diff --git a/internal/dbtest/msgpack_test.go b/internal/dbtest/msgpack_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..08b900456
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/dbtest/msgpack_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+package dbtest_test
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"github.com/uptrace/bun"
+)
+
+// TestMsgpackTag verifies the behaviour of the `,msgpack` struct tag per
+// dialect. The tag encodes values as a PostgreSQL bytea hex literal, so it
+// only works on PostgreSQL. On other dialects the value used to be stored
+// verbatim as text and silently corrupted, failing on scan with a cryptic
+// "msgpack: unexpected code=5c" error (#1219, #519). It must now fail fast at
+// insert time with a clear, actionable error instead.
+func TestMsgpackTag(t *testing.T) {
+	type Item struct {
+		Something int `msgpack:"something"`
+	}
+
+	type NonPGMsgpackModel struct {
+		bun.BaseModel `bun:"table:msgpack_models"`
+
+		ID      int64  `bun:",pk,autoincrement"`
+		Name    string `bun:",notnull"`
+		Encoded Item   `bun:",msgpack"`
+	}
+
+	t.Run("non-pg", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Run("sqlite", func(t *testing.T) {
+			db := sqlite(t)
+			ctx := context.Background()
+			mustResetModel(t, ctx, db, (*NonPGMsgpackModel)(nil))
+
+			model := &NonPGMsgpackModel{Name: "test", Encoded: Item{Something: 1}}
+
+			// Non-PostgreSQL: the insert must fail rather than silently storing a
+			// corrupted value. Following bun's existing value-append error pattern
+			// (see appendDriverValue), the readable reason is embedded in the
+			// generated SQL via dialect.AppendError and the database rejects it.
+			q := db.NewInsert().Model(model)
+			require.Contains(t, q.String(),
+				"msgpack struct tag is only supported by the PostgreSQL dialect")
+
+			_, err := q.Exec(ctx)
+			require.Error(t, err)
+		})
+	})
+
+	t.Run("pg", func(t *testing.T) {
+		testMsgpackTagPostgres(t, pg(t))
+	})
+
+	t.Run("pgx", func(t *testing.T) {
+		testMsgpackTagPostgres(t, pgx(t))
+	})
+}
+
+func testMsgpackTagPostgres(t *testing.T, db *bun.DB) {
+	type Item struct {
+		Something int `msgpack:"something"`
+	}
+
+	type MsgpackModel struct {
+		bun.BaseModel `bun:"table:msgpack_models"`
+
+		ID      int64  `bun:",pk,autoincrement"`
+		Name    string `bun:",notnull"`
+		Encoded Item   `bun:"type:bytea,msgpack"`
+	}
+
+	t.Helper()
+
+	t.Run(db.String(), func(t *testing.T) {
+		ctx := context.Background()
+		mustResetModel(t, ctx, db, (*MsgpackModel)(nil))
+
+		model := &MsgpackModel{Name: "test", Encoded: Item{Something: 1}}
+
+		// Regression: msgpack must keep round-tripping on PostgreSQL.
+		_, err := db.NewInsert().Model(model).Exec(ctx)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+
+		got := new(MsgpackModel)
+		err = db.NewSelect().Model(got).Where("id = ?", model.ID).Scan(ctx)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.Equal(t, model.Encoded, got.Encoded)
+	})
+}
diff --git a/schema/append_value.go b/schema/append_value.go
index fb3166daf..50bc5fd6f 100644
--- a/schema/append_value.go
+++ b/schema/append_value.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package schema
 
 import (
 	"database/sql/driver"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"net"
 	"reflect"
@@ -289,7 +290,18 @@ func addrAppender(fn AppenderFunc) AppenderFunc {
 	}
 }
 
+// appendMsgpack encodes v as msgpack and appends it as a PostgreSQL bytea hex
+// literal (\x...). The msgpack struct tag is only supported by the PostgreSQL
+// dialect: other dialects store the \x literal verbatim as text, so the value
+// fails to decode on scan (see issues #1219 and #519). For non-PostgreSQL
+// dialects use a custom type (driver.Valuer / sql.Scanner) instead.
 func appendMsgpack(gen QueryGen, b []byte, v reflect.Value) []byte {
+	if gen.Dialect().Name() != dialect.PG {
+		return dialect.AppendError(b, errors.New(
+			"bun: the msgpack struct tag is only supported by the PostgreSQL dialect; "+
+				"for other dialects use a custom type (driver.Valuer / sql.Scanner)"))
+	}
+
 	hexEnc := internal.NewHexEncoder(b)
 
 	enc := msgpack.GetEncoder()
diff --git a/schema/scan.go b/schema/scan.go
index 306f55f6f..cd5c7bcbe 100644
--- a/schema/scan.go
+++ b/schema/scan.go
@@ -331,6 +331,10 @@ func scanScanner(dest reflect.Value, src any) error {
 	return dest.Interface().(sql.Scanner).Scan(src)
 }
 
+// scanMsgpack decodes a msgpack-encoded value. The msgpack struct tag is only
+// supported by the PostgreSQL dialect; on other dialects appendMsgpack rejects
+// the value at insert time, so a corrupted value never reaches this scanner
+// (see issues #1219 and #519).
 func scanMsgpack(dest reflect.Value, src any) error {
 	if src == nil {
 		return scanNull(dest)