diff --git a/roles/code-submitter/tasks/main.yml b/roles/code-submitter/tasks/main.yml
index 0c8f7ef..ae0070e 100644
--- a/roles/code-submitter/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/code-submitter/tasks/main.yml
@@ -76,17 +76,25 @@
   notify:
     Reload nginx
 
+- name: Check if database exists
+  stat:
+    path: "{{ install_dir }}/sqlite.db"
+  register: database_file
+
 - name: Install database  # noqa: no-changed-when - We want to always run this (it handles its own idempotency)
   shell:  # noqa: command-instead-of-shell - We need this to use `environment`
     argv:
       - "{{ venv_dir }}/bin/alembic"
       - upgrade
       - head
-    chdir: /srv/code-submitter
+    chdir: "{{ install_dir }}"
   environment:
-    PYTHONPATH: /srv/code-submitter
+    PYTHONPATH: "{{ install_dir }}"
   become_user: www-data
-  when: code_submitter_repo.changed  # noqa: no-handler - Use a handler to ensure execution order
+  when: |
+    code_submitter_repo.changed or
+    database_file.stat.isreg is not defined or
+    not database_file.stat.isreg
 
 - name: Enable service
   service: