diff --git a/db/c_nostr_relay.db b/db/c_nostr_relay.db
index 6daae4e..119ced1 100644
Binary files a/db/c_nostr_relay.db and b/db/c_nostr_relay.db differ
diff --git a/db/c_nostr_relay.db-shm b/db/c_nostr_relay.db-shm
index 5a66779..fe9ac28 100644
Binary files a/db/c_nostr_relay.db-shm and b/db/c_nostr_relay.db-shm differ
diff --git a/db/c_nostr_relay.db-wal b/db/c_nostr_relay.db-wal
index dd482d1..e69de29 100644
Binary files a/db/c_nostr_relay.db-wal and b/db/c_nostr_relay.db-wal differ
diff --git a/relay.pid b/relay.pid
index ad7027f..3895e14 100644
--- a/relay.pid
+++ b/relay.pid
@@ -1 +1 @@
-913504
+943745
diff --git a/src/main.c b/src/main.c
index 01965c8..df78133 100644
--- a/src/main.c
+++ b/src/main.c
@@ -1941,8 +1941,15 @@ int validate_event_expiration(cJSON* event, char* error_message, size_t error_si
 
 // Initialize database connection and schema
 int init_database() {
-    // Use configurable database path, falling back to default
-    const char* db_path = get_config_value("database_path");
+    // Priority 1: Command line database path override
+    const char* db_path = getenv("C_RELAY_DATABASE_PATH_OVERRIDE");
+    
+    // Priority 2: Configuration system (if available)
+    if (!db_path) {
+        db_path = get_config_value("database_path");
+    }
+    
+    // Priority 3: Default path
     if (!db_path) {
         db_path = DEFAULT_DATABASE_PATH;
     }
@@ -3012,15 +3019,18 @@ void print_usage(const char* program_name) {
     printf("C Nostr Relay Server\n");
     printf("\n");
     printf("Options:\n");
-    printf("  -p, --port PORT       Listen port (default: %d)\n", DEFAULT_PORT);
-    printf("  -c, --config FILE     Configuration file path\n");
-    printf("  -d, --config-dir DIR  Configuration directory path\n");
-    printf("  -h, --help            Show this help message\n");
+    printf("  -p, --port PORT          Listen port (default: %d)\n", DEFAULT_PORT);
+    printf("  -c, --config FILE        Configuration file path\n");
+    printf("  -d, --config-dir DIR     Configuration directory path\n");
+    printf("  -D, --database-path PATH Database file path (default: %s)\n", DEFAULT_DATABASE_PATH);
+    printf("  -h, --help               Show this help message\n");
     printf("\n");
     printf("Examples:\n");
     printf("  %s --config /path/to/config.json\n", program_name);
     printf("  %s --config-dir ~/.config/c-relay-dev\n", program_name);
     printf("  %s --port 9999 --config-dir /etc/c-relay\n", program_name);
+    printf("  %s --database-path /var/lib/c-relay/relay.db\n", program_name);
+    printf("  %s --database-path ./test.db --port 7777\n", program_name);
     printf("\n");
 }
 
@@ -3028,6 +3038,7 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
     int port = DEFAULT_PORT;
     char* config_dir_override = NULL;
     char* config_file_override = NULL;
+    char* database_path_override = NULL;
     
     // Parse command line arguments
     for (int i = 1; i < argc; i++) {
@@ -3065,6 +3076,13 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
                 log_error("Config directory argument requires a value");
                 return 1;
             }
+        } else if (strcmp(argv[i], "-D") == 0 || strcmp(argv[i], "--database-path") == 0) {
+            if (i + 1 < argc) {
+                database_path_override = argv[++i];
+            } else {
+                log_error("Database path argument requires a value");
+                return 1;
+            }
         } else {
             log_error("Unknown argument");
             print_usage(argv[0]);
@@ -3086,12 +3104,27 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
     
     printf(BLUE BOLD "=== C Nostr Relay Server ===" RESET "\n");
     
+    // Apply database path override BEFORE any database operations
+    if (database_path_override) {
+        log_info("Database path override specified from command line");
+        printf("  Override path: %s\n", database_path_override);
+        // Set environment variable so init_database can use the correct path
+        setenv("C_RELAY_DATABASE_PATH_OVERRIDE", database_path_override, 1);
+    }
+    
     // Initialize database FIRST (required for configuration system)
     if (init_database() != 0) {
         log_error("Failed to initialize database");
         return 1;
     }
     
+    // Store database path override in configuration if specified
+    if (database_path_override) {
+        if (set_database_config("database_path", database_path_override, "command_line") != 0) {
+            log_warning("Failed to store database path override in configuration");
+        }
+    }
+    
     // Initialize nostr library BEFORE configuration system
     // (required for Nostr event generation in config files)
     if (nostr_init() != 0) {
diff --git a/test_db.db-shm b/test_db.db-shm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..168ff31
Binary files /dev/null and b/test_db.db-shm differ
diff --git a/test_db.db-wal b/test_db.db-wal
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d89a3be
Binary files /dev/null and b/test_db.db-wal differ