diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 4defef7..87899b1 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -135,3 +135,4 @@ deleted_backups/
 highscores_data/
 TODO.txt
 sql_tester.py
+database.db
diff --git a/database_setup/database_test.py b/database_setup/database_test.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ab3d577
--- /dev/null
+++ b/database_setup/database_test.py
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+from sqlmodel import BigInteger, Column, Field, SQLModel, create_engine
+
+
+class Guilds(SQLModel, table=True):
+    id: int = Field(sa_column=Column(BigInteger(), primary_key=True))
+    name: str = Field(max_length=95)
+    submission_channel: int = Field(sa_column=Column(BigInteger()))
+    verification_channel: int = Field(sa_column=Column(BigInteger()))
+    active: bool = Field(default=True)
+
+
+url = "sqlite:///database.db"
+engine = create_engine(url)
+SQLModel.metadata.create_all(engine)
diff --git a/database_setup/sql_data_classes.py b/database_setup/sql_data_classes.py
index 25d42d5..a9147b9 100644
--- a/database_setup/sql_data_classes.py
+++ b/database_setup/sql_data_classes.py
@@ -1,18 +1,32 @@
 """Simple file to set up the sqlalchemy connection to database."""
 
-from sqlalchemy import create_engine
-from sqlalchemy.ext.automap import automap_base
+# from sqlalchemy import create_engine
+# from sqlalchemy.ext.automap import automap_base
+from sqlmodel import BigInteger, Column, Field, SQLModel, create_engine
 from utilities import config
 
-# connect with sql alchemy and autoload schema
-url = f"mysql+pymysql://{config.SQL_USER}:{config.SQL_PASS}@{config.SQL_HOST}/{config.SQL_DB}"
-engine = create_engine(url)
-Base = automap_base()
-Base.prepare(autoload_with=engine)
 
-# define the classes
-Category = Base.classes.Categories
-CategoryGroup = Base.classes.CategoryGroups
-Guild = Base.classes.Guilds
-Score = Base.classes.Scores
-Submission = Base.classes.Submissions
+class Guilds(SQLModel, table=True):
+    id: int = Field(sa_column=Column(BigInteger(), primary_key=True))
+    name: str
+    submission_channel: int = Field(sa_column=Column(BigInteger()))
+    verification_channel: int = Field(sa_column=Column(BigInteger()))
+    active: bool = Field(default=True)
+
+
+# connect with sql alchemy and autoload schema
+if config.ENVIRONMENT == "prod":
+    url = f"mysql+pymysql://{config.SQL_USER}:{config.SQL_PASS}@{config.SQL_HOST}/{config.SQL_DB}"
+else:
+    url = "sqlite:///database.db"
+engine = create_engine(url)
+SQLModel.metadata.create_all(engine)
+# Base = automap_base()
+# Base.prepare(autoload_with=engine)
+
+# # define the classes
+# Category = Base.classes.Categories
+# CategoryGroup = Base.classes.CategoryGroups
+# Guild = Base.classes.Guilds
+# Score = Base.classes.Scores
+# Submission = Base.classes.Submissions
diff --git a/utilities/config.py b/utilities/config.py
index dcba7ca..baf0aac 100644
--- a/utilities/config.py
+++ b/utilities/config.py
@@ -1,6 +1,4 @@
-"""
-Loads environment variables for use in bot.
-"""
+"""Loads environment variables for use in bot."""
 
 import os
 
@@ -15,3 +13,4 @@ SQL_DB = os.getenv("SQL_DB", "")
 SQL_HOST = os.getenv("SQL_HOST", "")
 SQL_PASS = os.getenv("SQL_PASS", "")
 SQL_USER = os.getenv("SQL_USER", "")
+ENVIRONMENT: str = os.getenv("ENVIRONMENT", "prod")