diff --git a/lib/prisma.ts b/lib/prisma.ts
index 7305975..ee79e31 100644
--- a/lib/prisma.ts
+++ b/lib/prisma.ts
@@ -5,15 +5,13 @@ const globalForPrisma = globalThis as unknown as {
   prisma: PrismaClient | undefined;
 };
 
-const connectionString = process.env.DATABASE_URL;
-
-if (!connectionString) {
-  throw new Error('DATABASE_URL is not set');
-}
-
 // Prisma 7 connects through a driver adapter instead of a schema-level `url`.
-// PrismaPg manages its own pg connection pool from the connection string.
-const adapter = new PrismaPg({ connectionString });
+// PrismaPg manages its own pg connection pool. The pool connects lazily (on the
+// first query), so constructing it at import time is safe even when
+// DATABASE_URL is unset — e.g. during `next build`, which imports route modules
+// to collect page data. A missing URL surfaces as a clear error on first query
+// rather than crashing the build.
+const adapter = new PrismaPg({ connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL });
 
 export const prisma =
   globalForPrisma.prisma ??