diff --git a/backend/app/__init__.py b/backend/app/__init__.py
index 879e685..98fb323 100644
--- a/backend/app/__init__.py
+++ b/backend/app/__init__.py
@@ -54,16 +54,14 @@ def create_app(env=None):
 
     # ── Development safety: ensure base tables exist ───────────────────────
     # If a local DB is created in a partially migrated state, endpoints like
-    # login will crash with "no such table". For development only, auto-create
-    # tables when the critical `users` table is missing.
-    if env in ("development", "testing"):
-        with app.app_context():
-            from . import models  # noqa: F401
-
-            try:
-                db.create_all()
-            except Exception as e:
-                app.logger.error(f"Auto-migration failed: {str(e)}")
+    # login will crash with "no such table". Auto-create missing tables.
+    with app.app_context():
+        from . import models  # noqa: F401
+
+        try:
+            db.create_all()
+        except Exception as e:
+            app.logger.error(f"Auto-migration failed: {str(e)}")
 
     # ── Blueprints ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
     from .routes.auth import auth_bp
diff --git a/backend/app/config.py b/backend/app/config.py
index 5b29382..727291c 100644
--- a/backend/app/config.py
+++ b/backend/app/config.py
@@ -75,7 +75,12 @@ class ProductionConfig(Config):
     """Production Configuration."""
 
     DEBUG = False
-    SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI = os.environ.get("DATABASE_URL") or "sqlite:///production.db"
+
+    db_url = os.environ.get("DATABASE_URL")
+    if db_url and db_url.startswith("postgres://"):
+        db_url = db_url.replace("postgres://", "postgresql://", 1)
+
+    SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI = db_url or "sqlite:///production.db"
 
 
 config = {
diff --git a/backend/requirements.txt b/backend/requirements.txt
index 2ec0f5e..2ccf0f3 100644
--- a/backend/requirements.txt
+++ b/backend/requirements.txt
@@ -54,3 +54,4 @@ urllib3==2.6.3
 Werkzeug==3.1.5
 wsproto==1.3.2
 yarg==0.1.10
+psycopg2-binary==2.9.9