diff --git a/backend/app/api/users.py b/backend/app/api/users.py
index 7542d36..69c9c79 100644
--- a/backend/app/api/users.py
+++ b/backend/app/api/users.py
@@ -6,15 +6,12 @@ import secrets
 import hashlib
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
 
-from app.database import get_db, engine, Base
+from app.database import get_db
 from app.models.user import User, EmailVerification
 from app.schemas.user import UserCreate, UserUpdate, UserResponse, ResendVerificationRequest
 from app.core.security import get_password_hash, verify_password, create_access_token, ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRE_MINUTES
 from app.core.email import send_verification_email
 
-# Create tables
-Base.metadata.create_all(bind=engine)
-
 router = APIRouter()
 
 def generate_verification_token() -> str:
diff --git a/backend/app/database.py b/backend/app/database.py
index 0bfc897..dd09250 100644
--- a/backend/app/database.py
+++ b/backend/app/database.py
@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@ from sqlalchemy import create_engine
 from sqlalchemy.ext.declarative import declarative_base
 from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker
 
-from app.core.data_root import get_data_root
+from app.core.data_root import ensure_data_layout, get_data_root
+
+# Ensure DATA_ROOT directory layout exists before SQLite engine init
+ensure_data_layout()
 
 # Ensure dataclaw.db is created in the global data directory
 DB_PATH = get_data_root() / "dataclaw.db"