diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 18a8c66..a8bb14b 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -2,13 +2,14 @@
 name = "vona"
 description = "Flazing bast Matrix homeserver"
 license = {text = "Velicense"}
-requires-python = ">=3.12"
+requires-python = "<4,>=3.12"
 
 dependencies = [
 	"httpx (>=0.28.1,<0.29.0)",
 	"pynacl (>=1.6.0,<2.0.0)",
 	"flask[async] (>=3.1.2,<4.0.0)",
 	"resolvematrix @ git+https://codeberg.org/timedout/resolvematrix.git",
+	"pycouchdb (>=1.16.0,<2.0.0)",
 ]
 
 authors = [
diff --git a/vona/config/__init__.py b/vona/config/__init__.py
index 5ec5267..57d5326 100644
--- a/vona/config/__init__.py
+++ b/vona/config/__init__.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+from types import SimpleNamespace
 from pathlib import Path
 import tomllib
 import os
@@ -13,6 +14,11 @@ server_name: str = ""
 signing_key: str = ""
 support: dict = {"contacts": []}
 
+db = SimpleNamespace(
+	name="vona",
+	url="",
+)
+
 _CONFIG_PATH = Path(os.getenv("VONA_CONFIG", "/etc/vona/config.toml"))
 
 
@@ -57,7 +63,7 @@ def _validate_cat_path(cat_path: str) -> Path:
 
 
 def _apply_config(cfg: dict) -> None:
-	global addr, port, server_name, signing_key, cat, support, users_can_register
+	global addr, port, server_name, signing_key, cat, support, users_can_register, db
 
 	if "address" in cfg:
 		addr = str(cfg["address"])
@@ -111,10 +117,24 @@ def _apply_config(cfg: dict) -> None:
 	else:
 		_warn("No support contacts are defined")
 
-	if "enable_registration" in cfg:
+	support = support_obj
+
+	if "enable_registration" in cfg and isinstance(cfg["enable_registration"], bool):
 		users_can_register = cfg["enable_registration"]
 
-	support = support_obj
+	if "db" in cfg and isinstance(cfg["db"], dict):
+		_db = cfg["db"]
+		if "url" in _db:
+			db.url = str(_db["url"])
+		else:
+			_fatal("No DB URL provided")
+
+		if "name" in _db:
+			db.name = str(_db["name"])
+		else:
+			_warn("No DB name provided, defaulting to `vona`")
+	else:
+		_fatal("NO DB provided")
 
 	print("[INFO] Configuration file was valid")
 
diff --git a/vona/db/__init__.py b/vona/db/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7db46c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vona/db/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+import vona.config as config
+import pycouchdb
+import os
+
+# NOTE: We don't do anything with the DB currently.
+
+try:
+	server = pycouchdb.Server(config.db.url)
+except Exception as e:
+	print(f"[FATL] Could not connect to DB: {e}")
+	os._exit(1)
+
+print(f"[INFO] CouchDB version {server.info()['version']}")