diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 20e3127..1cdd990 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -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` - Generate types and structure dumps. By default this runs migrations against an in-memory PGlite instance, so no running postgres is required. Use `pgstrap generate --no-pglite` to generate against a real postgres database from your environment instead.
 - `npm run db:create-migration` - Create a new migration file
 
 ### Configuration
diff --git a/src/cli.ts b/src/cli.ts
index 9a9bdec..68f5baf 100644
--- a/src/cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli.ts
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ 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", default: true })
     },
     async (argv) => {
       generate({ ...(await getProjectContext()), pglite: !!argv.pglite })
diff --git a/src/generate.ts b/src/generate.ts
index f337094..09294e8 100644
--- a/src/generate.ts
+++ b/src/generate.ts
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ export const generate = async ({
   schemas,
   defaultDatabase,
   dbDir,
-  pglite = false,
+  pglite = true,
   migrationsDir,
 }: Pick<Context, "schemas" | "defaultDatabase" | "dbDir"> & {
   pglite?: boolean
diff --git a/tests/generate.default.test.ts b/tests/generate.default.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..66e7c6c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/generate.default.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+import { test, expect } from "bun:test"
+import fs from "fs"
+import os from "os"
+import path from "path"
+import { generate } from "../src/generate"
+
+const migrationFile = `
+exports.up = async (pgm) => {
+  pgm.createTable('foo', { id: 'id' })
+}
+exports.down = async (pgm) => {
+  pgm.dropTable('foo')
+}
+`
+
+test("generate defaults to pglite so no running postgres is required", async () => {
+  const tmp = fs.mkdtempSync(
+    path.join(os.tmpdir(), "pgstrap-generate-default-"),
+  )
+  const migrationsDir = path.join(tmp, "migrations")
+  fs.mkdirSync(migrationsDir, { recursive: true })
+  fs.writeFileSync(
+    path.join(migrationsDir, "001_create_table.js"),
+    migrationFile,
+  )
+
+  await generate({
+    schemas: ["public"],
+    defaultDatabase: "postgres",
+    dbDir: path.join(tmp, "db"),
+    migrationsDir,
+  })
+
+  const zapatosFile = path.join(tmp, "db", "zapatos", "schema.d.ts")
+  const structureDir = path.join(
+    tmp,
+    "db",
+    "structure",
+    "public",
+    "tables",
+    "foo",
+  )
+
+  expect(fs.existsSync(zapatosFile)).toBe(true)
+  expect(fs.existsSync(path.join(structureDir, "table.sql"))).toBe(true)
+
+  fs.rmSync(tmp, { recursive: true, force: true })
+})