diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+# v0.2.0.2
+
+## Fixes
+
+- Connection startup now forwards extra conninfo params (e.g. `application_name`, `options`) instead of silently dropping everything but `user` and `database`, so they reach the server the way libpq's do. Caught by the new differential coverage in `pqi-conformance` 0.1.1.0.
+
 # v0.2.0.1
 
 Documentation corrections.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -3,9 +3,15 @@
 [![Hackage](https://img.shields.io/hackage/v/pqi-native.svg)](https://hackage.haskell.org/package/pqi-native)
 [![Continuous Haddock](https://img.shields.io/badge/haddock-master-blue)](https://nikita-volkov.github.io/pqi-native/)
 
-> **Status: Alpha.** This is a young, LLM-generated reimplementation of `libpq`'s
-> wire protocol handling. It is verified against a conformance suite (see
-> below), but it hasn't seen much production use yet. See
+> **Status: Alpha.** `pqi-native` is an early implementation of a pure-Haskell
+> transport for [`pqi`](https://github.com/nikita-volkov/pqi). It exists
+> alongside [`pqi-ffi`](https://github.com/nikita-volkov/pqi-ffi), the
+> established C-backed adapter, and the two are fully interchangeable: any
+> code written against `pqi` runs unchanged on either one, so trying
+> `pqi-native` carries no lock-in and no rewrite cost. Correctness is checked
+> continuously against a conformance suite (see below), but the adapter
+> hasn't yet accumulated production mileage. If you need a production-proven
+> transport today, use `pqi-ffi`. See
 > [_Making libpq a choice_](https://nikita-volkov.github.io/pqi-making-libpq-a-choice/)
 > for why this project exists and what tradeoffs that implies.
 
@@ -13,7 +19,9 @@
 that speaks the PostgreSQL frontend/backend wire protocol directly — no
 dependency on the C `libpq` library.
 
-`pqi-native` is an LLM-generated port of the PostgreSQL C client library, [`libpq`](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/libpq.html). The upstream [`libpq` source](https://github.com/postgres/postgres/tree/master/src/interfaces/libpq) is the direct reference for the implementation.
+`pqi-native` reimplements the wire protocol handled by the PostgreSQL C
+client library, [`libpq`](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/libpq.html),
+from scratch in Haskell. The upstream [`libpq` source](https://github.com/postgres/postgres/tree/master/src/interfaces/libpq) is the direct reference for the implementation.
 
 ## Fidelity goal
 
@@ -30,7 +38,15 @@
 **Alpha.** The full `Pqi.Connection` capability record is implemented and
 verified against the `postgresql-libpq` reference via the conformance
 differential suite, but the library hasn't yet accumulated real-world
-production mileage. Read
+production mileage.
+
+Because it implements the same `pqi` interface as
+[`pqi-ffi`](https://github.com/nikita-volkov/pqi-ffi), switching between the
+two is a one-line change — pass a different `Adapter` value, nothing else in
+your code moves. That makes `pqi-native` low-risk to evaluate now and easy to
+fall back from: adopt it where you want to shed the `libpq` dependency, and
+drop back to `pqi-ffi` at any time without touching the rest of your
+codebase. Read
 [_Making libpq a choice_](https://nikita-volkov.github.io/pqi-making-libpq-a-choice/)
 for the motivation and the tradeoffs of adopting it at this stage.
 
diff --git a/pqi-native.cabal b/pqi-native.cabal
--- a/pqi-native.cabal
+++ b/pqi-native.cabal
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 cabal-version: 3.0
 name: pqi-native
-version: 0.2.0.1
+version: 0.2.0.2
 category: Database, PostgreSQL
 synopsis: Native (pure-Haskell) adapter for pqi
 description:
@@ -146,5 +146,5 @@
   build-depends:
     base >=4.11 && <5,
     hspec >=2.11 && <2.12,
-    pqi-conformance ^>=0.1,
+    pqi-conformance ^>=0.1.1,
     pqi-native,
diff --git a/src/library/Pqi/Native/Connection.hs b/src/library/Pqi/Native/Connection.hs
--- a/src/library/Pqi/Native/Connection.hs
+++ b/src/library/Pqi/Native/Connection.hs
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import qualified Data.ByteString as ByteString
 import qualified Data.ByteString.Char8 as ByteString.Char8
 import qualified Data.Map.Strict as Map
+import qualified Data.Set as Set
 import Pqi (ConnStatus (..), Notify (..), PipelineStatus (..), Verbosity (..))
 import qualified Pqi.Native.Auth as Auth
 import Pqi.Native.Prelude
@@ -36,7 +37,11 @@
     port :: Int,
     user :: ByteString,
     database :: ByteString,
-    password :: ByteString
+    password :: ByteString,
+    -- | Every other recognized @key=value@ pair (e.g. @application_name@,
+    -- @options@), forwarded verbatim in the startup message so the server
+    -- sees them, the way libpq does.
+    extraParams :: Map.Map ByteString ByteString
   }
   deriving stock (Eq, Show)
 
@@ -71,7 +76,8 @@
       port = maybe 5432 fst (ByteString.Char8.readInt (get "port" "5432")),
       user = theUser,
       database = get "dbname" theUser,
-      password = get "password" ""
+      password = get "password" "",
+      extraParams = Map.withoutKeys settings reservedKeys
     }
   where
     pairs = mapMaybe toPair (ByteString.Char8.words raw)
@@ -83,12 +89,17 @@
         | not (ByteString.null value) -> Just (key, ByteString.drop 1 value)
       _ -> Nothing
 
+-- | Conninfo keys already surfaced via their own 'ConnInfo' fields, so they're
+-- excluded from 'extraParams' rather than duplicated there.
+reservedKeys :: Set.Set ByteString
+reservedKeys = Set.fromList ["host", "port", "user", "dbname", "password"]
+
 -- | Parse the authority+path portion of a @postgresql://@ URI (scheme already
 -- stripped). Handles @[user[:password]@][host[:port]][/dbname]@; ignores query
 -- parameters other than what appears in those components.
 parseUri :: ByteString -> ByteString -> ConnInfo
 parseUri dfltUser withoutScheme =
-  ConnInfo {host, port, user, database, password}
+  ConnInfo {host, port, user, database, password, extraParams}
   where
     -- Split off optional "userinfo@" prefix. The '@' is unambiguous in this
     -- position: hosts do not contain '@' in practice.
@@ -115,6 +126,21 @@
         then user
         else pctDecode rawDbname
 
+    -- Everything after the first '?', parsed as '&'-separated key=value pairs
+    -- (e.g. ?application_name=foo&sslmode=disable).
+    rawQuery = ByteString.drop 1 (ByteString.dropWhile (/= 0x3f) pathAndQuery)
+
+    extraParams =
+      Map.withoutKeys
+        (Map.fromList (mapMaybe toQueryPair (ByteString.split 0x26 rawQuery)))
+        reservedKeys
+
+    toQueryPair token = case ByteString.elemIndex 0x3d token of
+      Just i ->
+        let (k, v) = ByteString.splitAt i token
+         in if ByteString.null k then Nothing else Just (pctDecode k, pctDecode (ByteString.drop 1 v))
+      Nothing -> Nothing
+
     -- Parse host and port from "host:port", handling IPv6 "[::1]:port".
     (host, port)
       | not (ByteString.null hostport) && ByteString.head hostport == 0x5b =
@@ -241,7 +267,7 @@
       pure connection
     Right transport -> do
       connection <- newConnection False transport info
-      sendMessage connection (startupMessage [("user", user info), ("database", database info)])
+      sendMessage connection (startupMessage (startupParams info))
       handshake connection
       pure connection
 
@@ -268,8 +294,14 @@
   writeIORef (txStatus connection) 0x49
   writeIORef (connStatus connection) ConnectionBad
   writeIORef (lastError connection) (Just "")
-  sendMessage connection (startupMessage [("user", user (info connection)), ("database", database (info connection))])
+  sendMessage connection (startupMessage (startupParams (info connection)))
   handshake connection
+
+-- | The startup message parameter list: @user@ and @database@, plus any
+-- extra conninfo params (e.g. @application_name@) forwarded verbatim.
+startupParams :: ConnInfo -> [(ByteString, ByteString)]
+startupParams info =
+  ("user", user info) : ("database", database info) : Map.toList (extraParams info)
 
 newConnection :: Bool -> Transport -> ConnInfo -> IO Connection
 newConnection isNull transport info = do