diff --git a/birdnet-go/CHANGELOG.md b/birdnet-go/CHANGELOG.md
index e6c93a99cc..2243d3090f 100644
--- a/birdnet-go/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/birdnet-go/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+## nightly-20260615-2 (2026-06-23)
+- MariaDB auto-config: create the `birdnet` database on first start if it does not exist (birdnet-go connects to a pre-existing schema and does not create it, causing "database doesn't exist" errors)
+- MariaDB auto-config: disabling `mariadb_auto_config` now writes `output.mysql.enabled = false` and `output.sqlite.enabled = true` back to config.yaml, so turning the option off fully reverts to SQLite
+- Added `mariadb-client` to the addon packages so the `mysql` CLI used for database creation is available inside the container
+
  - MQTT auto-config now also enables BirdNET-Go's native Home Assistant MQTT auto-discovery: detection sensors appear in Home Assistant automatically with no manual YAML (existing UI/config.yaml edits are preserved)
 - MQTT auto-config seeds `realtime.mqtt.retain: true` (only when unset) so sensor states survive Home Assistant restarts
 - Added supervisor watchdog (tcp://[HOST]:[PORT:8080]) so the add-on is automatically restarted if BirdNET-Go stops responding
diff --git a/birdnet-go/Dockerfile b/birdnet-go/Dockerfile
index 0d1b656847..5274b7e18c 100644
--- a/birdnet-go/Dockerfile
+++ b/birdnet-go/Dockerfile
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ COPY ha_automodules.sh /ha_automodules.sh
 RUN chmod 744 /ha_automodules.sh && /ha_automodules.sh "$MODULES" && rm /ha_automodules.sh
 
 # Manual apps
-ENV PACKAGES="alsa-utils libasound2-plugins nginx yq"
+ENV PACKAGES="alsa-utils libasound2-plugins mariadb-client nginx yq"
 
 # Automatic apps & bashio
 COPY ha_autoapps.sh /ha_autoapps.sh
diff --git a/birdnet-go/config.yaml b/birdnet-go/config.yaml
index 7d4d8dbef3..7799a3bfe1 100644
--- a/birdnet-go/config.yaml
+++ b/birdnet-go/config.yaml
@@ -128,4 +128,4 @@ slug: birdnet-go
 udev: true
 url: https://github.com/alexbelgium/hassio-addons/tree/master/birdnet-go
 usb: true
-version: "nightly-20260615"
+version: "nightly-20260615-2"
diff --git a/birdnet-go/rootfs/etc/cont-init.d/33-mariadb.sh b/birdnet-go/rootfs/etc/cont-init.d/33-mariadb.sh
index 51a7f484ac..e83796ceec 100755
--- a/birdnet-go/rootfs/etc/cont-init.d/33-mariadb.sh
+++ b/birdnet-go/rootfs/etc/cont-init.d/33-mariadb.sh
@@ -6,8 +6,17 @@ set -e
 # credentials directly into BirdNET-Go's config.yaml. Upstream reads MySQL
 # settings only from YAML (no env-var overrides exist), so this is the only
 # way to auto-configure them. The behaviour is opt-in via the
-# mariadb_auto_config addon option. When the option is off but MariaDB is
-# detected, we log a one-shot hint pointing users at the option.
+# mariadb_auto_config addon option.
+#
+# When the option is off but MariaDB is detected, we log a one-shot hint and
+# ensure config.yaml falls back to SQLite (reverting any previously written
+# mysql block). This is safe because BirdNET-Go's config.yaml defaults to
+# SQLite and the mysql block is only ever written by this script.
+#
+# When the option is on we:
+#   1. Create the "birdnet" database if it does not already exist — birdnet-go
+#      connects to an existing schema and does not create it automatically.
+#   2. Write the MySQL credentials into config.yaml and disable SQLite.
 
 CONFIG_LOCATION="/config/config.yaml"
 MYSQL_DATABASE="birdnet"
@@ -23,13 +32,22 @@ MYSQL_PASS="$(bashio::services 'mysql' 'password')"
 
 if ! bashio::config.true 'mariadb_auto_config'; then
     bashio::log.green "---"
-    bashio::log.yellow "Home Assistant MariaDB addon detected. Set 'mariadb_auto_config: true' in the addon options to wire it into BirdNET-Go automatically (and disable SQLite). Connection details:"
+    bashio::log.yellow "Home Assistant MariaDB addon detected but mariadb_auto_config is disabled; ensuring BirdNET-Go uses SQLite."
+    bashio::log.yellow "Set 'mariadb_auto_config: true' in the addon options to wire MariaDB into BirdNET-Go automatically. Connection details:"
     bashio::log.blue "Database user    : ${MYSQL_USER}"
     bashio::log.blue "Database password: ${MYSQL_PASS}"
     bashio::log.blue "Database name    : ${MYSQL_DATABASE}"
     bashio::log.blue "Host-name        : ${MYSQL_HOST}"
     bashio::log.blue "Port             : ${MYSQL_PORT}"
     bashio::log.green "---"
+    if [ -f "$CONFIG_LOCATION" ]; then
+        # Revert any previously written mysql block so the app uses SQLite.
+        # shellcheck disable=SC2016
+        yq -i -y \
+            '.output.mysql.enabled = false
+             | .output.sqlite.enabled = true' \
+            "$CONFIG_LOCATION"
+    fi
     exit 0
 fi
 
@@ -39,12 +57,26 @@ if [ ! -f "$CONFIG_LOCATION" ]; then
 fi
 
 bashio::log.green "---"
-bashio::log.blue "mariadb_auto_config enabled; writing Home Assistant MariaDB credentials into BirdNET-Go config and disabling SQLite"
+bashio::log.blue "mariadb_auto_config enabled; creating MariaDB database and wiring credentials into BirdNET-Go config"
 bashio::log.blue "Host:     ${MYSQL_HOST}:${MYSQL_PORT}"
 bashio::log.blue "User:     ${MYSQL_USER}"
-bashio::log.blue "Database: ${MYSQL_DATABASE} (will be created by BirdNET-Go on first connect)"
+bashio::log.blue "Database: ${MYSQL_DATABASE}"
 bashio::log.green "---"
 
+# Create the database — birdnet-go connects to an existing schema and does NOT
+# create it automatically, so we must do it here. MYSQL_PWD avoids exposing
+# the password via the process command line.
+if ! MYSQL_PWD="${MYSQL_PASS}" mysql \
+    --host="${MYSQL_HOST}" \
+    --port="${MYSQL_PORT}" \
+    --user="${MYSQL_USER}" \
+    --connect-timeout=10 \
+    -e "CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS \`${MYSQL_DATABASE}\` CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;" 2>/dev/null; then
+    bashio::log.error "Failed to create MariaDB database '${MYSQL_DATABASE}' — verify the MariaDB addon is running and the user has CREATE DATABASE privileges"
+    exit 1
+fi
+bashio::log.blue "Database '${MYSQL_DATABASE}' is ready"
+
 # Upstream config.go stores port as a string; pass it as such to match.
 # $host / $port / etc. are jq/yq variables, not shell expansions — the
 # single quotes around the filter are intentional.