diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index 3ee676e..0af99cb 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -3,10 +3,28 @@
 The ASGI app is driven in-process via httpx + asgi-lifespan (no network, no
 running server). DB/Redis-backed integration fixtures arrive with the data
 layer (plan §11 step 2).
+
+DB safety
+---------
+Integration fixtures call ``Base.metadata.drop_all`` / ``create_all`` on
+``get_engine()``. That engine is built from ``DATABASE_URL``, which in normal
+runs points at the *developer's* database — ``localhost:5432/mcma`` for host
+``pytest`` and ``db:5432/mcma`` for ``make test-api`` (which execs ``pytest``
+inside the api container). Running the suite there silently wipes real data:
+``drop_all`` removes every ORM table while leaving Alembic's ``alembic_version``
+(it lives outside ``Base.metadata``) — the exact "tables keep disappearing,
+version survives" symptom.
+
+To make that impossible, this module redirects every test to a dedicated
+``<db>_test`` database *before settings/engine load*, and creates it on demand.
+The real dev database is never opened by the test suite.
 """
 
+import asyncio
 import os
 from collections.abc import AsyncIterator
+from pathlib import Path
+from urllib.parse import urlsplit, urlunsplit
 
 import pytest
 from asgi_lifespan import LifespanManager
@@ -17,6 +35,67 @@ os.environ.setdefault("ENVIRONMENT", "test")
 os.environ.setdefault("JWT_SECRET", "test-secret")
 
 
+def _base_database_url() -> str:
+    """Resolve the DB URL the app *would* use, mirroring pydantic-settings
+    precedence: real env var → ``.env`` file → the app's compiled-in default."""
+    if env := os.environ.get("DATABASE_URL"):
+        return env
+    dotenv = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1] / ".env"
+    if dotenv.exists():
+        for raw in dotenv.read_text().splitlines():
+            line = raw.strip()
+            if line.startswith("DATABASE_URL=") and not line.startswith("#"):
+                return line.split("=", 1)[1].strip().strip("\"'")
+    return "postgresql+asyncpg://mcma:mcma@localhost:5432/mcma"
+
+
+def _with_database(url: str, name: str) -> str:
+    """Return ``url`` with its database name swapped for ``name``."""
+    return urlunsplit(urlsplit(url)._replace(path=f"/{name}"))
+
+
+_BASE_DB_URL = _base_database_url()
+_BASE_DB_NAME = urlsplit(_BASE_DB_URL).path.lstrip("/")
+# Idempotent: if we're already pointed at a *_test DB, keep it as-is.
+_TEST_DB_NAME = _BASE_DB_NAME if _BASE_DB_NAME.endswith("_test") else f"{_BASE_DB_NAME}_test"
+_TEST_DB_URL = _with_database(_BASE_DB_URL, _TEST_DB_NAME)
+
+# Redirect the whole suite to the test DB before anything reads settings.
+os.environ["DATABASE_URL"] = _TEST_DB_URL
+
+
+async def _create_test_db_if_missing() -> None:
+    """Create ``<db>_test`` if the server is reachable. Best-effort: if Postgres
+    is down the integration fixtures skip on their own reachability probe, so a
+    failure here must stay silent rather than break unit-only runs."""
+    import asyncpg  # type: ignore[import-untyped]  # driver behind postgresql+asyncpg
+
+    # asyncpg wants a plain libpq DSN (no SQLAlchemy "+asyncpg" suffix), against
+    # the always-present ``postgres`` maintenance database.
+    dsn = _with_database(_TEST_DB_URL, "postgres").replace("+asyncpg", "")
+    try:
+        async with asyncio.timeout(5):
+            conn = await asyncpg.connect(dsn)
+    except Exception:
+        return
+    try:
+        exists = await conn.fetchval(
+            "SELECT 1 FROM pg_database WHERE datname = $1", _TEST_DB_NAME
+        )
+        if not exists:
+            # CREATE DATABASE can't run inside a transaction; asyncpg's implicit
+            # autocommit on a bare connection handles that.
+            await conn.execute(f'CREATE DATABASE "{_TEST_DB_NAME}"')
+    finally:
+        await conn.close()
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="session", autouse=True)
+def _ensure_test_database() -> None:
+    """Guarantee the dedicated test database exists once per session."""
+    asyncio.run(_create_test_db_if_missing())
+
+
 @pytest.fixture
 async def client() -> AsyncIterator[AsyncClient]:
     from app.main import create_app