diff --git a/src/env.mjs b/src/env.mjs
index 34f9ddf3..924cb446 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: ['DATABASE_URL'],
+    },
+  )
 
 /**
  * You can't destruct `process.env` as a regular object in the Next.js edge runtimes (e.g.
diff --git a/src/server/prisma.ts b/src/server/prisma.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index f6d9c92a..00000000
--- a/src/server/prisma.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Instantiates a single instance PrismaClient and save it on the global object.
- * @link https://www.prisma.io/docs/support/help-articles/nextjs-prisma-client-dev-practices
- */
-import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'
-import { env } from '~/env.mjs'
-
-const prismaGlobal = global as typeof global & {
-  prisma?: PrismaClient
-}
-
-export const prisma: PrismaClient =
-  prismaGlobal.prisma ||
-  new PrismaClient({
-    log: env.NODE_ENV === 'development' ? ['error', 'warn'] : ['error'],
-  })
-
-if (env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
-  prismaGlobal.prisma = prisma
-}
diff --git a/src/server/prisma/index.ts b/src/server/prisma/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9b5ecb2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/server/prisma/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+/**
+ * Instantiates a single instance PrismaClient and save it on the global object.
+ * @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
+}
+
+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
+}
diff --git a/src/server/prisma/pglite.ts b/src/server/prisma/pglite.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..46746574
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/server/prisma/pglite.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+import { PGlite } from '@electric-sql/pglite'
+import { PrismaPGlite } from 'pglite-prisma-adapter'
+import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'
+import { readdirSync, readFileSync, statSync } from 'node:fs'
+
+export const makePgliteClient = () => {
+  const client = new PGlite()
+  const adapter = new PrismaPGlite(client)
+  return {
+    client,
+    prisma: new PrismaClient({ adapter }),
+  }
+}
+
+export const applyMigrations = async (client: PGlite) => {
+  const prismaMigrationDir = './prisma/migrations'
+  const directory = readdirSync(prismaMigrationDir).sort()
+  for (const file of directory) {
+    const name = `${prismaMigrationDir}/${file}`
+    if (statSync(name).isDirectory()) {
+      const migration = readFileSync(`${name}/migration.sql`, 'utf8')
+      await client.exec(migration)
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/vitest.setup.ts b/vitest.setup.ts
index c2853626..1b153b11 100644
--- a/vitest.setup.ts
+++ b/vitest.setup.ts
@@ -1,18 +1,13 @@
 import { vi } from 'vitest'
-import { PGlite } from '@electric-sql/pglite'
-import { PrismaPGlite } from 'pglite-prisma-adapter'
-import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'
-import { readdirSync, readFileSync, statSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { makePgliteClient, applyMigrations } from '~/server/prisma/pglite'
 
-const client = new PGlite()
-const adapter = new PrismaPGlite(client)
-const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter })
+const { client, prisma } = makePgliteClient()
 
 vi.mock('./src/server/prisma', () => ({
   prisma,
 }))
 
-export const resetDb = async () => {
+const resetDb = async () => {
   try {
     await client.exec(`DROP SCHEMA public CASCADE`)
     await client.exec(`CREATE SCHEMA public`)
@@ -21,21 +16,9 @@ export const resetDb = async () => {
   }
 }
 
-const applyMigrations = async () => {
-  const prismaMigrationDir = './prisma/migrations'
-  const directory = readdirSync(prismaMigrationDir).sort()
-  for (const file of directory) {
-    const name = `${prismaMigrationDir}/${file}`
-    if (statSync(name).isDirectory()) {
-      const migration = readFileSync(`${name}/migration.sql`, 'utf8')
-      await client.exec(migration)
-    }
-  }
-}
-
 // Apply migrations before each test
 beforeEach(async () => {
-  await applyMigrations()
+  await applyMigrations(client)
 })
 
 // Clean up the database after each test