diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 20e3127..dddb1f3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ npm install pgstrap --save-dev
    npm run db:migrate
    ```
 
-6. Generate types and structure:
+6. Generate types and structure without starting a separate PostgreSQL server:
    ```bash
    npm run db:generate
    ```
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ npm install pgstrap --save-dev
 
 - `npm run db:migrate` - Run pending migrations
 - `npm run db:reset` - Drop and recreate the database, then run all migrations
-- `npm run db:generate` - Generate types and structure dumps. Use `pgstrap generate --pglite` to run migrations against an in-memory PGlite instance.
+- `npm run db:generate` - Run migrations against in-memory PGlite and generate types and structure dumps. Use `pgstrap generate --no-pglite` to use an externally running PostgreSQL database instead.
 - `npm run db:create-migration` - Create a new migration file
 
 ### Configuration
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ export async function up(pgm: MigrationBuilder): Promise<void> {
 }
 
 export async function down(pgm: MigrationBuilder): Promise<void> {
-  // Code to revert your migration (optional)
+  // Code to revert the migration (optional)
 }
 ```
 
@@ -116,7 +116,6 @@ export async function up(pgm: MigrationBuilder): Promise<void> {
       default: pgm.func("current_timestamp"),
     },
   })
-
   pgm.createIndex("users", "username")
 }
 
@@ -142,4 +141,4 @@ This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file
 
 If you encounter any issues or have questions, please file an issue on the [GitHub repository](https://github.com/seveibar/pgstrap/issues).
 
-Happy coding with pgstrap! 🚀
+Happy coding with pgstrap!
diff --git a/src/cli.ts b/src/cli.ts
index 9a9bdec..ea47171 100644
--- a/src/cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli.ts
@@ -35,10 +35,17 @@ import { getProjectContext } from "./get-project-context"
     "generate",
     "generate types and sql documentation from database",
     (yargs) => {
-      yargs.option("pglite", { type: "boolean", default: false })
+      yargs.option("pglite", {
+        type: "boolean",
+        describe:
+          "run migrations in an in-memory PGlite database (enabled by default; use --no-pglite for an external Postgres database)",
+      })
     },
     async (argv) => {
-      generate({ ...(await getProjectContext()), pglite: !!argv.pglite })
+      generate({
+        ...(await getProjectContext()),
+        pglite: argv.pglite as boolean | undefined,
+      })
     },
   )
   .parse()
diff --git a/src/generate.ts b/src/generate.ts
index f337094..be9bfd1 100644
--- a/src/generate.ts
+++ b/src/generate.ts
@@ -8,11 +8,13 @@ import { dumpTree } from "pg-schema-dump"
 import path from "path"
 import { migrate } from "./migrate"
 
+export const shouldUsePglite = (pglite?: boolean) => pglite !== false
+
 export const generate = async ({
   schemas,
   defaultDatabase,
   dbDir,
-  pglite = false,
+  pglite,
   migrationsDir,
 }: Pick<Context, "schemas" | "defaultDatabase" | "dbDir"> & {
   pglite?: boolean
@@ -21,7 +23,7 @@ export const generate = async ({
   dbDir = dbDir ?? "./src/db"
   migrationsDir = migrationsDir ?? path.join(dbDir, "migrations")
 
-  if (pglite) {
+  if (shouldUsePglite(pglite)) {
     const { PGlite } = await import("@electric-sql/pglite")
     const { fromNodeSocket } = await import("pg-gateway/node")
     const net = await import("node:net")
diff --git a/tests/generate-mode.test.ts b/tests/generate-mode.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5dd0073
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/generate-mode.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+import { expect, test } from "bun:test"
+import { shouldUsePglite } from "../src/generate"
+
+test("type generation uses PGlite unless external Postgres is explicitly requested", () => {
+  expect(shouldUsePglite()).toBe(true)
+  expect(shouldUsePglite(true)).toBe(true)
+  expect(shouldUsePglite(false)).toBe(false)
+})