diff --git a/test/blackbox-tests/test-cases/dune-init/github8252.t b/test/blackbox-tests/test-cases/dune-init/github8252.t
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..685c8c64e8b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/blackbox-tests/test-cases/dune-init/github8252.t
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+01_module is not a valid module name, this should be detected before trying to `dune build`:
+
+  $ dune init project 01_module
+  Entering directory '01_module'
+  Success: initialized project component named 01_module
+  Leaving directory '01_module'