diff --git a/__tests__/__snapshots__/settings.test.ts.snap b/__tests__/__snapshots__/settings.test.ts.snap
index 0e33092..68d7da5 100644
--- a/__tests__/__snapshots__/settings.test.ts.snap
+++ b/__tests__/__snapshots__/settings.test.ts.snap
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ exports[`actions is backwards-compatible with untagged command specs 1`] = `
   "manageGraphileMigrateSchema": true,
   "migrationsFolder": "./migrations",
   "placeholders": undefined,
-  "rootConnectionString": "template1",
+  "rootConnectionString": "postgres:///template1",
   "shadowConnectionString": undefined,
   "shadowDatabaseName": undefined,
 }
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ exports[`actions parses SQL actions 1`] = `
   "manageGraphileMigrateSchema": true,
   "migrationsFolder": "./migrations",
   "placeholders": undefined,
-  "rootConnectionString": "template1",
+  "rootConnectionString": "postgres:///template1",
   "shadowConnectionString": undefined,
   "shadowDatabaseName": undefined,
 }
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ exports[`actions parses command actions 1`] = `
   "manageGraphileMigrateSchema": true,
   "migrationsFolder": "./migrations",
   "placeholders": undefined,
-  "rootConnectionString": "template1",
+  "rootConnectionString": "postgres:///template1",
   "shadowConnectionString": undefined,
   "shadowDatabaseName": undefined,
 }
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ exports[`actions parses mixed actions 1`] = `
   "manageGraphileMigrateSchema": true,
   "migrationsFolder": "./migrations",
   "placeholders": undefined,
-  "rootConnectionString": "template1",
+  "rootConnectionString": "postgres:///template1",
   "shadowConnectionString": undefined,
   "shadowDatabaseName": undefined,
 }
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ exports[`actions parses string values into SQL actions 1`] = `
   "manageGraphileMigrateSchema": true,
   "migrationsFolder": "./migrations",
   "placeholders": undefined,
-  "rootConnectionString": "template1",
+  "rootConnectionString": "postgres:///template1",
   "shadowConnectionString": undefined,
   "shadowDatabaseName": undefined,
 }
diff --git a/__tests__/actions.test.ts b/__tests__/actions.test.ts
index 110f131..86a2297 100644
--- a/__tests__/actions.test.ts
+++ b/__tests__/actions.test.ts
@@ -93,7 +93,9 @@ it("runs sql afterReset action with correct connection string when root", async
   mockedWithClient.mockClear();
   await executeActions(parsedSettings, false, parsedSettings.afterReset);
   expect(mockedWithClient).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-  expect(mockedWithClient.mock.calls[0][0]).toBe(TEST_DATABASE_NAME);
+  expect(mockedWithClient.mock.calls[0][0]).toBe(
+    `postgres:///${TEST_DATABASE_NAME}`,
+  );
 });
 
 it("runs command afterReset action with correct env vars when root", async () => {
diff --git a/src/settings.ts b/src/settings.ts
index 97ae7c0..79e665e 100644
--- a/src/settings.ts
+++ b/src/settings.ts
@@ -157,7 +157,8 @@ export async function parseSettings(
   const rootConnectionString = await check(
     "rootConnectionString",
     (
-      rawRootConnectionString = process.env.ROOT_DATABASE_URL || "template1",
+      rawRootConnectionString = process.env.ROOT_DATABASE_URL ||
+        "postgres:///template1",
     ): string => {
       if (typeof rawRootConnectionString !== "string") {
         throw new Error(