diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index d254472..d63d415 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ services:
       - .:/app
       - cargo-registry:/usr/local/cargo/registry
       - cargo-git:/usr/local/cargo/git
-      - ./databases.json:/config/config.json
+#      - ./databases.json:/config/config.json
       #- ./databases.toml:/config/config.toml
       - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
 #      - cargo-target:/app/target
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ services:
       LOG: debug
       TZ: "Europe/Paris"
 #      TMPDIR: /scratch
-      EDGE_KEY: "eyJzZXJ2ZXJVcmwiOiJodHRwOi8vbG9jYWxob3N0Ojg4ODciLCJhZ2VudElkIjoiZDY4MzU2MTQtNzE2NC00OTQ4LWJlZjMtMTlkZDc5NGQzYmRhIiwibWFzdGVyS2V5QjY0IjoiV2NiM0pQQkVTaFBjRjg5UXZwRVJuamU4NGZmak1kNm4vS2dJOUpjMCtmVT0ifQ=="
+      EDGE_KEY: "eyJzZXJ2ZXJVcmwiOiJodHRwOi8vbG9jYWxob3N0Ojg4ODciLCJhZ2VudElkIjoiZjlkZjhiNWYtM2I0MC00NWM3LWI3N2UtYzY4NzQ1YmU2NjMwIiwibWFzdGVyS2V5QjY0IjoiQlhWM1hvbEM2NTZTVjdkTmdjV1BHUWxrKytycExJNmxHRGk3Q1BCNWllbz0ifQ=="
       #CHUNK_SIZE_MB: "1"
       #POOLING: 1
       #DATABASES_CONFIG_FILE: "config.toml"
diff --git a/docker/Dockerfile b/docker/Dockerfile
index 5bdc77e..221c393 100644
--- a/docker/Dockerfile
+++ b/docker/Dockerfile
@@ -142,6 +142,8 @@ RUN curl -sSL https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.sh -o /tmp/dotnet-install.sh \
 
 WORKDIR /app
 
+RUN mkdir -p /config
+
 COPY --from=builder /app/target/release/app /usr/local/bin/app
 COPY --from=builder /app/version.env /app/version.env
 COPY entrypoint.sh /entrypoint.sh
diff --git a/src/services/config.rs b/src/services/config.rs
index b58ae65..9819632 100644
--- a/src/services/config.rs
+++ b/src/services/config.rs
@@ -207,16 +207,19 @@ impl ConfigService {
         ConfigService { ctx }
     }
 
-    pub fn load(&self, file_path: Option<&str>) -> Result<DatabasesConfig, String> {
-        let path: String = if let Some(fp) = file_path {
-            fp.to_string()
-        } else {
-            format!(
+    fn resolve_path(file_path: Option<&str>) -> String {
+        match file_path {
+            Some(fp) => fp.to_string(),
+            None => format!(
                 "{}/{}",
                 crate::settings::CONFIG.data_path,
                 crate::settings::CONFIG.databases_config_file
-            )
-        };
+            ),
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn load(&self, file_path: Option<&str>) -> Result<DatabasesConfig, String> {
+        let path = Self::resolve_path(file_path);
 
         info!("Loading databases config from: {}", path);
 
@@ -260,6 +263,18 @@ impl ConfigService {
     }
 
     pub fn load_optional(&self, file_path: Option<&str>) -> DatabasesConfig {
+        let path = Self::resolve_path(file_path);
+
+        if !Path::new(&path).exists() {
+            info!(
+                "No local databases config at {}; using dashboard-defined databases only",
+                path
+            );
+            return DatabasesConfig {
+                databases: Vec::new(),
+            };
+        }
+
         self.load(file_path).unwrap_or_else(|e| {
             tracing::warn!(
                     "Local databases config unavailable ({e}); continuing with dashboard-defined databases only"
diff --git a/src/services/dashboard_config.rs b/src/services/dashboard_config.rs
index c6ef9b1..851a2c8 100644
--- a/src/services/dashboard_config.rs
+++ b/src/services/dashboard_config.rs
@@ -46,6 +46,9 @@ pub fn persist_cache(path: &Path, databases: &[DatabaseConfig]) -> std::io::Resu
     };
     let json = serde_json::to_string_pretty(&wrapper)
         .map_err(|e| std::io::Error::new(std::io::ErrorKind::InvalidData, e))?;
+    if let Some(parent) = path.parent() {
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(parent)?;
+    }
     let tmp = path.with_extension("json.tmp");
     std::fs::write(&tmp, json)?;
     std::fs::rename(&tmp, path)?;