diff --git a/instrumentation.ts b/instrumentation.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8e31b2e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/instrumentation.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+// Open the game DB once at server boot (Next ≥15 instrumentation hook; runs under `next dev`
+// and `next start`) so the ./db volume file exists from first start, before any request.
+// Dynamic import inside the runtime guard: lib/db/client.ts uses node:fs + sql.js, which must
+// never be pulled into the Edge Runtime instrumentation bundle (Next bundles register() for both).
+export async function register() {
+  if (process.env.NEXT_RUNTIME === 'nodejs') {
+    const { getGameDb } = await import('@/lib/db/client');
+    void getGameDb();
+  }
+}
diff --git a/lib/db/client.test.ts b/lib/db/client.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e5bd553
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/db/client.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+import { mkdtemp, rm, stat } from 'node:fs/promises';
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { afterAll, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { openGameDb, persist } from './client';
+
+const dir = await mkdtemp(path.join(tmpdir(), 'sw-db-test-'));
+const file = path.join(dir, 'test.db');
+
+afterAll(async () => {
+  await rm(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+function metaValue(db: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof openGameDb>>, key: string): string | undefined {
+  const rows = db.raw.exec('SELECT value FROM _meta WHERE key = ?', [key]);
+  return rows[0]?.values[0][0] as string | undefined;
+}
+
+describe('db client (sql.js/Drizzle plumbing)', () => {
+  it('creates a valid DB file on disk when opening a fresh path', async () => {
+    const db = await openGameDb(file);
+    expect(db.file).toBe(file);
+    const s = await stat(file);
+    expect(s.size).toBeGreaterThan(0); // persisted at first open, not left in-memory only
+    expect(metaValue(db, 'created_at')).toMatch(/^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}T/);
+  });
+
+  it('preserves state across reopen (volume persistence)', async () => {
+    const created = metaValue(await openGameDb(file), 'created_at');
+    expect(created).toBeDefined();
+    const db = await openGameDb(file); // second process would see the same file
+    expect(db.raw.exec('PRAGMA integrity_check')[0].values[0][0]).toBe('ok');
+    expect(metaValue(db, 'created_at')).toBe(created); // not re-stamped on reopen
+  });
+
+  it('persist() rewrites the file atomically (tmp + rename)', async () => {
+    const db = await openGameDb(file);
+    await persist(db);
+    const s = await stat(file);
+    expect(s.size).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    // no leftover tmp file after a clean persist
+    let tmpGone = true;
+    try {
+      await stat(`${file}.tmp`);
+      tmpGone = false;
+    } catch {
+      /* expected */
+    }
+    expect(tmpGone).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/lib/db/client.ts b/lib/db/client.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..54b2984
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/db/client.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+import fs from 'node:fs/promises';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { drizzle, type SQLJsDatabase } from 'drizzle-orm/sql-js';
+import initSqlJs, { type Database as RawSqlJsDatabase } from 'sql.js';
+import * as schema from './schema';
+
+// SQLite via sql.js (WASM) — no native compilation, so it builds and runs in the
+// Docker image without a toolchain. Trade-off: the DB lives in memory and every write
+// must be exported to disk; persist() does that atomically (tmp file + rename).
+
+export interface GameDb {
+  db: SQLJsDatabase<typeof schema>;
+  raw: RawSqlJsDatabase;
+  file: string;
+}
+
+// CREATE TABLE statements mirroring lib/db/schema.ts — keep in sync. Game tables land with
+// the turn engine; _meta is DB plumbing (not game state): a brand-new sql.js database exports
+// as ZERO bytes, so without at least one real table there would be nothing valid to persist
+// on the ./db volume from first boot.
+const DDL = `
+CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS _meta (key TEXT PRIMARY KEY, value TEXT);
+`;
+
+// SPACE_WANDERER_DB_PATH override exists so unit tests can point at a temp file instead
+// of the real ./db/space-wanderer.db.
+export function defaultDbPath(): string {
+  return process.env.SPACE_WANDERER_DB_PATH ?? path.join(process.cwd(), 'db', 'space-wanderer.db');
+}
+
+async function open(file: string): Promise<GameDb> {
+  const SQL = await initSqlJs();
+  let bytes: Buffer | undefined;
+  try {
+    bytes = await fs.readFile(file);
+  } catch (err) {
+    if ((err as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== 'ENOENT') throw err;
+  }
+  const raw = bytes ? new SQL.Database(new Uint8Array(bytes)) : new SQL.Database();
+  raw.exec(DDL); // no-op for tables that already exist in an older file
+
+  const instance: GameDb = { db: drizzle(raw, { schema }), raw, file };
+
+  // First run: stamp when this DB was created and land the file on disk so the ./db volume
+  // mount has a valid SQLite file to persist from boot (instrumentation.ts opens at server start).
+  if (!bytes) {
+    raw.run('INSERT OR IGNORE INTO _meta (key, value) VALUES (?, ?)', ['created_at', new Date().toISOString()]);
+    await persist(instance);
+  }
+  return instance;
+}
+
+// Durably save the in-memory DB: export bytes, write to a temp file, rename over
+// the target so a crash mid-write never leaves a truncated DB.
+export async function persist(instance: GameDb): Promise<void> {
+  const bytes = instance.raw.export();
+  await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(instance.file), { recursive: true });
+  const tmp = `${instance.file}.tmp`;
+  await fs.writeFile(tmp, Buffer.from(bytes));
+  await fs.rename(tmp, instance.file);
+}
+
+// Singleton for the app process; openGameDb() is the uncached variant (tests).
+// Lives on globalThis because Next.js can load this module more than once per process —
+// instrumentation.ts and route handlers get separate module instances, so a plain `let`
+// would give each its own in-memory sql.js DB (both persisting to the same file). One world per process.
+const g = globalThis as unknown as { __spaceWandererGameDb?: Promise<GameDb> };
+
+export function getGameDb(): Promise<GameDb> {
+  return (g.__spaceWandererGameDb ??= open(defaultDbPath()));
+}
+
+export async function openGameDb(file: string): Promise<GameDb> {
+  return open(file);
+}
diff --git a/lib/db/schema.ts b/lib/db/schema.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f7f7410
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/db/schema.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+// Drizzle schema for game state. EMPTY on purpose at scaffold stage (v0.1.0) — no game
+// tables yet; the first turn-engine/ship/crew tables land with the first game systems.
+// Column names/types here are the source of truth; matching CREATE TABLE statements live
+// in lib/db/client.ts (DDL) and must stay in sync with this file.
+
+export {};