diff --git a/src/lib/db.ts b/src/lib/db.ts
index 9bdde18..0c7acbc 100644
--- a/src/lib/db.ts
+++ b/src/lib/db.ts
@@ -8,11 +8,31 @@ declare global {
 // Guard: don't attempt a real DB connection at build time when env vars are absent.
 // During `next build` inside Docker, DB_HOST is not injected — only available at runtime.
 function createPrismaClient(connectionLimit: number): PrismaClient {
-  const host = process.env.DB_HOST || 'localhost';
+  if (!process.env.DB_HOST) {
+    // Return a proxy that immediately rejects all database calls to prevent build-time hangs.
+    const dummyPrisma = new Proxy({} as any, {
+      get(target, prop) {
+        if (prop === '$transaction') {
+          return (fn: any) => fn(dummyPrisma);
+        }
+        if (typeof prop === 'string' && prop.startsWith('$')) {
+          return () => Promise.reject(new Error('Database not available during build'));
+        }
+        return new Proxy({}, {
+          get(subTarget, subProp) {
+            return () => Promise.reject(new Error('Database not available during build'));
+          }
+        });
+      }
+    });
+    return dummyPrisma;
+  }
+
+  const host = process.env.DB_HOST;
   const port = Number(process.env.DB_PORT) || 3306;
-  const user = process.env.DB_USERNAME || 'dummy';
-  const password = process.env.DB_PASSWORD || 'dummy';
-  const database = process.env.DB_NAME || 'dummy';
+  const user = process.env.DB_USERNAME;
+  const password = process.env.DB_PASSWORD;
+  const database = process.env.DB_NAME;
 
   const adapter = new PrismaMariaDb({
     host,