diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ab533fad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+name: Run Go Tests
+
+on:
+    push:
+      branches:
+        - main
+    pull_request:
+      branches:
+        - main
+      types:
+        - ready_for_review
+        - opened
+        - reopened
+        - synchronize
+    workflow_dispatch:
+
+jobs:
+  test:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    services:
+      # Postgres service container
+      postgres:
+        image: postgres:16
+        env:
+          # Specify the password for Postgres superuser.
+          POSTGRES_PASSWORD: a!b@c$d()e*_,/:;=?@ff[]22
+        # Set health checks to wait until postgres has started
+        options: >-
+          --health-cmd pg_isready
+          --health-interval 10s
+          --health-timeout 5s
+          --health-retries 5
+        ports:
+          # Maps tcp port 5432 on service container to the host
+          - 5432:5432
+
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      with:
+        fetch-depth: 0
+        fetch-tags: true
+
+    - name: Setup Go
+      uses: actions/setup-go@v5
+      with:
+        go-version: '1.23.x'
+
+    - name: Cache Go modules
+      uses: actions/cache@v4
+      with:
+        path: |
+          ~/go/pkg/mod
+          ~/.cache/go-build
+        key: ${{ runner.os }}-go-${{ hashFiles('**/go.sum') }}
+        restore-keys: |
+          ${{ runner.os }}-go-
+
+    - name: Download dependencies
+      run: go mod download
+
+    - name: Install gotestsum
+      run: go install gotest.tools/gotestsum@latest
+
+    - name: Run tests
+      run: gotestsum --format github-action
+      working-directory: ./dbos
+      env:
+        PGPASSWORD: a!b@c$d()e*_,/:;=?@ff[]22
+        GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}  
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/dbos/system_database.go b/dbos/system_database.go
index ceb4a10b..05399cb1 100644
--- a/dbos/system_database.go
+++ b/dbos/system_database.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"embed"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"net/url"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -121,7 +122,9 @@ func NewSystemDatabase() (SystemDatabase, error) {
 	// TODO: pass proper config
 	databaseURL := os.Getenv("DBOS_DATABASE_URL")
 	if databaseURL == "" {
-		return nil, NewInitializationError("DBOS_DATABASE_URL environment variable is required")
+		fmt.Println("DBOS_DATABASE_URL not set, using default: postgres://postgres:${PGPASSWORD}@localhost:5432/dbos?sslmode=disable")
+		password := url.QueryEscape(os.Getenv("PGPASSWORD"))
+		databaseURL = fmt.Sprintf("postgres://postgres:%s@localhost:5432/dbos?sslmode=disable", password)
 	}
 
 	// Create the database if it doesn't exist
diff --git a/dbos/utils_test.go b/dbos/utils_test.go
index d1877a4b..b7c6d667 100644
--- a/dbos/utils_test.go
+++ b/dbos/utils_test.go
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ package dbos
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"net/url"
 	"os"
 	"sync"
 	"testing"
@@ -16,7 +18,8 @@ func setupDBOS(t *testing.T) {
 
 	databaseURL := os.Getenv("DBOS_DATABASE_URL")
 	if databaseURL == "" {
-		t.Skip("DBOS_DATABASE_URL not set, skipping integration test")
+		password := url.QueryEscape(os.Getenv("PGPASSWORD"))
+		databaseURL = fmt.Sprintf("postgres://postgres:%s@localhost:5432/dbos?sslmode=disable", password)
 	}
 
 	// Clean up the test database