diff --git a/pnpm-lock.yaml b/pnpm-lock.yaml
index f04df9b8..978dd572 100644
--- a/pnpm-lock.yaml
+++ b/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -185,6 +185,9 @@ importers:
       drizzle-orm:
         specifier: ^0.38.4
         version: 0.38.4(@electric-sql/pglite@0.3.15)(@types/react@19.2.14)(kysely@0.28.11)(pg@8.18.0)(postgres@3.4.8)(react@19.2.4)
+      embedded-postgres:
+        specifier: ^18.1.0-beta.16
+        version: 18.1.0-beta.16
       express:
         specifier: ^5.1.0
         version: 5.2.1
@@ -209,10 +212,6 @@ importers:
       zod:
         specifier: ^3.24.2
         version: 3.25.76
-    optionalDependencies:
-      embedded-postgres:
-        specifier: ^18.1.0-beta.16
-        version: 18.1.0-beta.16
     devDependencies:
       '@types/express':
         specifier: ^5.0.0
@@ -8285,8 +8284,7 @@ snapshots:
 
   assertion-error@2.0.1: {}
 
-  async-exit-hook@2.0.1:
-    optional: true
+  async-exit-hook@2.0.1: {}
 
   asynckit@0.4.0: {}
 
@@ -8615,7 +8613,6 @@ snapshots:
       '@embedded-postgres/windows-x64': 18.1.0-beta.16
     transitivePeerDependencies:
       - pg-native
-    optional: true
 
   encodeurl@2.0.0: {}
 
@@ -9808,19 +9805,15 @@ snapshots:
   pg-cloudflare@1.3.0:
     optional: true
 
-  pg-connection-string@2.11.0:
-    optional: true
+  pg-connection-string@2.11.0: {}
 
-  pg-int8@1.0.1:
-    optional: true
+  pg-int8@1.0.1: {}
 
   pg-pool@3.11.0(pg@8.18.0):
     dependencies:
       pg: 8.18.0
-    optional: true
 
-  pg-protocol@1.11.0:
-    optional: true
+  pg-protocol@1.11.0: {}
 
   pg-types@2.2.0:
     dependencies:
@@ -9829,7 +9822,6 @@ snapshots:
       postgres-bytea: 1.0.1
       postgres-date: 1.0.7
       postgres-interval: 1.2.0
-    optional: true
 
   pg@8.18.0:
     dependencies:
@@ -9840,12 +9832,10 @@ snapshots:
       pgpass: 1.0.5
     optionalDependencies:
       pg-cloudflare: 1.3.0
-    optional: true
 
   pgpass@1.0.5:
     dependencies:
       split2: 4.2.0
-    optional: true
 
   picocolors@1.1.1: {}
 
@@ -9913,19 +9903,15 @@ snapshots:
       picocolors: 1.1.1
       source-map-js: 1.2.1
 
-  postgres-array@2.0.0:
-    optional: true
+  postgres-array@2.0.0: {}
 
-  postgres-bytea@1.0.1:
-    optional: true
+  postgres-bytea@1.0.1: {}
 
-  postgres-date@1.0.7:
-    optional: true
+  postgres-date@1.0.7: {}
 
   postgres-interval@1.2.0:
     dependencies:
       xtend: 4.0.2
-    optional: true
 
   postgres@3.4.8: {}
 
diff --git a/server/package.json b/server/package.json
index d126908c..1d4f328e 100644
--- a/server/package.json
+++ b/server/package.json
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
     "detect-port": "^2.1.0",
     "dotenv": "^17.0.1",
     "drizzle-orm": "^0.38.4",
+    "embedded-postgres": "^18.1.0-beta.16",
     "express": "^5.1.0",
     "multer": "^2.0.2",
     "open": "^11.0.0",
@@ -50,9 +51,6 @@
     "ws": "^8.19.0",
     "zod": "^3.24.2"
   },
-  "optionalDependencies": {
-    "embedded-postgres": "^18.1.0-beta.16"
-  },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@types/express": "^5.0.0",
     "@types/express-serve-static-core": "^5.0.0",
diff --git a/server/src/index.ts b/server/src/index.ts
index b5c16645..e319e852 100644
--- a/server/src/index.ts
+++ b/server/src/index.ts
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ if (config.databaseUrl) {
     EmbeddedPostgres = mod.default as EmbeddedPostgresCtor;
   } catch {
     throw new Error(
-      "Embedded PostgreSQL mode requires optional dependency `embedded-postgres`. Install optional dependencies or set DATABASE_URL for external Postgres.",
+      "Embedded PostgreSQL mode requires dependency `embedded-postgres`. Reinstall dependencies (without omitting required packages), or set DATABASE_URL for external Postgres.",
     );
   }