diff --git a/src/framework/config/env.ts b/src/framework/config/env.ts
index d4b00bd..ad5f6ee 100644
--- a/src/framework/config/env.ts
+++ b/src/framework/config/env.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,11 @@ loadEnv();
 const envSchema = z.object({
   DISCORD_TOKEN: z.string().min(1, "DISCORD_TOKEN is required"),
   DISCORD_CLIENT_ID: z.string().min(1, "DISCORD_CLIENT_ID is required"),
-  DATABASE_URL: z.string().optional().transform((value) => value && value.length > 0 ? value : undefined),
+  DATABASE_URL: z
+    .string()
+    .trim()
+    .min(1, "DATABASE_URL is required")
+    .url("DATABASE_URL must be a valid URL"),
   DATABASE_SSL: z
     .string()
     .optional()
diff --git a/src/framework/presence/presenceStore.ts b/src/framework/presence/presenceStore.ts
index e9e7752..c159140 100644
--- a/src/framework/presence/presenceStore.ts
+++ b/src/framework/presence/presenceStore.ts
@@ -165,19 +165,22 @@ export const initPresenceStore = async (): Promise<PresenceStore> => {
     return store;
   }
 
-  if (!env.DATABASE_URL) {
-    throw new Error("DATABASE_URL is required to initialize PostgreSQL presence storage.");
-  }
-
   const pool = new Pool({
     connectionString: env.DATABASE_URL,
     ssl: env.DATABASE_SSL ? { rejectUnauthorized: false } : undefined,
   });
 
   const nextStore = new PresenceStore(pool);
-  await nextStore.init();
-  store = nextStore;
-  return nextStore;
+  try {
+    await nextStore.init();
+    store = nextStore;
+    return nextStore;
+  } catch (error) {
+    await pool.end().catch(() => {
+      // Ignore close errors; the original init error is the one we want to surface.
+    });
+    throw error;
+  }
 };
 
 export const getPresenceStore = (): PresenceStore => {
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index a91bfad..0fbf1dd 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -94,10 +94,10 @@ const bootstrap = async (): Promise<void> => {
   await client.login(env.DISCORD_TOKEN);
 };
 
-bootstrap().catch((error) => {
+bootstrap().catch(async (error) => {
   console.error("[boot] fatal error", error);
-  void shutdownPresenceStore().catch((closeError) => {
+  await shutdownPresenceStore().catch((closeError) => {
     console.error("[boot] failed to close presence store", closeError);
   });
-  process.exitCode = 1;
+  process.exit(1);
 });