster on Unix socket, default port");
 	}
 
 	load_resultmap();
@@ -796,35 +942,26 @@ current_windows_user(const char **acct, const char **dom)
 
 	if (!OpenProcessToken(GetCurrentProcess(), TOKEN_READ, &token))
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr,
-				_("%s: could not open process token: error code %lu\n"),
-				progname, GetLastError());
-		exit(2);
+		bail("could not open process token: error code %lu", GetLastError());
 	}
 
 	if (!GetTokenInformation(token, TokenUser, NULL, 0, &retlen) && GetLastError() != 122)
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr,
-				_("%s: could not get token information buffer size: error code %lu\n"),
-				progname, GetLastError());
-		exit(2);
+		bail("could not get token information buffer size: error code %lu",
+			 GetLastError());
 	}
 	tokenuser = pg_malloc(retlen);
 	if (!GetTokenInformation(token, TokenUser, tokenuser, retlen, &retlen))
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr,
-				_("%s: could not get token information: error code %lu\n"),
-				progname, GetLastError());
-		exit(2);
+		bail("could not get token information: error code %lu",
+			 GetLastError());
 	}
 
 	if (!LookupAccountSid(NULL, tokenuser->User.Sid, accountname, &accountnamesize,
 						  domainname, &domainnamesize, &accountnameuse))
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr,
-				_("%s: could not look up account SID: error code %lu\n"),
-				progname, GetLastError());
-		exit(2);
+		bail("could not look up account SID: error code %lu",
+			 GetLastError());
 	}
 
 	free(tokenuser);
@@ -870,8 +1007,7 @@ config_sspi_auth(const char *pgdata, const char *superuser_name)
 		superuser_name = get_user_name(&errstr);
 		if (superuser_name == NULL)
 		{
-			fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", progname, errstr);
-			exit(2);
+			bail("%s", errstr);
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -902,9 +1038,8 @@ config_sspi_auth(const char *pgdata, const char *superuser_name)
 	do { \
 		if (!(cond)) \
 		{ \
-			fprintf(stderr, _("%s: could not write to file \"%s\": %s\n"), \
-					progname, fname, strerror(errno)); \
-			exit(2); \
+			bail("could not write to file \"%s\": %s", \
+				 fname, strerror(errno)); \
 		} \
 	} while (0)
 
@@ -915,15 +1050,13 @@ config_sspi_auth(const char *pgdata, const char *superuser_name)
 		 * Truncating this name is a fatal error, because we must not fail to
 		 * overwrite an original trust-authentication pg_hba.conf.
 		 */
-		fprintf(stderr, _("%s: directory name too long\n"), progname);
-		exit(2);
+		bail("directory name too long");
 	}
 	hba = fopen(fname, "w");
 	if (hba == NULL)
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr, _("%s: could not open file \"%s\" for writing: %s\n"),
-				progname, fname, strerror(errno));
-		exit(2);
+		bail("could not open file \"%s\" for writing: %s",
+			 fname, strerror(errno));
 	}
 	CW(fputs("# Configuration written by config_sspi_auth()\n", hba) >= 0);
 	CW(fputs("host all all 127.0.0.1/32  sspi include_realm=1 map=regress\n",
@@ -937,9 +1070,8 @@ config_sspi_auth(const char *pgdata, const char *superuser_name)
 	ident = fopen(fname, "w");
 	if (ident == NULL)
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr, _("%s: could not open file \"%s\" for writing: %s\n"),
-				progname, fname, strerror(errno));
-		exit(2);
+		bail("could not open file \"%s\" for writing: %s",
+			 fname, strerror(errno));
 	}
 	CW(fputs("# Configuration written by config_sspi_auth()\n", ident) >= 0);
 
@@ -973,7 +1105,7 @@ psql_start_command(void)
 	StringInfo	buf = makeStringInfo();
 
 	appendStringInfo(buf,
-					 "\"%s%spsql\" -X",
+					 "\"%s%spsql\" -X -q",
 					 bindir ? bindir : "",
 					 bindir ? "/" : "");
 	return buf;
@@ -1029,8 +1161,7 @@ psql_end_command(StringInfo buf, const char *database)
 	if (system(buf->data) != 0)
 	{
 		/* psql probably already reported the error */
-		fprintf(stderr, _("command failed: %s\n"), buf->data);
-		exit(2);
+		bail("command failed: %s", buf->data);
 	}
 
 	/* Clean up */
@@ -1071,9 +1202,7 @@ spawn_process(const char *cmdline)
 	pid = fork();
 	if (pid == -1)
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr, _("%s: could not fork: %s\n"),
-				progname, strerror(errno));
-		exit(2);
+		bail("could not fork: %s", strerror(errno));
 	}
 	if (pid == 0)
 	{
@@ -1088,9 +1217,8 @@ spawn_process(const char *cmdline)
 
 		cmdline2 = psprintf("exec %s", cmdline);
 		execl(shellprog, shellprog, "-c", cmdline2, (char *) NULL);
-		fprintf(stderr, _("%s: could not exec \"%s\": %s\n"),
-				progname, shellprog, strerror(errno));
-		_exit(1);				/* not exit() here... */
+		/* Not using the normal bail() here as we want _exit */
+		bail_noatexit("could not exec \"%s\": %s", shellprog, strerror(errno));
 	}
 	/* in parent */
 	return pid;
@@ -1128,8 +1256,8 @@ file_size(const char *file)
 
 	if (!f)
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr, _("%s: could not open file \"%s\" for reading: %s\n"),
-				progname, file, strerror(errno));
+		diag("could not open file \"%s\" for reading: %s",
+			 file, strerror(errno));
 		return -1;
 	}
 	fseek(f, 0, SEEK_END);
@@ -1150,8 +1278,8 @@ file_line_count(const char *file)
 
 	if (!f)
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr, _("%s: could not open file \"%s\" for reading: %s\n"),
-				progname, file, strerror(errno));
+		diag("could not open file \"%s\" for reading: %s",
+			 file, strerror(errno));
 		return -1;
 	}
 	while ((c = fgetc(f)) != EOF)
@@ -1192,9 +1320,7 @@ make_directory(const char *dir)
 {
 	if (mkdir(dir, S_IRWXU | S_IRWXG | S_IRWXO) < 0)
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr, _("%s: could not create directory \"%s\": %s\n"),
-				progname, dir, strerror(errno));
-		exit(2);
+		bail("could not create directory \"%s\": %s", dir, strerror(errno));
 	}
 }
 
@@ -1244,8 +1370,7 @@ run_diff(const char *cmd, const char *filename)
 	r = system(cmd);
 	if (!WIFEXITED(r) || WEXITSTATUS(r) > 1)
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr, _("diff command failed with status %d: %s\n"), r, cmd);
-		exit(2);
+		bail("diff command failed with status %d: %s", r, cmd);
 	}
 #ifdef WIN32
 
@@ -1255,8 +1380,7 @@ run_diff(const char *cmd, const char *filename)
 	 */
 	if (WEXITSTATUS(r) == 1 && file_size(filename) <= 0)
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr, _("diff command not found: %s\n"), cmd);
-		exit(2);
+		bail("diff command not found: %s", cmd);
 	}
 #endif
 
@@ -1327,9 +1451,8 @@ results_differ(const char *testname, const char *resultsfile, const char *defaul
 		alt_expectfile = get_alternative_expectfile(expectfile, i);
 		if (!alt_expectfile)
 		{
-			fprintf(stderr, _("Unable to check secondary comparison files: %s\n"),
-					strerror(errno));
-			exit(2);
+			bail("Unable to check secondary comparison files: %s",
+				 strerror(errno));
 		}
 
 		if (!file_exists(alt_expectfile))
@@ -1444,9 +1567,7 @@ wait_for_tests(PID_TYPE * pids, int *statuses, instr_time *stoptimes,
 
 		if (p == INVALID_PID)
 		{
-			fprintf(stderr, _("failed to wait for subprocesses: %s\n"),
-					strerror(errno));
-			exit(2);
+			bail("failed to wait for subprocesses: %s", strerror(errno));
 		}
 #else
 		DWORD		exit_status;
@@ -1455,9 +1576,8 @@ wait_for_tests(PID_TYPE * pids, int *statuses, instr_time *stoptimes,
 		r = WaitForMultipleObjects(tests_left, active_pids, FALSE, INFINITE);
 		if (r < WAIT_OBJECT_0 || r >= WAIT_OBJECT_0 + tests_left)
 		{
-			fprintf(stderr, _("failed to wait for subprocesses: error code %lu\n"),
-					GetLastError());
-			exit(2);
+			bail("failed to wait for subprocesses: error code %lu",
+				 GetLastError());
 		}
 		p = active_pids[r - WAIT_OBJECT_0];
 		/* compact the active_pids array */
@@ -1476,7 +1596,7 @@ wait_for_tests(PID_TYPE * pids, int *statuses, instr_time *stoptimes,
 				statuses[i] = (int) exit_status;
 				INSTR_TIME_SET_CURRENT(stoptimes[i]);
 				if (names)
-					status(" %s", names[i]);
+					note_detail(" %s", names[i]);
 				tests_left--;
 				break;
 			}
@@ -1495,21 +1615,20 @@ static void
 log_child_failure(int exitstatus)
 {
 	if (WIFEXITED(exitstatus))
-		status(_(" (test process exited with exit code %d)"),
-			   WEXITSTATUS(exitstatus));
+		diag("(test process exited with exit code %d)",
+			 WEXITSTATUS(exitstatus));
 	else if (WIFSIGNALED(exitstatus))
 	{
 #if defined(WIN32)
-		status(_(" (test process was terminated by exception 0x%X)"),
-			   WTERMSIG(exitstatus));
+		diag("(test process was terminated by exception 0x%X)",
+			 WTERMSIG(exitstatus));
 #else
-		status(_(" (test process was terminated by signal %d: %s)"),
-			   WTERMSIG(exitstatus), pg_strsignal(WTERMSIG(exitstatus)));
+		diag("(test process was terminated by signal %d: %s)",
+			 WTERMSIG(exitstatus), pg_strsignal(WTERMSIG(exitstatus)));
 #endif
 	}
 	else
-		status(_(" (test process exited with unrecognized status %d)"),
-			   exitstatus);
+		diag("(test process exited with unrecognized status %d)", exitstatus);
 }
 
 /*
@@ -1540,9 +1659,8 @@ run_schedule(const char *schedule, test_start_function startfunc,
 	scf = fopen(schedule, "r");
 	if (!scf)
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr, _("%s: could not open file \"%s\" for reading: %s\n"),
-				progname, schedule, strerror(errno));
-		exit(2);
+		bail("could not open file \"%s\" for reading: %s",
+			 schedule, strerror(errno));
 	}
 
 	while (fgets(scbuf, sizeof(scbuf), scf))
@@ -1566,9 +1684,8 @@ run_schedule(const char *schedule, test_start_function startfunc,
 			test = scbuf + 6;
 		else
 		{
-			fprintf(stderr, _("syntax error in schedule file \"%s\" line %d: %s\n"),
-					schedule, line_num, scbuf);
-			exit(2);
+			bail("syntax error in schedule file \"%s\" line %d: %s",
+				 schedule, line_num, scbuf);
 		}
 
 		num_tests = 0;
@@ -1584,9 +1701,8 @@ run_schedule(const char *schedule, test_start_function startfunc,
 
 					if (num_tests >= MAX_PARALLEL_TESTS)
 					{
-						fprintf(stderr, _("too many parallel tests (more than %d) in schedule file \"%s\" line %d: %s\n"),
-								MAX_PARALLEL_TESTS, schedule, line_num, scbuf);
-						exit(2);
+						bail("too many parallel tests (more than %d) in schedule file \"%s\" line %d: %s",
+							 MAX_PARALLEL_TESTS, schedule, line_num, scbuf);
 					}
 					sav = *c;
 					*c = '\0';
@@ -1608,14 +1724,12 @@ run_schedule(const char *schedule, test_start_function startfunc,
 
 		if (num_tests == 0)
 		{
-			fprintf(stderr, _("syntax error in schedule file \"%s\" line %d: %s\n"),
-					schedule, line_num, scbuf);
-			exit(2);
+			bail("syntax error in schedule file \"%s\" line %d: %s",
+				 schedule, line_num, scbuf);
 		}
 
 		if (num_tests == 1)
 		{
-			status(_("test %-28s ... "), tests[0]);
 			pids[0] = (startfunc) (tests[0], &resultfiles[0], &expectfiles[0], &tags[0]);
 			INSTR_TIME_SET_CURRENT(starttimes[0]);
 			wait_for_tests(pids, statuses, stoptimes, NULL, 1);
@@ -1623,16 +1737,15 @@ run_schedule(const char *schedule, test_start_function startfunc,
 		}
 		else if (max_concurrent_tests > 0 && max_concurrent_tests < num_tests)
 		{
-			fprintf(stderr, _("too many parallel tests (more than %d) in schedule file \"%s\" line %d: %s\n"),
-					max_concurrent_tests, schedule, line_num, scbuf);
-			exit(2);
+			bail("too many parallel tests (more than %d) in schedule file \"%s\" line %d: %s",
+				 max_concurrent_tests, schedule, line_num, scbuf);
 		}
 		else if (max_connections > 0 && max_connections < num_tests)
 		{
 			int			oldest = 0;
 
-			status(_("parallel group (%d tests, in groups of %d): "),
-				   num_tests, max_connections);
+			note_detail("parallel group (%d tests, in groups of %d): ",
+						num_tests, max_connections);
 			for (i = 0; i < num_tests; i++)
 			{
 				if (i - oldest >= max_connections)
@@ -1648,18 +1761,18 @@ run_schedule(const char *schedule, test_start_function startfunc,
 			wait_for_tests(pids + oldest, statuses + oldest,
 						   stoptimes + oldest,
 						   tests + oldest, i - oldest);
-			status_end();
+			note_end();
 		}
 		else
 		{
-			status(_("parallel group (%d tests): "), num_tests);
+			note_detail("parallel group (%d tests): ", num_tests);
 			for (i = 0; i < num_tests; i++)
 			{
 				pids[i] = (startfunc) (tests[i], &resultfiles[i], &expectfiles[i], &tags[i]);
 				INSTR_TIME_SET_CURRENT(starttimes[i]);
 			}
 			wait_for_tests(pids, statuses, stoptimes, tests, num_tests);
-			status_end();
+			note_end();
 		}
 
 		/* Check results for all tests */
@@ -1670,8 +1783,7 @@ run_schedule(const char *schedule, test_start_function startfunc,
 					   *tl;
 			bool		differ = false;
 
-			if (num_tests > 1)
-				status(_("     %-28s ... "), tests[i]);
+			INSTR_TIME_SUBTRACT(stoptimes[i], starttimes[i]);
 
 			/*
 			 * Advance over all three lists simultaneously.
@@ -1692,36 +1804,27 @@ run_schedule(const char *schedule, test_start_function startfunc,
 				newdiff = results_differ(tests[i], rl->str, el->str);
 				if (newdiff && tl)
 				{
-					printf("%s ", tl->str);
+					diag("tag: %s", tl->str);
 				}
 				differ |= newdiff;
 			}
 
 			if (statuses[i] != 0)
 			{
-				status(_("FAILED"));
+				test_status_failed(tests[i], INSTR_TIME_GET_MILLISEC(stoptimes[i]), (num_tests > 1));
 				log_child_failure(statuses[i]);
-				fail_count++;
 			}
 			else
 			{
-
 				if (differ)
 				{
-					status(_("FAILED"));
-					fail_count++;
+					test_status_failed(tests[i], INSTR_TIME_GET_MILLISEC(stoptimes[i]), (num_tests > 1));
 				}
 				else
 				{
-					status(_("ok    "));	/* align with FAILED */
-					success_count++;
+					test_status_ok(tests[i], INSTR_TIME_GET_MILLISEC(stoptimes[i]), (num_tests > 1));
 				}
 			}
-
-			INSTR_TIME_SUBTRACT(stoptimes[i], starttimes[i]);
-			status(_(" %8.0f ms"), INSTR_TIME_GET_MILLISEC(stoptimes[i]));
-
-			status_end();
 		}
 
 		for (i = 0; i < num_tests; i++)
@@ -1756,7 +1859,6 @@ run_single_test(const char *test, test_start_function startfunc,
 			   *tl;
 	bool		differ = false;
 
-	status(_("test %-28s ... "), test);
 	pid = (startfunc) (test, &resultfiles, &expectfiles, &tags);
 	INSTR_TIME_SET_CURRENT(starttime);
 	wait_for_tests(&pid, &exit_status, &stoptime, NULL, 1);
@@ -1780,35 +1882,29 @@ run_single_test(const char *test, test_start_function startfunc,
 		newdiff = results_differ(test, rl->str, el->str);
 		if (newdiff && tl)
 		{
-			printf("%s ", tl->str);
+			diag("tag: %s", tl->str);
 		}
 		differ |= newdiff;
 	}
 
+	INSTR_TIME_SUBTRACT(stoptime, starttime);
+
 	if (exit_status != 0)
 	{
-		status(_("FAILED"));
-		fail_count++;
+		test_status_failed(test, false, INSTR_TIME_GET_MILLISEC(stoptime));
 		log_child_failure(exit_status);
 	}
 	else
 	{
 		if (differ)
 		{
-			status(_("FAILED"));
-			fail_count++;
+			test_status_failed(test, false, INSTR_TIME_GET_MILLISEC(stoptime));
 		}
 		else
 		{
-			status(_("ok    "));	/* align with FAILED */
-			success_count++;
+			test_status_ok(test, INSTR_TIME_GET_MILLISEC(stoptime), false);
 		}
 	}
-
-	INSTR_TIME_SUBTRACT(stoptime, starttime);
-	status(_(" %8.0f ms"), INSTR_TIME_GET_MILLISEC(stoptime));
-
-	status_end();
 }
 
 /*
@@ -1830,9 +1926,8 @@ open_result_files(void)
 	logfile = fopen(logfilename, "w");
 	if (!logfile)
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr, _("%s: could not open file \"%s\" for writing: %s\n"),
-				progname, logfilename, strerror(errno));
-		exit(2);
+		bail("could not open file \"%s\" for writing: %s",
+			 logfilename, strerror(errno));
 	}
 
 	/* create the diffs file as empty */
@@ -1841,9 +1936,8 @@ open_result_files(void)
 	difffile = fopen(difffilename, "w");
 	if (!difffile)
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr, _("%s: could not open file \"%s\" for writing: %s\n"),
-				progname, difffilename, strerror(errno));
-		exit(2);
+		bail("could not open file \"%s\" for writing: %s",
+			 difffilename, strerror(errno));
 	}
 	/* we don't keep the diffs file open continuously */
 	fclose(difffile);
@@ -1859,7 +1953,6 @@ drop_database_if_exists(const char *dbname)
 {
 	StringInfo	buf = psql_start_command();
 
-	header(_("dropping database \"%s\""), dbname);
 	/* Set warning level so we don't see chatter about nonexistent DB */
 	psql_add_command(buf, "SET client_min_messages = warning");
 	psql_add_command(buf, "DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS \"%s\"", dbname);
@@ -1876,7 +1969,6 @@ create_database(const char *dbname)
 	 * We use template0 so that any installation-local cruft in template1 will
 	 * not mess up the tests.
 	 */
-	header(_("creating database \"%s\""), dbname);
 	if (encoding)
 		psql_add_command(buf, "CREATE DATABASE \"%s\" TEMPLATE=template0 ENCODING='%s'%s", dbname, encoding,
 						 (nolocale) ? " LC_COLLATE='C' LC_CTYPE='C'" : "");
@@ -1898,10 +1990,7 @@ create_database(const char *dbname)
 	 * this will work whether or not the extension is preinstalled.
 	 */
 	for (sl = loadextension; sl != NULL; sl = sl->next)
-	{
-		header(_("installing %s"), sl->str);
 		psql_command(dbname, "CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS \"%s\"", sl->str);
-	}
 }
 
 static void
@@ -1909,7 +1998,6 @@ drop_role_if_exists(const char *rolename)
 {
 	StringInfo	buf = psql_start_command();
 
-	header(_("dropping role \"%s\""), rolename);
 	/* Set warning level so we don't see chatter about nonexistent role */
 	psql_add_command(buf, "SET client_min_messages = warning");
 	psql_add_command(buf, "DROP ROLE IF EXISTS \"%s\"", rolename);
@@ -1921,7 +2009,6 @@ create_role(const char *rolename, const _stringlist *granted_dbs)
 {
 	StringInfo	buf = psql_start_command();
 
-	header(_("creating role \"%s\""), rolename);
 	psql_add_command(buf, "CREATE ROLE \"%s\" WITH LOGIN", rolename);
 	for (; granted_dbs != NULL; granted_dbs = granted_dbs->next)
 	{
@@ -2143,8 +2230,8 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 				break;
 			default:
 				/* getopt_long already emitted a complaint */
-				fprintf(stderr, _("\nTry \"%s -h\" for more information.\n"),
-						progname);
+				pg_log_error_hint("Try \"%s --help\" for more information.",
+								  progname);
 				exit(2);
 		}
 	}
@@ -2164,9 +2251,7 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 	 */
 	if (!(dblist && dblist->str && dblist->str[0]))
 	{
-		fprintf(stderr, _("%s: no database name was specified\n"),
-				progname);
-		exit(2);
+		bail("no database name was specified");
 	}
 
 	if (config_auth_datadir)
@@ -2217,17 +2302,12 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 
 		if (directory_exists(temp_instance))
 		{
-			header(_("removing existing temp instance"));
 			if (!rmtree(temp_instance, true))
 			{
-				fprintf(stderr, _("\n%s: could not remove temp instance \"%s\"\n"),
-						progname, temp_instance);
-				exit(2);
+				bail("could not remove temp instance \"%s\"", temp_instance);
 			}
 		}
 
-		header(_("creating temporary instance"));
-
 		/* make the temp instance top directory */
 		make_directory(temp_instance);
 
@@ -2237,7 +2317,6 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 			make_directory(buf);
 
 		/* initdb */
-		header(_("initializing database system"));
 		snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf),
 				 "\"%s%sinitdb\" -D \"%s/data\" --no-clean --no-sync%s%s > \"%s/log/initdb.log\" 2>&1",
 				 bindir ? bindir : "",
@@ -2249,8 +2328,10 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 		fflush(NULL);
 		if (system(buf))
 		{
-			fprintf(stderr, _("\n%s: initdb failed\nExamine %s/log/initdb.log for the reason.\nCommand was: %s\n"), progname, outputdir, buf);
-			exit(2);
+			bail("initdb failed\n"
+				 "# Examine \"%s/log/initdb.log\" for the reason.\n"
+				 "# Command was: %s",
+				 outputdir, buf);
 		}
 
 		/*
@@ -2265,8 +2346,8 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 		pg_conf = fopen(buf, "a");
 		if (pg_conf == NULL)
 		{
-			fprintf(stderr, _("\n%s: could not open \"%s\" for adding extra config: %s\n"), progname, buf, strerror(errno));
-			exit(2);
+			bail("could not open \"%s\" for adding extra config: %s",
+				 buf, strerror(errno));
 		}
 		fputs("\n# Configuration added by pg_regress\n\n", pg_conf);
 		fputs("log_autovacuum_min_duration = 0\n", pg_conf);
@@ -2285,8 +2366,8 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 			extra_conf = fopen(temp_config, "r");
 			if (extra_conf == NULL)
 			{
-				fprintf(stderr, _("\n%s: could not open \"%s\" to read extra config: %s\n"), progname, temp_config, strerror(errno));
-				exit(2);
+				bail("could not open \"%s\" to read extra config: %s",
+					 temp_config, strerror(errno));
 			}
 			while (fgets(line_buf, sizeof(line_buf), extra_conf) != NULL)
 				fputs(line_buf, pg_conf);
@@ -2325,14 +2406,13 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 
 				if (port_specified_by_user || i == 15)
 				{
-					fprintf(stderr, _("port %d apparently in use\n"), port);
+					note("port %d apparently in use", port);
 					if (!port_specified_by_user)
-						fprintf(stderr, _("%s: could not determine an available port\n"), progname);
-					fprintf(stderr, _("Specify an unused port using the --port option or shut down any conflicting PostgreSQL servers.\n"));
-					exit(2);
+						note("could not determine an available port");
+					bail("Specify an unused port using the --port option or shut down any conflicting PostgreSQL servers.");
 				}
 
-				fprintf(stderr, _("port %d apparently in use, trying %d\n"), port, port + 1);
+				note("port %d apparently in use, trying %d", port, port + 1);
 				port++;
 				sprintf(s, "%d", port);
 				setenv("PGPORT", s, 1);
@@ -2344,7 +2424,6 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 		/*
 		 * Start the temp postmaster
 		 */
-		header(_("starting postmaster"));
 		snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf),
 				 "\"%s%spostgres\" -D \"%s/data\" -F%s "
 				 "-c \"listen_addresses=%s\" -k \"%s\" "
@@ -2356,11 +2435,7 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 				 outputdir);
 		postmaster_pid = spawn_process(buf);
 		if (postmaster_pid == INVALID_PID)
-		{
-			fprintf(stderr, _("\n%s: could not spawn postmaster: %s\n"),
-					progname, strerror(errno));
-			exit(2);
-		}
+			bail("could not spawn postmaster: %s", strerror(errno));
 
 		/*
 		 * Wait till postmaster is able to accept connections; normally this
@@ -2395,16 +2470,16 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 			if (WaitForSingleObject(postmaster_pid, 0) == WAIT_OBJECT_0)
 #endif
 			{
-				fprintf(stderr, _("\n%s: postmaster failed\nExamine %s/log/postmaster.log for the reason\n"), progname, outputdir);
-				exit(2);
+				bail("postmaster failed, examine \"%s/log/postmaster.log\" for the reason",
+					 outputdir);
 			}
 
 			pg_usleep(1000000L);
 		}
 		if (i >= wait_seconds)
 		{
-			fprintf(stderr, _("\n%s: postmaster did not respond within %d seconds\nExamine %s/log/postmaster.log for the reason\n"),
-					progname, wait_seconds, outputdir);
+			diag("postmaster did not respond within %d seconds, examine \"%s/log/postmaster.log\" for the reason",
+				 wait_seconds, outputdir);
 
 			/*
 			 * If we get here, the postmaster is probably wedged somewhere in
@@ -2413,17 +2488,14 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 			 * attempts.
 			 */
 #ifndef WIN32
-			if (kill(postmaster_pid, SIGKILL) != 0 &&
-				errno != ESRCH)
-				fprintf(stderr, _("\n%s: could not kill failed postmaster: %s\n"),
-						progname, strerror(errno));
+			if (kill(postmaster_pid, SIGKILL) != 0 && errno != ESRCH)
+				bail("could not kill failed postmaster: %s", strerror(errno));
 #else
 			if (TerminateProcess(postmaster_pid, 255) == 0)
-				fprintf(stderr, _("\n%s: could not kill failed postmaster: error code %lu\n"),
-						progname, GetLastError());
+				bail("could not kill failed postmaster: error code %lu",
+					 GetLastError());
 #endif
-
-			exit(2);
+			bail("postmaster failed");
 		}
 
 		postmaster_running = true;
@@ -2434,8 +2506,8 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 #else
 #define ULONGPID(x) (unsigned long) (x)
 #endif
-		printf(_("running on port %d with PID %lu\n"),
-			   port, ULONGPID(postmaster_pid));
+		note("using temp instance on port %d with PID %lu",
+			 port, ULONGPID(postmaster_pid));
 	}
 	else
 	{
@@ -2466,8 +2538,6 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 	/*
 	 * Ready to run the tests
 	 */
-	header(_("running regression test queries"));
-
 	for (sl = schedulelist; sl != NULL; sl = sl->next)
 	{
 		run_schedule(sl->str, startfunc, postfunc);
@@ -2483,7 +2553,6 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 	 */
 	if (temp_instance)
 	{
-		header(_("shutting down postmaster"));
 		stop_postmaster();
 	}
 
@@ -2494,42 +2563,30 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 	 */
 	if (temp_instance && fail_count == 0)
 	{
-		header(_("removing temporary instance"));
 		if (!rmtree(temp_instance, true))
-			fprintf(stderr, _("\n%s: could not remove temp instance \"%s\"\n"),
-					progname, temp_instance);
+			diag("could not remove temp instance \"%s\"",
+				 temp_instance);
 	}
 
-	fclose(logfile);
+	/*
+	 * Emit a TAP compliant Plan
+	 */
+	plan(fail_count + success_count);
 
 	/*
 	 * Emit nice-looking summary message
 	 */
 	if (fail_count == 0)
-		snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf),
-				 _(" All %d tests passed. "),
-				 success_count);
+		note("All %d tests passed.", success_count);
 	else
-		snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf),
-				 _(" %d of %d tests failed. "),
-				 fail_count,
-				 success_count + fail_count);
-
-	putchar('\n');
-	for (i = strlen(buf); i > 0; i--)
-		putchar('=');
-	printf("\n%s\n", buf);
-	for (i = strlen(buf); i > 0; i--)
-		putchar('=');
-	putchar('\n');
-	putchar('\n');
+		diag("%d of %d tests failed.", fail_count, success_count + fail_count);
 
 	if (file_size(difffilename) > 0)
 	{
-		printf(_("The differences that caused some tests to fail can be viewed in the\n"
-				 "file \"%s\".  A copy of the test summary that you see\n"
-				 "above is saved in the file \"%s\".\n\n"),
-			   difffilename, logfilename);
+		diag("The differences that caused some tests to fail can be viewed in the file \"%s\".",
+			 difffilename);
+		diag("A copy of the test summary that you see above is saved in the file \"%s\".",
+			 logfilename);
 	}
 	else
 	{
@@ -2537,6 +2594,9 @@ regression_main(int argc, char *argv[],
 		unlink(logfilename);
 	}
 
+	fclose(logfile);
+	logfile = NULL;
+
 	if (fail_count != 0)
 		exit(1);