diff --git a/src/env.js b/src/env.js
index ecc0dd7e6..faf05cac6 100644
--- a/src/env.js
+++ b/src/env.js
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ const env = createEnv({
    * isn't built with invalid env vars.
    */
   server: {
-    DATABASE_URL: z.string().url(),
+    DATABASE_URL: z.string().url().default('file:../database/db.sqlite'),
     NEXTAUTH_SECRET:
       process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production' ? z.string().min(1) : z.string().min(1).optional(),
     NEXTAUTH_URL: z.preprocess(