diff --git a/src/commands/dev/programmatic-netlify-dev.ts b/src/commands/dev/programmatic-netlify-dev.ts
index 994a2fc5732..aad154ebf17 100644
--- a/src/commands/dev/programmatic-netlify-dev.ts
+++ b/src/commands/dev/programmatic-netlify-dev.ts
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ export const startNetlifyDev = async ({
 
   if (process.env.NETLIFY_DB_URL) {
     env.NETLIFY_DB_URL = { sources: ['internal'], value: process.env.NETLIFY_DB_URL }
+    process.env.NETLIFY_DB_DRIVER = 'server'
   }
 
   return netlifyDev