diff --git a/packages/backend/src/tests/dbHelper.ts b/packages/backend/src/tests/dbHelper.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cfbef9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/backend/src/tests/dbHelper.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+import { migrate } from 'drizzle-orm/better-sqlite3/migrator';
+import { resolve } from 'node:path';
+import { createDb, type Db } from '../db/client.js';
+
+export function makeTestDb(): { db: Db; close: () => void } {
+  const { db, sqlite } = createDb(':memory:');
+  migrate(db, { migrationsFolder: resolve(import.meta.dirname, '../../drizzle') });
+  return { db, close: () => sqlite.close() };
+}