diff --git a/crates/engine/src/tests_lightroom_folder.rs b/crates/engine/src/tests_lightroom_folder.rs
index cdf9905c4..eccff23ac 100644
--- a/crates/engine/src/tests_lightroom_folder.rs
+++ b/crates/engine/src/tests_lightroom_folder.rs
@@ -155,13 +155,22 @@ fn odd_folders_never_fail_the_check() {
     #[cfg(unix)]
     {
         use std::os::unix::ffi::OsStrExt;
-        let bad = root.join(std::ffi::OsStr::from_bytes(b"caf\xe9 Previews.lrdata"));
-        std::fs::create_dir_all(&bad).unwrap();
-        std::fs::write(root.join("Cat.lrcat"), b"x").unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(lightroom_catalog_at(&bad), Some(LightroomPlace { catalog: Some(root.join("Cat.lrcat")) }), "non-UTF-8 name");
-        let lr = root.join(std::ffi::OsStr::from_bytes(b"\xff\xfe"));
+        // APFS (macOS) refuses names that are not valid UTF-8 (EILSEQ): there the non-UTF-8 cases are skipped and
+        // the symlink cases below still run on a plain-named catalog folder
+        let probe = root.join(std::ffi::OsStr::from_bytes(b"\xff"));
+        let utf8_only = std::fs::create_dir(&probe).is_err();
+        let _ = std::fs::remove_dir(&probe);
+        if !utf8_only {
+            let bad = root.join(std::ffi::OsStr::from_bytes(b"caf\xe9 Previews.lrdata"));
+            std::fs::create_dir_all(&bad).unwrap();
+            std::fs::write(root.join("Cat.lrcat"), b"x").unwrap();
+            assert_eq!(lightroom_catalog_at(&bad), Some(LightroomPlace { catalog: Some(root.join("Cat.lrcat")) }), "non-UTF-8 name");
+        }
+        let lr = root.join(if utf8_only { std::ffi::OsStr::new("lr") } else { std::ffi::OsStr::from_bytes(b"\xff\xfe") });
         std::fs::create_dir_all(&lr).unwrap();
-        std::fs::write(lr.join(std::ffi::OsStr::from_bytes(b"\xff.lrcat")), b"x").unwrap();
+        if !utf8_only {
+            std::fs::write(lr.join(std::ffi::OsStr::from_bytes(b"\xff.lrcat")), b"x").unwrap();
+        }
         std::fs::write(lr.join("b.lrcat"), b"x").unwrap();
         assert_eq!(lightroom_catalog_at(&lr), Some(LightroomPlace { catalog: Some(lr.join("b.lrcat")) }), "non-UTF-8 entries skipped");
         // a symlink to a catalog folder is one too; a dangling one is not