diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 8109df49..d44fc05b 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -15,12 +15,12 @@ Dispatch is a self-hosted Next.js/TypeScript Kanban and work dispatch layer for
 ## Key Commands
 
 ```bash
-npm install          # Install dependencies
+npm install          # Install dependencies (runs `prisma generate` via postinstall)
 npm run dev          # Start development server
 npm run build        # Production build
 npm run lint         # Lint check
 npm run typecheck    # TypeScript check
-npx prisma generate  # Generate Prisma client
+npm run db:generate  # Regenerate Prisma client (also runs on postinstall; re-run after editing schema.prisma)
 npm run db:push      # Push schema (dev)
 npm run db:deploy    # Deploy migrations (prod)
 ```
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 34ffcb2b..9e2bb595 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
     "test:watch": "NODE_ENV=development vitest",
     "test:coverage": "NODE_ENV=development vitest run --coverage",
     "typecheck": "NODE_ENV=development tsc --noEmit",
+    "postinstall": "test -f prisma/schema.prisma && prisma generate || true",
     "db:generate": "prisma generate",
     "db:push": "prisma db push",
     "db:migrate": "prisma migrate dev",
diff --git a/prisma.config.ts b/prisma.config.ts
index 42236169..410a1935 100644
--- a/prisma.config.ts
+++ b/prisma.config.ts
@@ -1,16 +1,14 @@
 import { defineConfig } from "prisma/config";
 
+// NOTE: do not throw when DATABASE_URL is unset. This config is loaded by every
+// Prisma CLI invocation, including `prisma generate` (run on postinstall), which
+// needs only the schema — not a live datasource URL. Throwing here broke fresh
+// clones: `npm install` -> postinstall -> generate -> throw. The datasource URL
+// is supplied only when present (for migrate/deploy/studio); the app enforces
+// DATABASE_URL at runtime via src/lib/prisma.ts.
 const databaseUrl = process.env.DATABASE_URL;
 
-if (!databaseUrl) {
-  throw new Error(
-    "DATABASE_URL is not set. Please set the DATABASE_URL environment variable before starting the application.",
-  );
-}
-
 export default defineConfig({
   schema: "prisma/schema.prisma",
-  datasource: {
-    url: databaseUrl,
-  },
+  ...(databaseUrl ? { datasource: { url: databaseUrl } } : {}),
 });