diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index eeb1387..a380487 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 An in-progress offline map style and tile server for Mapeo.
 
-`npm install @mapeo/map-server better-sqlite3`
+`npm install @mapeo/map-server`
 
 _⚠️ This is alpha software. No guarantees can be made about the stability of the API at the moment, so proceed with caution. 😄_
 
@@ -25,8 +25,6 @@ _⚠️ This is alpha software. No guarantees can be made about the stability of
 The default export is a factory function for creating a map server instance, which is built on top of [Fastify](https://www.fastify.io/). Basic usage is as follows:
 
 ```js
-// better-sqlite3 is a peer dependency and must be installed manually.
-const Database = require('better-sqlite3')
 // If you're using TypeScript, you may want to use one of the following import syntaxes to get type definitions:
 // - `require('@mapeo/map-server').default`
 // - `import createMapServer from '@mapeo/map-server'
@@ -35,7 +33,7 @@ const createMapServer = require('@mapeo/map-server')
 // Create the server instance
 const mapServer = createMapServer(
   { logger: true },
-  { database: new Database('./example.db') }
+  { storagePath: './map-server-example.db' }
 )
 
 // Run the server!
@@ -53,7 +51,7 @@ Creates the map server instance
 
 - `fastifyOpts (optional)`: Options object to customize the Fastify instance. Refer to the [official Fastify documentation](https://www.fastify.io/docs/latest/Reference/Server/) for more details.
 - `mapServerOpts (required)`: Options object to customize the map server instance. Options include:
-  - `database: BetterSqlite3.Database (required)`: [BetterSqlite3](https://github.com/WiseLibs/better-sqlite3) database instance representing the SQLite database to use.
+  - `storagePath: string (required)`: Path to use for persistent map server storage. Happens to be a SQLite database under the hood, but consumers should treat this as an opaque path managed exclusively by the map server.
 
 ## API Documentation
 
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index c2f3484..a82e28d 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
         "@types/readable-stream": "^2.3.15",
         "ajv": "^8.11.0",
         "base32.js": "^0.1.0",
+        "better-sqlite3": "^8.7.0",
         "fastify": "^3.29.0",
         "fastify-plugin": "^3.0.1",
         "got": "^11.8.5",
@@ -46,7 +47,6 @@
         "@types/uuid": "^8.3.4",
         "@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin": "^5.43.0",
         "@typescript-eslint/parser": "^5.43.0",
-        "better-sqlite3": "^8.7.0",
         "c8": "^7.12.0",
         "eslint": "^8.2.0",
         "eslint-config-prettier": "^8.3.0",
@@ -71,9 +71,6 @@
       },
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=16.17.1"
-      },
-      "peerDependencies": {
-        "better-sqlite3": ">=8.7.0"
       }
     },
     "node_modules/@ampproject/remapping": {
@@ -4165,7 +4162,6 @@
       "version": "8.7.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/better-sqlite3/-/better-sqlite3-8.7.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-99jZU4le+f3G6aIl6PmmV0cxUIWqKieHxsiF7G34CVFiE+/UabpYqkU0NJIkY/96mQKikHeBjtR27vFfs5JpEw==",
-      "dev": true,
       "hasInstallScript": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "bindings": "^1.5.0",
@@ -4185,7 +4181,6 @@
       "version": "1.5.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/bindings/-/bindings-1.5.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-p2q/t/mhvuOj/UeLlV6566GD/guowlr0hHxClI0W9m7MWYkL1F0hLo+0Aexs9HSPCtR1SXQ0TD3MMKrXZajbiQ==",
-      "dev": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "file-uri-to-path": "1.0.0"
       }
@@ -4194,7 +4189,6 @@
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       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/bl/-/bl-4.1.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-1W07cM9gS6DcLperZfFSj+bWLtaPGSOHWhPiGzXmvVJbRLdG82sH/Kn8EtW1VqWVA54AKf2h5k5BbnIbwF3h6w==",
-      "dev": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "buffer": "^5.5.0",
         "inherits": "^2.0.4",
@@ -4205,7 +4199,6 @@
       "version": "3.6.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/readable-stream/-/readable-stream-3.6.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-BViHy7LKeTz4oNnkcLJ+lVSL6vpiFeX6/d3oSH8zCW7UxP2onchk+vTGB143xuFjHS3deTgkKoXXymXqymiIdA==",
-      "dev": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "inherits": "^2.0.3",
         "string_decoder": "^1.1.1",
@@ -4297,7 +4290,6 @@
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-      "dev": true,
       "funding": [
         {
           "type": "github",
@@ -4732,8 +4724,7 @@
     "node_modules/chownr": {
       "version": "1.1.4",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/chownr/-/chownr-1.1.4.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-jJ0bqzaylmJtVnNgzTeSOs8DPavpbYgEr/b0YL8/2GO3xJEhInFmhKMUnEJQjZumK7KXGFhUy89PrsJWlakBVg==",
-      "dev": true
+      "integrity": "sha512-jJ0bqzaylmJtVnNgzTeSOs8DPavpbYgEr/b0YL8/2GO3xJEhInFmhKMUnEJQjZumK7KXGFhUy89PrsJWlakBVg=="
     },
     "node_modules/ci-info": {
       "version": "2.0.0",
@@ -7331,7 +7322,6 @@
       "version": "0.6.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/deep-extend/-/deep-extend-0.6.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-LOHxIOaPYdHlJRtCQfDIVZtfw/ufM8+rVj649RIHzcm/vGwQRXFt6OPqIFWsm2XEMrNIEtWR64sY1LEKD2vAOA==",
-      "dev": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=4.0.0"
       }
@@ -7500,7 +7490,6 @@
       "version": "2.0.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/detect-libc/-/detect-libc-2.0.1.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-463v3ZeIrcWtdgIg6vI6XUncguvr2TnGl4SzDXinkt9mSLpBJKXT3mW6xT3VQdDN11+WVs29pgvivTc4Lp8v+w==",
-      "dev": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=8"
       }
@@ -8582,7 +8571,6 @@
       "version": "2.0.3",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/expand-template/-/expand-template-2.0.3.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-XYfuKMvj4O35f/pOXLObndIRvyQ+/+6AhODh+OKWj9S9498pHHn/IMszH+gt0fBCRWMNfk1ZSp5x3AifmnI2vg==",
-      "dev": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=6"
       }
@@ -9011,8 +8999,7 @@
     "node_modules/file-uri-to-path": {
       "version": "1.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/file-uri-to-path/-/file-uri-to-path-1.0.0.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-0Zt+s3L7Vf1biwWZ29aARiVYLx7iMGnEUl9x33fbB/j3jR81u/O2LbqK+Bm1CDSNDKVtJ/YjwY7TUd5SkeLQLw==",
-      "dev": true
+      "integrity": "sha512-0Zt+s3L7Vf1biwWZ29aARiVYLx7iMGnEUl9x33fbB/j3jR81u/O2LbqK+Bm1CDSNDKVtJ/YjwY7TUd5SkeLQLw=="
     },
     "node_modules/fill-range": {
       "version": "7.0.1",
@@ -9237,8 +9224,7 @@
     "node_modules/fs-constants": {
       "version": "1.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/fs-constants/-/fs-constants-1.0.0.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-y6OAwoSIf7FyjMIv94u+b5rdheZEjzR63GTyZJm5qh4Bi+2YgwLCcI/fPFZkL5PSixOt6ZNKm+w+Hfp/Bciwow==",
-      "dev": true
+      "integrity": "sha512-y6OAwoSIf7FyjMIv94u+b5rdheZEjzR63GTyZJm5qh4Bi+2YgwLCcI/fPFZkL5PSixOt6ZNKm+w+Hfp/Bciwow=="
     },
     "node_modules/fs-extra": {
       "version": "7.0.1",
@@ -9592,8 +9578,7 @@
     "node_modules/github-from-package": {
       "version": "0.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/github-from-package/-/github-from-package-0.0.0.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-SyHy3T1v2NUXn29OsWdxmK6RwHD+vkj3v8en8AOBZ1wBQ/hCAQ5bAQTD02kW4W9tUp/3Qh6J8r9EvntiyCmOOw==",
-      "dev": true
+      "integrity": "sha512-SyHy3T1v2NUXn29OsWdxmK6RwHD+vkj3v8en8AOBZ1wBQ/hCAQ5bAQTD02kW4W9tUp/3Qh6J8r9EvntiyCmOOw=="
     },
     "node_modules/glob": {
       "version": "7.1.6",
@@ -10292,7 +10277,6 @@
       "version": "1.2.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/ieee754/-/ieee754-1.2.1.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-dcyqhDvX1C46lXZcVqCpK+FtMRQVdIMN6/Df5js2zouUsqG7I6sFxitIC+7KYK29KdXOLHdu9zL4sFnoVQnqaA==",
-      "dev": true,
       "funding": [
         {
           "type": "github",
@@ -10385,8 +10369,7 @@
     "node_modules/ini": {
       "version": "1.3.8",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/ini/-/ini-1.3.8.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-JV/yugV2uzW5iMRSiZAyDtQd+nxtUnjeLt0acNdw98kKLrvuRVyB80tsREOE7yvGVgalhZ6RNXCmEHkUKBKxew==",
-      "dev": true
+      "integrity": "sha512-JV/yugV2uzW5iMRSiZAyDtQd+nxtUnjeLt0acNdw98kKLrvuRVyB80tsREOE7yvGVgalhZ6RNXCmEHkUKBKxew=="
     },
     "node_modules/internal-slot": {
       "version": "1.0.6",
@@ -13810,8 +13793,7 @@
     "node_modules/mkdirp-classic": {
       "version": "0.5.3",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/mkdirp-classic/-/mkdirp-classic-0.5.3.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-gKLcREMhtuZRwRAfqP3RFW+TK4JqApVBtOIftVgjuABpAtpxhPGaDcfvbhNvD0B8iD1oUr/txX35NjcaY6Ns/A==",
-      "dev": true
+      "integrity": "sha512-gKLcREMhtuZRwRAfqP3RFW+TK4JqApVBtOIftVgjuABpAtpxhPGaDcfvbhNvD0B8iD1oUr/txX35NjcaY6Ns/A=="
     },
     "node_modules/mock-property": {
       "version": "1.0.3",
@@ -13904,8 +13886,7 @@
     "node_modules/napi-build-utils": {
       "version": "1.0.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/napi-build-utils/-/napi-build-utils-1.0.2.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-ONmRUqK7zj7DWX0D9ADe03wbwOBZxNAfF20PlGfCWQcD3+/MakShIHrMqx9YwPTfxDdF1zLeL+RGZiR9kGMLdg==",
-      "dev": true
+      "integrity": "sha512-ONmRUqK7zj7DWX0D9ADe03wbwOBZxNAfF20PlGfCWQcD3+/MakShIHrMqx9YwPTfxDdF1zLeL+RGZiR9kGMLdg=="
     },
     "node_modules/natural-compare": {
       "version": "1.4.0",
@@ -13973,7 +13954,6 @@
       "version": "3.31.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/node-abi/-/node-abi-3.31.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-eSKV6s+APenqVh8ubJyiu/YhZgxQpGP66ntzUb3lY1xB9ukSRaGnx0AIxI+IM+1+IVYC1oWobgG5L3Lt9ARykQ==",
-      "dev": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "semver": "^7.3.5"
       },
@@ -13985,7 +13965,6 @@
       "version": "7.3.8",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/semver/-/semver-7.3.8.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-NB1ctGL5rlHrPJtFDVIVzTyQylMLu9N9VICA6HSFJo8MCGVTMW6gfpicwKmmK/dAjTOrqu5l63JJOpDSrAis3A==",
-      "dev": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "lru-cache": "^6.0.0"
       },
@@ -14850,7 +14829,6 @@
       "version": "7.1.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/prebuild-install/-/prebuild-install-7.1.1.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-jAXscXWMcCK8GgCoHOfIr0ODh5ai8mj63L2nWrjuAgXE6tDyYGnx4/8o/rCgU+B4JSyZBKbeZqzhtwtC3ovxjw==",
-      "dev": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "detect-libc": "^2.0.0",
         "expand-template": "^2.0.3",
@@ -15621,7 +15599,6 @@
       "version": "1.2.8",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/rc/-/rc-1.2.8.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-y3bGgqKj3QBdxLbLkomlohkvsA8gdAiUQlSBJnBhfn+BPxg4bc62d8TcBW15wavDfgexCgccckhcZvywyQYPOw==",
-      "dev": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "deep-extend": "^0.6.0",
         "ini": "~1.3.0",
@@ -16682,7 +16659,6 @@
       "version": "1.0.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/simple-concat/-/simple-concat-1.0.1.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-cSFtAPtRhljv69IK0hTVZQ+OfE9nePi/rtJmw5UjHeVyVroEqJXP1sFztKUy1qU+xvz3u/sfYJLa947b7nAN2Q==",
-      "dev": true,
       "funding": [
         {
           "type": "github",
@@ -16702,7 +16678,6 @@
       "version": "4.0.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/simple-get/-/simple-get-4.0.1.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-brv7p5WgH0jmQJr1ZDDfKDOSeWWg+OVypG99A/5vYGPqJ6pxiaHLy8nxtFjBA7oMa01ebA9gfh1uMCFqOuXxvA==",
-      "dev": true,
       "funding": [
         {
           "type": "github",
@@ -17556,7 +17531,6 @@
       "version": "2.0.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/strip-json-comments/-/strip-json-comments-2.0.1.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha1-PFMZQukIwml8DsNEhYwobHygpgo=",
-      "dev": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=0.10.0"
       }
@@ -17843,7 +17817,6 @@
       "version": "2.1.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/tar-fs/-/tar-fs-2.1.1.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-V0r2Y9scmbDRLCNex/+hYzvp/zyYjvFbHPNgVTKfQvVrb6guiE/fxP+XblDNR011utopbkex2nM4dHNV6GDsng==",
-      "dev": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "chownr": "^1.1.1",
         "mkdirp-classic": "^0.5.2",
@@ -17855,7 +17828,6 @@
       "version": "2.2.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/tar-stream/-/tar-stream-2.2.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-ujeqbceABgwMZxEJnk2HDY2DlnUZ+9oEcb1KzTVfYHio0UE6dG71n60d8D2I4qNvleWrrXpmjpt7vZeF1LnMZQ==",
-      "dev": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "bl": "^4.0.3",
         "end-of-stream": "^1.4.1",
@@ -17871,7 +17843,6 @@
       "version": "3.6.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/readable-stream/-/readable-stream-3.6.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-BViHy7LKeTz4oNnkcLJ+lVSL6vpiFeX6/d3oSH8zCW7UxP2onchk+vTGB143xuFjHS3deTgkKoXXymXqymiIdA==",
-      "dev": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "inherits": "^2.0.3",
         "string_decoder": "^1.1.1",
@@ -18396,7 +18367,6 @@
       "version": "0.6.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/tunnel-agent/-/tunnel-agent-0.6.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-McnNiV1l8RYeY8tBgEpuodCC1mLUdbSN+CYBL7kJsJNInOP8UjDDEwdk6Mw60vdLLrr5NHKZhMAOSrR2NZuQ+w==",
-      "dev": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "safe-buffer": "^5.0.1"
       },
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 4df15cc..00052a6 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@
     "@types/readable-stream": "^2.3.15",
     "ajv": "^8.11.0",
     "base32.js": "^0.1.0",
+    "better-sqlite3": "^8.7.0",
     "fastify": "^3.29.0",
     "fastify-plugin": "^3.0.1",
     "got": "^11.8.5",
@@ -56,9 +57,6 @@
     "readable-stream": "^3.6.0",
     "uuid": "^8.3.2"
   },
-  "peerDependencies": {
-    "better-sqlite3": ">=8.7.0"
-  },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@fastify/etag": "^3.0.0",
     "@mapbox/point-geometry": "^0.1.0",
@@ -76,7 +74,6 @@
     "@types/uuid": "^8.3.4",
     "@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin": "^5.43.0",
     "@typescript-eslint/parser": "^5.43.0",
-    "better-sqlite3": "^8.7.0",
     "c8": "^7.12.0",
     "eslint": "^8.2.0",
     "eslint-config-prettier": "^8.3.0",
diff --git a/server.ts b/server.ts
index 1ffe8f2..7ea0b24 100644
--- a/server.ts
+++ b/server.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
 import 'make-promises-safe'
-import Database from 'better-sqlite3'
 
 import createMapServer, { MapServerOptions } from './src/app'
 
 const mapServerOpts: MapServerOptions = {
-  database: new Database('./example.db'),
+  storagePath: './example.db',
 }
 
 // Require the framework and instantiate it
diff --git a/src/api/index.ts b/src/api/index.ts
index 225491f..635d424 100644
--- a/src/api/index.ts
+++ b/src/api/index.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { Database } from 'better-sqlite3'
+import Database, { type Database as DatabaseInstance } from 'better-sqlite3'
 import { FastifyPluginAsync } from 'fastify'
 import fp from 'fastify-plugin'
 import path from 'path'
@@ -16,12 +16,12 @@ import createTilesApi, { TilesApi } from './tiles'
 import createTilesetsApi, { TilesetsApi } from './tilesets'
 
 export interface MapServerOptions {
-  database: Database
+  storagePath: string
 }
 
 export interface Context {
   activeImports: Map<string, MessagePort>
-  db: Database
+  db: DatabaseInstance
   piscina: Piscina
   upstreamRequestsManager: UpstreamRequestsManager
 }
@@ -81,7 +81,9 @@ function createApi(context: Context): Api {
   }
 }
 
-function init(db: Database): Context {
+function init(storagePath: string): Context {
+  const db = new Database(storagePath)
+
   // Enable auto-vacuum by setting it to incremental mode
   // This has to be set before the anything on the db instance is called!
   // https://www.sqlite.org/pragma.html#pragma_auto_vacuum
@@ -118,15 +120,10 @@ function init(db: Database): Context {
 
 const ApiPlugin: FastifyPluginAsync<MapServerOptions> = async (
   fastify,
-  { database }
+  { storagePath }
 ) => {
-  if (database == null)
-    throw new Error(
-      `Instance of BetterSqlite3.Database must be specified for 'database' option (https://github.com/WiseLibs/better-sqlite3/blob/master/docs/api.md#class-database)`
-    )
-
   // Create context once for each fastify instance
-  const context = init(database)
+  const context = init(storagePath)
 
   const api = createApi(context)
 
diff --git a/test/test-helpers/create-server.js b/test/test-helpers/create-server.js
index f68b67a..5d25983 100644
--- a/test/test-helpers/create-server.js
+++ b/test/test-helpers/create-server.js
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 const tmp = require('tmp')
 const path = require('path')
 const fs = require('fs')
-const Db = require('better-sqlite3')
 
 const createMapServer = require('../..')
 
@@ -23,11 +22,11 @@ module.exports = createServer
 function createServer(t) {
   const { name: dataDir, removeCallback } = tmp.dirSync({ unsafeCleanup: true })
 
-  const dbPath = path.resolve(dataDir, 'test.db')
+  const storagePath = path.resolve(dataDir, 'test.db')
 
   const server = createMapServer(
     { logger: false, forceCloseConnections: true },
-    { database: new Db(dbPath) }
+    { storagePath },
   )
 
   t.teardown(async () => {