diff --git a/providers/postgresql/sandbox.go b/providers/postgresql/sandbox.go
index f5bfd12..5fb65c4 100644
--- a/providers/postgresql/sandbox.go
+++ b/providers/postgresql/sandbox.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
 
 	"github.com/ProxySQL/dbdeployer/providers"
 )
@@ -20,6 +21,10 @@ func (p *PostgreSQLProvider) CreateSandbox(config providers.SandboxConfig) (*pro
 	logDir := filepath.Join(dataDir, "log")
 	logFile := filepath.Join(config.Dir, "postgresql.log")
 
+	if err := checkLinuxLayout(basedir, binDir); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
 	replication := config.Options["replication"] == "true"
 
 	// Run initdb (data dir must not exist or must be empty)
@@ -94,3 +99,35 @@ func (p *PostgreSQLProvider) resolveBasedir(config providers.SandboxConfig) (str
 	}
 	return basedirFromVersion(config.Version)
 }
+
+// checkLinuxLayout detects PostgreSQL extractions produced by older
+// versions of dbdeployer (before issue #112 was fixed). In the old layout,
+// <basedir>/bin/<binary> were regular files; PG's make_relative_path() then
+// failed to relocate the compiled-in SHAREDIR (`/usr/share/postgresql/<major>`),
+// so initdb died with "could not open directory /usr/share/postgresql/<major>/timezonesets".
+//
+// New extractions place the real binaries under
+// <basedir>/lib/postgresql/<major>/bin/ and expose them via symlinks at
+// <basedir>/bin/. If we find a regular file there on Linux, the user
+// needs to re-run unpack.
+func checkLinuxLayout(basedir, binDir string) error {
+	if runtime.GOOS != "linux" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	fi, err := os.Lstat(filepath.Join(binDir, "postgres"))
+	if err != nil {
+		// Missing binary will be reported by the initdb step below with a
+		// clearer error than we could produce here.
+		return nil
+	}
+	if fi.Mode()&os.ModeSymlink != 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return fmt.Errorf(
+		"PostgreSQL binaries at %s were unpacked by an older dbdeployer using\n"+
+			"a layout incompatible with deb-packaged PostgreSQL — initdb would fail\n"+
+			"to find share files (see issue #112). Re-run unpack to fix:\n"+
+			"    dbdeployer unpack --provider=postgresql <server.deb> <client.deb>",
+		basedir,
+	)
+}
diff --git a/providers/postgresql/unpack.go b/providers/postgresql/unpack.go
index 3384b3b..76ad764 100644
--- a/providers/postgresql/unpack.go
+++ b/providers/postgresql/unpack.go
@@ -63,23 +63,50 @@ func UnpackDebs(serverDeb, clientDeb, targetDir string) error {
 	major := strings.Split(version, ".")[0]
 
 	srcBin := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "usr", "lib", "postgresql", major, "bin")
-	srcLib := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "usr", "lib", "postgresql", major, "lib")
+	srcPgLib := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "usr", "lib", "postgresql", major, "lib")
 	srcShare := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "usr", "share", "postgresql", major)
 
-	dstBin := filepath.Join(targetDir, "bin")
-	dstLib := filepath.Join(targetDir, "lib")
-	dstShare := filepath.Join(targetDir, "share")
+	// Destination layout mirrors Debian's compile-time prefix so that PG's
+	// make_relative_path() (src/port/path.c) succeeds at runtime. Debian
+	// builds PG with BINDIR=/usr/lib/postgresql/<major>/bin and
+	// SHAREDIR=/usr/share/postgresql/<major>; the common prefix is just
+	// /usr/, so for PG to relocate SHAREDIR to <basedir>/share/postgresql/<major>
+	// the running binary's parent directory must end in
+	// "lib/postgresql/<major>/bin". Same logic applies to PKGLIBDIR.
+	//
+	// We therefore place the real binaries and extension libs under
+	// <basedir>/lib/postgresql/<major>/, and expose them via symlinks at
+	// <basedir>/bin/ so existing callers (sandbox.go, scripts.go) keep
+	// working. On Linux, PG's find_my_exec() reads /proc/self/exe which
+	// resolves symlinks to the real file, so launching via the symlink
+	// still gives PG the relocatable path it needs.
+	dstPgBin := filepath.Join(targetDir, "lib", "postgresql", major, "bin")
+	dstPgLib := filepath.Join(targetDir, "lib", "postgresql", major, "lib")
+	dstShare := filepath.Join(targetDir, "share")                       // flat, for `initdb -L`
+	dstPgShare := filepath.Join(targetDir, "share", "postgresql", major) // nested, for postgres runtime
+	dstBin := filepath.Join(targetDir, "bin")                           // symlinks into dstPgBin
 
-	for _, dir := range []string{dstBin, dstLib, dstShare} {
+	// Make UnpackDebs idempotent: remove any prior extraction artifacts
+	// in the subtrees we own so re-running unpack picks up the latest
+	// layout cleanly (in particular when migrating from a pre-fix layout
+	// where <basedir>/bin/<binary> were real files instead of symlinks).
+	for _, dir := range []string{dstBin, filepath.Join(targetDir, "lib"), dstShare} {
+		if err := os.RemoveAll(dir); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("removing stale %s: %w", dir, err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	for _, dir := range []string{dstPgBin, dstPgLib, dstShare, dstPgShare, dstBin} {
 		if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0755); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("creating directory %s: %w", dir, err)
 		}
 	}
 
 	copies := []struct{ src, dst string }{
-		{srcBin, dstBin},
-		{srcLib, dstLib},
-		{srcShare, dstShare},
+		{srcBin, dstPgBin},
+		{srcPgLib, dstPgLib},
+		{srcShare, dstShare},   // flat copy for `initdb -L`
+		{srcShare, dstPgShare}, // nested copy for postgres server runtime
 	}
 	for _, c := range copies {
 		if _, err := os.Stat(c.src); os.IsNotExist(err) {
@@ -91,17 +118,21 @@ func UnpackDebs(serverDeb, clientDeb, targetDir string) error {
 		}
 	}
 
-	// The postgres binary resolves share data relative to its own binary as
-	// ../share/postgresql/<major>/ (compiled-in prefix from deb packaging).
-	// Copy share files there too so both initdb (-L share/) and the postgres
-	// server binary can find timezonesets and other share data.
-	pgShareCompat := filepath.Join(dstShare, "postgresql", major)
-	if err := os.MkdirAll(pgShareCompat, 0755); err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("creating compat share dir: %w", err)
+	// Expose every server-side binary as <basedir>/bin/<name>, symlinked
+	// into the nested lib/postgresql/<major>/bin/ directory.
+	entries, err := os.ReadDir(dstPgBin)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("reading %s: %w", dstPgBin, err)
 	}
-	compatCmd := exec.Command("cp", "-a", srcShare+"/.", pgShareCompat+"/") //nolint:gosec // paths are from controlled deb extraction
-	if output, err := compatCmd.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("copying share to compat path: %s: %w", string(output), err)
+	for _, entry := range entries {
+		if entry.IsDir() {
+			continue
+		}
+		linkTarget := filepath.Join("..", "lib", "postgresql", major, "bin", entry.Name())
+		linkPath := filepath.Join(dstBin, entry.Name())
+		if err := os.Symlink(linkTarget, linkPath); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("symlinking %s -> %s: %w", linkPath, linkTarget, err)
+		}
 	}
 
 	for _, bin := range RequiredBinaries() {