diff --git a/core/tests/doctor.test.ts b/core/tests/doctor.test.ts
index 922ee83..32d5b92 100644
--- a/core/tests/doctor.test.ts
+++ b/core/tests/doctor.test.ts
@@ -958,6 +958,21 @@ describe("Ekklesia Doctor diagnostics", () => {
     expect(report.result).toBe("ready-with-warnings");
   });
 
+  it("says whose client-address configuration it checked: this process's, not a running API's", async () => {
+    for (const clientAddress of [
+      undefined,
+      { header: "x-forwarded-for", mode: "trusted-proxy" as const, trustedProxies: ["10.0.0.1"] },
+      { header: "x-forwarded-for", mode: "trusted-proxy" as const, trustedProxies: ["bad"] },
+    ]) {
+      const report = await diagnoseEkklesia(
+        { ...options(), ...(clientAddress ? { clientAddress } : {}) },
+        dependencies(),
+      );
+      const details = check(report, "identity.client-address").details;
+      expect(details.some((detail) => detail.includes("environment Doctor runs with"))).toBe(true);
+    }
+  });
+
   it("passes client-address configuration with an explicitly configured trusted-proxy mode", async () => {
     const report = await diagnoseEkklesia(
       {
diff --git a/scripts/smoke-deploy.sh b/scripts/smoke-deploy.sh
index a133a65..26346d4 100755
--- a/scripts/smoke-deploy.sh
+++ b/scripts/smoke-deploy.sh
@@ -468,12 +468,16 @@ grep -q 'TLS required with certificate and hostname verification (explicit priva
   <<<"$doctor_output" || fail "Doctor did not report verify-full with the private CA."
 grep -q '✓ Object storage reachable' <<<"$doctor_output" ||
   fail "Doctor could not reach object storage over HTTPS."
+# Doctor runs as `migrate`; it must check the client-address configuration the API runs with, which
+# behind the proxy is trusted-proxy mode, not the direct mode an unconfigured process reports.
+grep -q 'Trusted-proxy client-address mode' <<<"$doctor_output" ||
+  fail "Doctor did not check the API's trusted-proxy client-address configuration."
 for value in "$postgres_password" "$s3_secret_key" "$identity_secret"; do
   if grep -qF -- "$value" <<<"$doctor_output"; then
     fail "Doctor output contains a secret."
   fi
 done
-echo "ok   Doctor: READY, verify-full with the private CA, storage reachable, no secret printed"
+echo "ok   Doctor: READY, verify-full with the private CA, storage reachable, the API's client-address mode, no secret printed"
 
 api_logs="$("${compose[@]}" logs --no-color api 2>&1)"
 for value in "$postgres_password" "$s3_secret_key" "$identity_secret" "$owner_password"; do
diff --git a/tests/deploy.test.ts b/tests/deploy.test.ts
index 8dcfe6a..d072e9d 100644
--- a/tests/deploy.test.ts
+++ b/tests/deploy.test.ts
@@ -153,6 +153,11 @@ describe("reference deployment compose files", () => {
       EKKLESIA_CLIENT_ADDRESS_MODE: "trusted-proxy",
       EKKLESIA_CLIENT_ADDRESS_TRUSTED_PROXIES: `${proxyAddress}/32`,
     });
+    // Doctor runs as `migrate`. Given anything else, it validates a configuration the API is not
+    // running, and reports "Direct" for an installation that trusts its proxy.
+    expect(proxyOverlay.services?.migrate?.environment).toEqual(
+      proxyOverlay.services?.api?.environment,
+    );
     expect(proxyOverlay.networks?.edge?.ipam?.config).toEqual([
       {
         ip_range: "${EKKLESIA_EDGE_DYNAMIC_RANGE:-10.249.250.0/25}",