diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/build_and_test.yml b/.gitea/workflows/build_and_test.yml
index 13a987b49..a6c1774ca 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/build_and_test.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/build_and_test.yml
@@ -666,8 +666,9 @@ jobs:
           # wrote -- which is what the first case of two of these jobs used to risk.
           # Indexing must succeed, not just run: a first IDXREF refinement above 2 px is a false
           # minimum (Durin fell into one at 6 px while XDS.INP started 7 px off the beam centre). And
-          # SPOT.XDS, which is deterministic, is kept per layout: a plugin must find the same spots in
-          # every layout, since they all hold the same pixels.
+          # SPOT.XDS is kept per layout: a plugin must find the same spots in every layout, since they
+          # all hold the same pixels. Only COLSPOT's columns (x, y, frame, intensity) are compared:
+          # IDXREF writes its h,k,l back into the file, and its choice of basis is not deterministic.
           xds_case() { # <dir> <layout> <jfjoch_hdf5_test flags...>
             local dir=$1 layout=$2; shift 2
             cd "tests/$dir"
@@ -683,7 +684,8 @@ jobs:
           same_spots() { # <dir> <layouts...>: every layout gave the same SPOT.XDS
             local dir=$1 first=$2; shift 2
             for l in "$@"; do
-              [ "$(md5sum < "tests/$dir/SPOT.XDS.$first")" = "$(md5sum < "tests/$dir/SPOT.XDS.$l")" ] \
+              [ "$(awk '{print $1, $2, $3, $4}' "tests/$dir/SPOT.XDS.$first" | md5sum)" = \
+                "$(awk '{print $1, $2, $3, $4}' "tests/$dir/SPOT.XDS.$l" | md5sum)" ] \
                 || { echo "$dir: SPOT.XDS of $l differs from $first"; return 1; }
             done
           }