diff --git a/lib/actions/chat.ts b/lib/actions/chat.ts
index f36f2cf6..55e9a178 100644
--- a/lib/actions/chat.ts
+++ b/lib/actions/chat.ts
@@ -153,6 +153,7 @@ export async function saveSystemPrompt(
 ): Promise<{ success?: boolean; error?: string }> {
   if (!userId) return { error: 'User ID is required' }
   if (!prompt) return { error: 'Prompt is required' }
+  if (!db) return { error: 'Database is not available' }
 
   try {
     await db.update(users)
@@ -170,6 +171,10 @@ export async function getSystemPrompt(
   userId: string
 ): Promise<string | null> {
   if (!userId) return null
+  if (!db) {
+    console.error('getSystemPrompt: Database is not available')
+    return null
+  }
 
   try {
     const result = await db.select({ systemPrompt: users.systemPrompt })
diff --git a/lib/db/index.ts b/lib/db/index.ts
index 0283d9a3..dad6aad7 100644
--- a/lib/db/index.ts
+++ b/lib/db/index.ts
@@ -5,21 +5,28 @@ import * as schema from './schema';
 
 dotenv.config({ path: '.env.local' });
 
-if (!process.env.DATABASE_URL) {
-  throw new Error('DATABASE_URL environment variable is not set for Drizzle client');
-}
+let db: ReturnType<typeof drizzle<typeof schema>> | null = null;
 
-const poolConfig: PoolConfig = {
-  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
-};
+try {
+  if (!process.env.DATABASE_URL) {
+    console.error('DATABASE_URL environment variable is not set for Drizzle client');
+  } else {
+    const poolConfig: PoolConfig = {
+      connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
+    };
 
-// Conditionally apply SSL for Supabase URLs
-if (process.env.DATABASE_URL && process.env.DATABASE_URL.includes('supabase.co')) {
-  poolConfig.ssl = {
-    rejectUnauthorized: false,
-  };
-}
+    // Conditionally apply SSL for Supabase URLs
+    if (process.env.DATABASE_URL.includes('supabase.co')) {
+      poolConfig.ssl = {
+        rejectUnauthorized: false,
+      };
+    }
 
-const pool = new Pool(poolConfig);
+    const pool = new Pool(poolConfig);
+    db = drizzle(pool, { schema, logger: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' });
+  }
+} catch (error) {
+  console.error('Failed to initialize database connection:', error);
+}
 
-export const db = drizzle(pool, { schema, logger: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' });
+export { db };