diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index b0235f1..30864b1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -28,19 +28,19 @@ jobs:
         ports:
           - 5432:5432
         options: >-
-          --health-cmd "pg_isready -U ${{ secrets.POSTGRES_USER }} -d ${{ secrets.POSTGRES_DB }}"
+          --health-cmd pg_isready
           --health-interval 5s
           --health-timeout 5s
           --health-retries 10
 
     env:
       NODE_ENV: test
-      # Points to the service container above — never touches the VPS.
-      DATABASE_URL: ${{ secrets.DATABASE_URL }}
-      # JWT_SECRET must be ≥32 chars; using a fixed CI-only value is safe here.
+      # Built from individual secrets so the port is always 5432 (service container).
+      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://${{ secrets.POSTGRES_USER }}:${{ secrets.POSTGRES_PASSWORD }}@localhost:5432/${{ secrets.POSTGRES_DB }}
       JWT_SECRET: ${{ secrets.JWT_SECRET }}
       LOG_LEVEL: error
       PORT: 3000
+      FORCE_JAVASCRIPT_ACTIONS_TO_NODE24: true
 
     steps:
       - name: 🚚 Checkout Repository
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: ⚡️ Setup Bun
         uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v2
         with:
-          bun-version: latest
+          bun-version: 1.3.11
 
       - name: 📦 Install Dependencies
         run: bun install --frozen-lockfile
diff --git a/.github/workflows/stage.yml b/.github/workflows/stage.yml
index 5aa4cb8..3a172b1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/stage.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/stage.yml
@@ -1,153 +1,153 @@
-name: Staging Deploy
-
-# Triggers on pushes to the `develop` branch only.
-# This is the full staging pipeline: test with an isolated service container DB,
-# then deploy the whole stack to the staging VPS if tests pass.
-# The staging VPS uses its own .env.staging file — completely isolated from
-# the CI DB (ephemeral) and production DB.
-on:
-  push:
-    branches: [develop]
-
-concurrency:
-  # Cancel any in-progress staging deploy if a new commit is pushed.
-  group: staging-deploy-${{ github.ref }}
-  cancel-in-progress: true
-
-jobs:
-  # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-  # JOB 1: Test
-  # GitHub Actions service container provides an isolated, ephemeral Postgres.
-  # No staging or production DB credentials are used here.
-  # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-  test:
-    name: 🧪 Test (Service Container DB)
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-
-    services:
-      postgres:
-        image: postgres:16-alpine
-        env:
-          POSTGRES_USER: ci_user
-          POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ci_password
-          POSTGRES_DB: ci_test_db
-        ports:
-          - 5432:5432
-        options: >-
-          --health-cmd "pg_isready -U ci_user -d ci_test_db"
-          --health-interval 5s
-          --health-timeout 5s
-          --health-retries 10
-
-    env:
-      NODE_ENV: test
-      CI_TEST_DB_URL: postgresql://ci_user:ci_password@localhost:5432/ci_test_db
-      JWT_SECRET: ${{ secrets.CI_JWT_SECRET }}
-      LOG_LEVEL: error
-      PORT: 3000
-
-    steps:
-      - name: 🚚 Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-
-      - name: ⚡️ Setup Bun
-        uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v2
-        with:
-          bun-version: latest
-
-      - name: 📦 Install Dependencies
-        run: bun install --frozen-lockfile
-
-      - name: 🧹 Lint (Biome)
-        run: bun run lint
-
-      - name: 🛡️ Type Check
-        run: bun run typecheck
-
-      - name: 🗄️ Push Schema → Service Container DB
-        run: bunx drizzle-kit push --config=src/config/drizzle.config.ts --force
-
-      - name: 🧪 Unit Tests
-        run: bun run test:unit
-
-      - name: 🧪 Integration Tests
-        run: bun run test:integration
-
-      - name: 🏗️ Build
-        run: bun run build
-
-  # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-  # JOB 2: Deploy Full Stack to Staging VPS
-  # Runs ONLY when the test job above passes.
-  # SSHes into the staging VPS and brings the entire docker compose stack up,
-  # including the backend, database, Loki, and Grafana services.
-  # The staging VPS reads .env.staging which holds STAGING_DATABASE_URL,
-  # Loki/Grafana credentials, etc. — none of these ever appear in this file.
-  # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-  deploy-staging:
-    name: 🚀 Deploy to Staging VPS
-    needs: test
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-
-    environment:
-      name: staging
-      url: ${{ secrets.STAGING_APP_URL }}
-
-    steps:
-      - name: 🔑 Deploy via SSH
-        uses: appleboy/ssh-action@v1.0.3
-        with:
-          host: ${{ secrets.STAGING_VPS_HOST }}
-          username: ${{ secrets.STAGING_VPS_USER }}
-          key: ${{ secrets.STAGING_VPS_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}
-          port: ${{ secrets.STAGING_VPS_SSH_PORT }}
-          script: |
-            set -e
-
-            echo "──────────────────────────────────────────"
-            echo "  Deploying commit ${{ github.sha }} to staging"
-            echo "──────────────────────────────────────────"
-
-            cd ${{ secrets.STAGING_APP_DIR }}
-
-            # Pull latest code from develop branch
-            git fetch origin develop
-            git checkout develop
-            git pull origin develop
-
-            # Install / update dependencies
-            bun install --frozen-lockfile
-
-            # Apply any schema changes to the staging DB.
-            # NODE_ENV=production so drizzle.config.ts picks up PROD_DATABASE_URL,
-            # which in .env.staging points to the staging Postgres — not production.
-            NODE_ENV=production bunx drizzle-kit push \
-              --config=src/config/drizzle.config.ts \
-              --force
-
-            # Bring up the full stack (backend + db + loki + grafana)
-            # --remove-orphans cleans up containers from old compose definitions
-            docker compose \
-              -f docker-compose.staging.yml \
-              --env-file .env.staging \
-              up -d \
-              --build \
-              --remove-orphans
-
-            echo "✅ Staging deploy complete"
-
-      - name: 🩺 Health Check
-        # Wait up to 60 s for the app to respond before marking the deploy successful.
-        run: |
-          echo "Waiting for staging app to become healthy..."
-          for i in $(seq 1 12); do
-            STATUS=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" "${{ secrets.STAGING_APP_URL }}/health" || true)
-            if [ "$STATUS" = "200" ]; then
-              echo "✅ Health check passed (HTTP 200)"
-              exit 0
-            fi
-            echo "  Attempt $i/12 — got HTTP $STATUS, retrying in 5s..."
-            sleep 5
-          done
-          echo "❌ Health check failed after 60s"
-          exit 1
+# name: Staging Deploy
+
+# # Triggers on pushes to the `develop` branch only.
+# # This is the full staging pipeline: test with an isolated service container DB,
+# # then deploy the whole stack to the staging VPS if tests pass.
+# # The staging VPS uses its own .env.staging file — completely isolated from
+# # the CI DB (ephemeral) and production DB.
+# on:
+#   push:
+#     branches: [develop]
+
+# concurrency:
+#   # Cancel any in-progress staging deploy if a new commit is pushed.
+#   group: staging-deploy-${{ github.ref }}
+#   cancel-in-progress: true
+
+# jobs:
+#   # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+#   # JOB 1: Test
+#   # GitHub Actions service container provides an isolated, ephemeral Postgres.
+#   # No staging or production DB credentials are used here.
+#   # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+#   test:
+#     name: 🧪 Test (Service Container DB)
+#     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+#     services:
+#       postgres:
+#         image: postgres:16-alpine
+#         env:
+#           POSTGRES_USER: ci_user
+#           POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ci_password
+#           POSTGRES_DB: ci_test_db
+#         ports:
+#           - 5432:5432
+#         options: >-
+#           --health-cmd "pg_isready -U ci_user -d ci_test_db"
+#           --health-interval 5s
+#           --health-timeout 5s
+#           --health-retries 10
+
+#     env:
+#       NODE_ENV: test
+#       CI_TEST_DB_URL: postgresql://ci_user:ci_password@localhost:5432/ci_test_db
+#       JWT_SECRET: ${{ secrets.CI_JWT_SECRET }}
+#       LOG_LEVEL: error
+#       PORT: 3000
+
+#     steps:
+#       - name: 🚚 Checkout
+#         uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+#       - name: ⚡️ Setup Bun
+#         uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v2
+#         with:
+#           bun-version: latest
+
+#       - name: 📦 Install Dependencies
+#         run: bun install --frozen-lockfile
+
+#       - name: 🧹 Lint (Biome)
+#         run: bun run lint
+
+#       - name: 🛡️ Type Check
+#         run: bun run typecheck
+
+#       - name: 🗄️ Push Schema → Service Container DB
+#         run: bunx drizzle-kit push --config=src/config/drizzle.config.ts --force
+
+#       - name: 🧪 Unit Tests
+#         run: bun run test:unit
+
+#       - name: 🧪 Integration Tests
+#         run: bun run test:integration
+
+#       - name: 🏗️ Build
+#         run: bun run build
+
+#   # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+#   # JOB 2: Deploy Full Stack to Staging VPS
+#   # Runs ONLY when the test job above passes.
+#   # SSHes into the staging VPS and brings the entire docker compose stack up,
+#   # including the backend, database, Loki, and Grafana services.
+#   # The staging VPS reads .env.staging which holds STAGING_DATABASE_URL,
+#   # Loki/Grafana credentials, etc. — none of these ever appear in this file.
+#   # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+#   deploy-staging:
+#     name: 🚀 Deploy to Staging VPS
+#     needs: test
+#     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+#     environment:
+#       name: staging
+#       url: ${{ secrets.STAGING_APP_URL }}
+
+#     steps:
+#       - name: 🔑 Deploy via SSH
+#         uses: appleboy/ssh-action@v1.0.3
+#         with:
+#           host: ${{ secrets.STAGING_VPS_HOST }}
+#           username: ${{ secrets.STAGING_VPS_USER }}
+#           key: ${{ secrets.STAGING_VPS_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}
+#           port: ${{ secrets.STAGING_VPS_SSH_PORT }}
+#           script: |
+#             set -e
+
+#             echo "──────────────────────────────────────────"
+#             echo "  Deploying commit ${{ github.sha }} to staging"
+#             echo "──────────────────────────────────────────"
+
+#             cd ${{ secrets.STAGING_APP_DIR }}
+
+#             # Pull latest code from develop branch
+#             git fetch origin develop
+#             git checkout develop
+#             git pull origin develop
+
+#             # Install / update dependencies
+#             bun install --frozen-lockfile
+
+#             # Apply any schema changes to the staging DB.
+#             # NODE_ENV=production so drizzle.config.ts picks up PROD_DATABASE_URL,
+#             # which in .env.staging points to the staging Postgres — not production.
+#             NODE_ENV=production bunx drizzle-kit push \
+#               --config=src/config/drizzle.config.ts \
+#               --force
+
+#             # Bring up the full stack (backend + db + loki + grafana)
+#             # --remove-orphans cleans up containers from old compose definitions
+#             docker compose \
+#               -f docker-compose.staging.yml \
+#               --env-file .env.staging \
+#               up -d \
+#               --build \
+#               --remove-orphans
+
+#             echo "✅ Staging deploy complete"
+
+#       - name: 🩺 Health Check
+#         # Wait up to 60 s for the app to respond before marking the deploy successful.
+#         run: |
+#           echo "Waiting for staging app to become healthy..."
+#           for i in $(seq 1 12); do
+#             STATUS=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" "${{ secrets.STAGING_APP_URL }}/health" || true)
+#             if [ "$STATUS" = "200" ]; then
+#               echo "✅ Health check passed (HTTP 200)"
+#               exit 0
+#             fi
+#             echo "  Attempt $i/12 — got HTTP $STATUS, retrying in 5s..."
+#             sleep 5
+#           done
+#           echo "❌ Health check failed after 60s"
+#           exit 1
diff --git a/src/database/index.ts b/src/database/index.ts
index 6cddb97..8dfc411 100644
--- a/src/database/index.ts
+++ b/src/database/index.ts
@@ -18,11 +18,8 @@ export function getDb(): PostgresJsDatabase<typeof schema> {
   return database;
 }
 
-export const db = new Proxy({} as PostgresJsDatabase<typeof schema>, {
-  get(_target, prop, receiver) {
-    return Reflect.get(getDb(), prop, receiver);
-  },
-});
+export let db: PostgresJsDatabase<typeof schema> =
+  null as unknown as PostgresJsDatabase<typeof schema>;
 
 export const startDatabase = async (): Promise<void> => {
   queryClient = isProd
@@ -40,6 +37,7 @@ export const startDatabase = async (): Promise<void> => {
       });
 
   database = drizzle(queryClient, { schema });
+  db = database;
 
   await queryClient`SELECT 1`;
   logger.info(`Database connected [${env.NODE_ENV.toUpperCase()}]`);
@@ -54,6 +52,7 @@ export const stopDatabase = async (): Promise<void> => {
     await queryClient.end();
     queryClient = null;
     database = null;
+    db = null as unknown as PostgresJsDatabase<typeof schema>;
     logger.info("Database connection closed");
   } catch (error) {
     logger.error({ err: error }, "Error closing database connection");
diff --git a/tests/integration/helpers/index.ts b/tests/integration/helpers/index.ts
index 73c8d86..9f59c42 100644
--- a/tests/integration/helpers/index.ts
+++ b/tests/integration/helpers/index.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
-import { db } from "@/database";
+import { getDb } from "@/database";
 import { UserHelpers, todos, users } from "@/database/schema";
 import { signJwt } from "@/utils/auth";
 
 export async function setupTestContext(username: string) {
-  await db.delete(users);
+  await getDb().delete(users);
 
-  const user = await UserHelpers.create(db, {
+  const user = await UserHelpers.create(getDb(), {
     username,
     passwordRaw: "test-password",
   });
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ export async function createTestTodo(
   userId: number,
   overrides: Partial<{ title: string; completed: boolean }> = {},
 ) {
-  const [todo] = await db
+  const [todo] = await getDb()
     .insert(todos)
     .values({
       title: "Test todo",
diff --git a/tests/integration/todo.test.ts b/tests/integration/todo.test.ts
index 6400163..d983737 100644
--- a/tests/integration/todo.test.ts
+++ b/tests/integration/todo.test.ts
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ mock.module("@/utils/logger", () => {
 // ── Imports ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 import { createApp } from "@/app";
-import { db, startDatabase, stopDatabase } from "@/database";
+import { getDb, startDatabase, stopDatabase } from "@/database";
 import { todos, users } from "@/database/schema";
 import { Errors } from "@/utils/errors";
 import { createTestTodo, json, jsonReq, setupTestContext } from "./helpers";
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ let authed: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof setupTestContext>>["authed"];
 
 beforeAll(async () => {
   await startDatabase();
-  await db.delete(todos);
+  await getDb().delete(todos);
   const ctx = await setupTestContext("alice");
   userId = ctx.user.id;
   authHeader = ctx.authHeader;
@@ -38,8 +38,8 @@ beforeAll(async () => {
 });
 
 afterAll(async () => {
-  await db.delete(todos);
-  await db.delete(users);
+  await getDb().delete(todos);
+  await getDb().delete(users);
   await stopDatabase();
 });
 
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ describe("GET /api/todos", () => {
   });
 
   it("returns 200 with all todos belonging to the authenticated user", async () => {
-    await db.insert(todos).values([
+    await getDb().insert(todos).values([
       { title: "Buy milk", completed: false, user_id: userId },
       { title: "Walk dog", completed: true, user_id: userId },
     ]);
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ describe("GET /api/todos", () => {
     expect(body.data[0].title).toBe("Buy milk");
     expect(body.data[1].title).toBe("Walk dog");
 
-    await db.delete(todos);
+    await getDb().delete(todos);
   });
 });
 
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ describe("GET /api/todos/:id", () => {
   });
 
   afterAll(async () => {
-    await db.delete(todos);
+    await getDb().delete(todos);
   });
 
   it("returns 401 when not authenticated", async () => {
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ describe("PUT /api/todos/:id", () => {
   });
 
   afterAll(async () => {
-    await db.delete(todos);
+    await getDb().delete(todos);
   });
 
   it("returns 401 when not authenticated", async () => {
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ describe("DELETE /api/todos/:id", () => {
   });
 
   afterAll(async () => {
-    await db.delete(todos);
+    await getDb().delete(todos);
   });
 
   it("returns 401 when not authenticated", async () => {
diff --git a/tests/integration/auth.test.ts b/tests/unit/auth.test.ts
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/integration/auth.test.ts
rename to tests/unit/auth.test.ts