diff --git a/src/config.rs b/src/config.rs
index 51dba499..fe98d2df 100644
--- a/src/config.rs
+++ b/src/config.rs
@@ -639,11 +639,11 @@ make_config! {
 fn validate_config(cfg: &ConfigItems) -> Result<(), Error> {
     // Validate connection URL is valid and DB feature is enabled
     let url = &cfg.database_url;
-    if DbConnType::from_url(url)? == DbConnType::sqlite {
+    if DbConnType::from_url(url)? == DbConnType::sqlite && url.contains('/') {
         let path = std::path::Path::new(&url);
         if let Some(parent) = path.parent() {
-            if !parent.exists() {
-                err!(format!("SQLite database directory `{}` does not exist", parent.display()));
+            if !parent.is_dir() {
+                err!(format!("SQLite database directory `{}` does not exist or is not a directory", parent.display()));
             }
         }
     }