diff --git a/tests/discourse/compose.ccci-health.yml b/tests/discourse/compose.ccci-health.yml
index 2da506e..5d959a6 100644
--- a/tests/discourse/compose.ccci-health.yml
+++ b/tests/discourse/compose.ccci-health.yml
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 # This is DEPLOY/infra tuning, not a test change — no assertion is weakened, and the app's real
 # healthcheck still gates readiness. Applied via recipe_meta COMPOSE_FILE. The `app` service name is
 # verified against the PR-head compose (ci/bitnamilegacy-repin: services.app holds the healthcheck).
+version: "3.8"  # MUST match compose.yml's version — abra lint R011/R012 FATAs on a mismatch
 services:
   app:
     healthcheck: