diff --git a/src/env.mjs b/src/env.mjs
index 34f9ddf3..98b6c55b 100644
--- a/src/env.mjs
+++ b/src/env.mjs
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ const sgidServerSchema = z.discriminatedUnion('NEXT_PUBLIC_ENABLE_SGID', [
  */
 const server = z
   .object({
-    DATABASE_URL: z.string().url(),
+    DATABASE_URL: z.string().url().optional(),
     NODE_ENV: z.enum(['development', 'test', 'production']),
     OTP_EXPIRY: z.coerce.number().positive().optional().default(600),
     POSTMAN_API_KEY: z.string().optional(),
@@ -122,6 +122,17 @@ const server = z
     message: 'SENDGRID_FROM_ADDRESS is required when SENDGRID_API_KEY is set',
     path: ['SENDGRID_FROM_ADDRESS'],
   })
+  .refine(
+    (val) =>
+      val.NODE_ENV === 'development' ||
+      val.NODE_ENV === 'test' ||
+      val.DATABASE_URL,
+    {
+      message:
+        'DATABASE_URL has to be set if NODE_ENV is not development or test',
+      path: ['SENDGRID_FROM_ADDRESS'],
+    },
+  )
 
 /**
  * You can't destruct `process.env` as a regular object in the Next.js edge runtimes (e.g.
diff --git a/src/server/prisma/index.ts b/src/server/prisma/index.ts
index f6d9c92a..9b5ecb2b 100644
--- a/src/server/prisma/index.ts
+++ b/src/server/prisma/index.ts
@@ -3,17 +3,36 @@
  * @link https://www.prisma.io/docs/support/help-articles/nextjs-prisma-client-dev-practices
  */
 import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'
+import pino from 'pino'
 import { env } from '~/env.mjs'
+import { makePgliteClient, applyMigrations } from './pglite'
 
 const prismaGlobal = global as typeof global & {
   prisma?: PrismaClient
 }
 
-export const prisma: PrismaClient =
-  prismaGlobal.prisma ||
-  new PrismaClient({
-    log: env.NODE_ENV === 'development' ? ['error', 'warn'] : ['error'],
-  })
+const choosePrismaClient = () => {
+  if (
+    !env.DATABASE_URL &&
+    (env.NODE_ENV === 'development' || env.NODE_ENV === 'test')
+  ) {
+    pino().warn({}, 'DATABASE_URL not set, using pglite')
+    const { client, prisma: pglitePrismaClient } = makePgliteClient()
+    // Inject an env var to appease Prisma
+    process.env.DATABASE_URL = 'postgres://using:pglite@localhost:5432/'
+    void applyMigrations(client)
+    return pglitePrismaClient
+  } else {
+    return (
+      prismaGlobal.prisma ||
+      new PrismaClient({
+        log: env.NODE_ENV === 'development' ? ['error', 'warn'] : ['error'],
+      })
+    )
+  }
+}
+
+export const prisma: PrismaClient = choosePrismaClient()
 
 if (env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
   prismaGlobal.prisma = prisma