diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 28096f2..83829de 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -119,8 +119,11 @@ func main() {
 	var err error
 	db, err = gorm.Open(config.Db.GetDialector(), &gorm.Config{Logger: gormLogger})
 	if config.Db.Dialect == "sqlite3" {
-		db.Raw("PRAGMA foreign_keys = ON;")
-		db.DisableForeignKeyConstraintWhenMigrating = true
+		db.Exec("PRAGMA foreign_keys = ON;")
+		if !utils.IsCleanDB(db) && !utils.HasConstraints(db) {
+			db.DisableForeignKeyConstraintWhenMigrating = true
+			logbuch.Warn("using existing sqlite database without foreign key constraints and no ability to migrate, functionality may be limited")
+		}
 	}
 
 	if config.IsDev() {
diff --git a/utils/db.go b/utils/db.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e8469a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/utils/db.go
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+package utils
+
+import (
+	"github.com/emvi/logbuch"
+	"gorm.io/gorm"
+)
+
+func IsCleanDB(db *gorm.DB) bool {
+	if db.Dialector.Name() == "sqlite" {
+		var count int64
+		if err := db.Raw("SELECT count(*) from sqlite_master WHERE type = 'table'").Scan(&count).Error; err != nil {
+			logbuch.Error("failed to check if database is clean - '%v'", err)
+			return false
+		}
+		return count == 0
+	}
+	logbuch.Warn("IsCleanDB is not yet implemented for dialect '%s'", db.Dialector.Name())
+	return false
+}
+
+func HasConstraints(db *gorm.DB) bool {
+	if db.Dialector.Name() == "sqlite" {
+		var count int64
+		if err := db.Raw("SELECT count(*) from sqlite_master WHERE sql LIKE '%CONSTRAINT%'").Scan(&count).Error; err != nil {
+			logbuch.Error("failed to check if database has constraints - '%v'", err)
+			return false
+		}
+		return count != 0
+	}
+	logbuch.Warn("HasForeignKeyConstraints is not yet implemented for dialect '%s'", db.Dialector.Name())
+	return false
+}