diff --git a/src/db/client.ts b/src/db/client.ts
index a8f9c94..d411e2e 100644
--- a/src/db/client.ts
+++ b/src/db/client.ts
@@ -31,9 +31,6 @@ export function getDb(env?: Env) {
   let authToken: string | undefined;
 
   if (typeof Bun !== 'undefined') {
-    // Check if we're running in test mode
-    // The test runner (run-tests.ts) overrides TURSO_DATABASE_URL with the test database
-    // so we can just use the regular environment variables
     databaseUrl = Bun.env.TURSO_DATABASE_URL;
     authToken = Bun.env.TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN;
   } else if (env) {
@@ -42,12 +39,15 @@ export function getDb(env?: Env) {
     authToken = env.TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN;
   }
 
+  // Standalone fallback: if no external Turso database is provided, fall back to local container SQLite file
   if (!databaseUrl) {
-    throw new Error('TURSO_DATABASE_URL environment variable is required');
+    console.log('[Database Client] TURSO_DATABASE_URL not found. Falling back to local SQLite: file:local.db');
+    databaseUrl = "file:local.db";
   }
 
   if (!authToken) {
-    throw new Error('TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN environment variable is required');
+    console.log('[Database Client] TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN not found. Using mock-token.');
+    authToken = "mock-token";
   }
 
   // Create Turso client
diff --git a/src/db/migrate.ts b/src/db/migrate.ts
index 8c95759..5ec83c5 100644
--- a/src/db/migrate.ts
+++ b/src/db/migrate.ts
@@ -11,15 +11,17 @@ console.log('🚀 Running database migrations...');
 
 async function runMigrations() {
   // Get database URL and auth token
-  const databaseUrl = process.env.TURSO_DATABASE_URL || Bun.env?.TURSO_DATABASE_URL;
-  const authToken = process.env.TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN || Bun.env?.TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN;
+  let databaseUrl = process.env.TURSO_DATABASE_URL || Bun.env?.TURSO_DATABASE_URL;
+  let authToken = process.env.TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN || Bun.env?.TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN;
 
   if (!databaseUrl) {
-    throw new Error('TURSO_DATABASE_URL environment variable is required');
+    console.log('[Migration] TURSO_DATABASE_URL not found. Migrating local SQLite: file:local.db');
+    databaseUrl = "file:local.db";
   }
 
   if (!authToken) {
-    throw new Error('TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN environment variable is required');
+    console.log('[Migration] TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN not found. Using mock-token.');
+    authToken = "mock-token";
   }
 
   // Create Turso client
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index 1f17158..4cddbb1 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,21 @@ import type { HonoContext } from './types/context';
 
 const app = new Hono<HonoContext>();
 
+// Auto-run migrations on startup if using local SQLite fallback inside container
+const isBunRuntime = typeof Bun !== 'undefined';
+if (isBunRuntime && !Bun.env.TURSO_DATABASE_URL) {
+  console.log('[Startup] Auto-running database migrations for local SQLite...');
+  try {
+    const proc = Bun.spawnSync(["bun", "run", "src/db/migrate.ts"]);
+    console.log('[Startup] Migration output:', proc.stdout?.toString());
+    if (proc.stderr && proc.stderr.length > 0) {
+      console.error('[Startup] Migration error:', proc.stderr.toString());
+    }
+  } catch (err) {
+    console.error('[Startup] Failed to run database migrations on boot:', err);
+  }
+}
+
 // Determine if running in development mode
 const isDevelopment = typeof Bun !== 'undefined' ? Bun.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production' : false;