diff --git a/internal/db/database.go b/internal/db/database.go
index b7e8dc1..24ed1be 100644
--- a/internal/db/database.go
+++ b/internal/db/database.go
@@ -4,13 +4,14 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"database/sql"
 	_ "embed" // Required for go:embed
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"log/slog"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"time"
 
-	_ "github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3" // SQLite driver
+	"github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3" // SQLite driver
 )
 
 //go:embed schema.sql
@@ -23,6 +24,8 @@ type DBConfig struct {
 	MaxIdleConns    int           // Maximum number of idle connections
 	ConnMaxLifetime time.Duration // Maximum lifetime of connections
 	ConnMaxIdleTime time.Duration // Maximum idle time for connections
+	MaxRetries      int           // Maximum number of connection retry attempts
+	RetryDelay      time.Duration // Delay between retry attempts
 }
 
 // DefaultDBConfig returns a DBConfig with sensible defaults for SQLite.
@@ -33,17 +36,86 @@ func DefaultDBConfig(dsn string) *DBConfig {
 		MaxIdleConns:    10,               // Keep some connections idle for reuse
 		ConnMaxLifetime: 30 * time.Minute, // Rotate connections every 30 minutes
 		ConnMaxIdleTime: 5 * time.Minute,  // Close idle connections after 5 minutes
+		MaxRetries:      3,                // Retry connection attempts up to 3 times
+		RetryDelay:      time.Second,      // Wait 1 second between retry attempts
 	}
 }
 
-// NewDB initializes and returns a new database connection pool and runs migrations.
-func NewDB(ctx context.Context, logger *slog.Logger, config *DBConfig) (*sql.DB, error) {
+// isRetryableError checks if an error is worth retrying.
+// This checks SQLite error codes for transient locking/busy conditions.
+func isRetryableError(err error) bool {
+	if err == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	// Check if it's a sqlite3.Error
+	var sqliteErr sqlite3.Error
+	if errors.As(err, &sqliteErr) {
+		switch sqliteErr.Code {
+		case sqlite3.ErrBusy, // SQLITE_BUSY (5) - database is locked by another process
+			sqlite3.ErrLocked: // SQLITE_LOCKED (6) - database is locked within same connection
+			return true
+		}
+
+		// Check extended error codes for more specific busy conditions
+		switch sqliteErr.ExtendedCode {
+		case sqlite3.ErrBusyRecovery, // SQLITE_BUSY_RECOVERY (261) - WAL recovery in progress
+			sqlite3.ErrBusySnapshot: // SQLITE_BUSY_SNAPSHOT (517) - snapshot conflict
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+
+	// No fallback string matching - if it's not a proper SQLite error with
+	// the right error codes, we don't retry
+	return false
+}
+
+// retryOperation executes an operation with retry logic for transient SQLite errors.
+func retryOperation(ctx context.Context, logger *slog.Logger, config *DBConfig, operationName string, operation func() error) error {
+	for attempt := 0; attempt <= config.MaxRetries; attempt++ {
+		if attempt > 0 {
+			logger.Info("retrying operation",
+				slog.String("operation", operationName),
+				slog.Int("attempt", attempt),
+				slog.Int("max_retries", config.MaxRetries))
+
+			// Wait before retrying
+			select {
+			case <-ctx.Done():
+				return fmt.Errorf("context canceled during %s retry: %w", operationName, ctx.Err())
+			case <-time.After(config.RetryDelay):
+			}
+		}
+
+		err := operation()
+		if err != nil {
+			if isRetryableError(err) && attempt < config.MaxRetries {
+				logger.Warn("retryable error during operation",
+					slog.String("operation", operationName),
+					slog.Any("error", err),
+					slog.Int("attempt", attempt))
+				continue
+			}
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to %s: %w", operationName, err)
+		}
+
+		// Operation successful
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	// This should never be reached due to the loop condition, but for safety
+	return fmt.Errorf("unexpected retry loop exit for %s", operationName)
+}
+
+// openAndConfigureDB opens the database connection and configures the connection pool.
+func openAndConfigureDB(config *DBConfig) (*sql.DB, error) {
 	// Ensure the directory for the SQLite file exists
 	dbDir := filepath.Dir(config.DSN)
 	if err := os.MkdirAll(dbDir, 0755); err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to create database directory %s: %w", dbDir, err)
 	}
 
+	// Open database connection (no retry needed - sql.Open rarely fails with transient errors)
 	db, err := sql.Open("sqlite3", config.DSN+"?_foreign_keys=on") // Enable foreign key constraints
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to open database: %w", err)
@@ -55,9 +127,23 @@ func NewDB(ctx context.Context, logger *slog.Logger, config *DBConfig) (*sql.DB,
 	db.SetConnMaxLifetime(config.ConnMaxLifetime)
 	db.SetConnMaxIdleTime(config.ConnMaxIdleTime)
 
-	if err = db.PingContext(ctx); err != nil {
+	return db, nil
+}
+
+// NewDB initializes and returns a new database connection pool and runs migrations.
+func NewDB(ctx context.Context, logger *slog.Logger, config *DBConfig) (*sql.DB, error) {
+	db, err := openAndConfigureDB(config)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// Test the actual connection with retry logic
+	err = retryOperation(ctx, logger, config, "database connection", func() error {
+		return db.PingContext(ctx)
+	})
+	if err != nil {
 		db.Close() // Clean up connection on failure
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to ping database: %w", err)
+		return nil, err
 	}
 
 	logger.Info("database connection established",
@@ -65,12 +151,16 @@ func NewDB(ctx context.Context, logger *slog.Logger, config *DBConfig) (*sql.DB,
 		slog.Int("max_open_conns", config.MaxOpenConns),
 		slog.Int("max_idle_conns", config.MaxIdleConns))
 
-	// Execute schema.
-	if _, err := db.ExecContext(ctx, ddl); err != nil {
+	// Execute schema with retry logic
+	err = retryOperation(ctx, logger, config, "schema execution", func() error {
+		_, err := db.ExecContext(ctx, ddl)
+		return err
+	})
+	if err != nil {
 		db.Close() // Clean up connection on failure
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to execute DDL: %w", err)
+		return nil, err
 	}
-	logger.Info("database schema applied")
 
+	logger.Info("database schema applied")
 	return db, nil
 }