diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index a30f45ef..c12bf417 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -59,6 +59,8 @@ $ npm run db:studio
 
 > **Note** `npm run build` needs to be executed the first time running the project. As it generates a `build/server.js` script that `npm run dev` depends on. Subsequent times, only `npm run dev` is needed to run the app in development mode.
 
+> **Note** If you are running test scripts for the first time, change `DATABASE_URL` in `.env` to `DATABASE_URL="mysql://starchart:starchart_password@127.0.0.1:3306/starchart"` and run `npm run setup` to setup the test database. You can change this back afterward.
+
 ## SAML Accounts to use in Dev
 
 Our IDP is configured with a few accounts that exist for testing, the usernames and passwords to use are as follows:
diff --git a/config/01-databases.sql b/config/01-databases.sql
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7b248e21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/01-databases.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+-- create test databases
+CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS `starchart_test`;
+
+-- create root user and grant rights
+CREATE USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'root_password';
+GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'root'@'%';
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 16adc209..28e04d65 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ services:
     volumes:
       # Persist data to ./mysql-data. Remove if you want to clear the db.
       - ./mysql-data:/var/lib/mysql
+      # Locate SQL file to setup test database
+      - ./config/01-databases.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init/01-databases.sql
     environment:
       MYSQL_DATABASE: starchart
       MYSQL_USER: starchart
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 666de185..be744016 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -22,10 +22,10 @@
     "setup": "run-s db:generate db:push db:seed",
     "start": "cross-env NODE_ENV=production node ./build/server.js",
     "start:e2e": "cross-env NODE_ENV=test node --require dotenv/config ./build/server.js",
-    "test": "cross-env SECRETS_OVERRIDE=1 NODE_OPTIONS=--require=dotenv/config vitest",
-    "test:e2e:dev": "cross-env PORT=8080 start-server-and-test dev http://localhost:8080 \"playwright test\"",
+    "test": "cross-env SECRETS_OVERRIDE=1 DATABASE_URL='mysql://root:root_password@127.0.0.1:3306/starchart_test' NODE_OPTIONS=--require=dotenv/config vitest",
+    "test:e2e:dev": "cross-env PORT=8080 DATABASE_URL='mysql://root:root_password@127.0.0.1:3306/starchart_test' start-server-and-test dev http://localhost:8080 \"playwright test\"",
     "pretest:e2e:run": "cross-env NODE_ENV=test SECRETS_OVERRIDE=1 run-s build",
-    "test:e2e:run": "cross-env SECRETS_OVERRIDE=1 PORT=8080 start-server-and-test start:e2e http://localhost:8080 \"playwright test\"",
+    "test:e2e:run": "cross-env SECRETS_OVERRIDE=1 PORT=8080 DATABASE_URL='mysql://root:root_password@127.0.0.1:3306/starchart_test' start-server-and-test start:e2e http://localhost:8080 \"playwright test\"",
     "typecheck": "tsc",
     "validate": "run-p \"test -- --run\" lint typecheck test:e2e:run",
     "prepare": "husky install"