diff --git a/.env.template b/.env.template
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7c48ece
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.template
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+TOKEN=
+INSTANCE=BETA
+OWNER_ID=784783517845946429
+XP_GAIN=1,1,1,2
+COOLDOWN=7,8,9,10
+CASH_BALANCE_NAME=$
+SPECIAL_BALANCE_NAME=majikoins
+DBX_OAUTH2_REFRESH_TOKEN=
+DBX_APP_KEY=
+DBX_APP_SECRET=
+MARIADB_USER=
+MARIADB_PASSWORD=
+MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD=
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 15a4615..4e9278b 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -4,4 +4,7 @@ __pycache__/
 
 *.db
 .env
-*.log
\ No newline at end of file
+*.log
+
+db/data/
+db/init/2-data.sql
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c659652
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+FROM python:3.11
+ARG DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
+
+WORKDIR /usr/src/app
+
+RUN apt-get update && \
+    apt-get install -y locales && \
+    sed -i -e 's/# en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8/' /etc/locale.gen && \
+    dpkg-reconfigure locales
+
+COPY requirements.txt ./
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
+
+COPY . .
+
+ENV LANG en_US.UTF-8
+ENV LC_ALL en_US.UTF-8
+
+CMD [ "python", "./main.py" ]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e8a8ce3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+This branch uses Docker and MariaDB to run Racu. It has the exact same functionality within Discord.
+There is an ".env.template" file, please copy it to `.env` and fill out the details if you want to host Racu yourself.
+
+Beware that this branch is much more complicated than Racu when its ran locally with sqlite3, however it is more suitable if you plan to host Racu on a major scale with thousands or millions of Discord servers.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/Birthday.py b/data/Birthday.py
index 807dc68..f1dbe7d 100644
--- a/data/Birthday.py
+++ b/data/Birthday.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ class Birthday:
         query = """
                 INSERT OR REPLACE INTO birthdays
                 (user_id, birthday)
-                VALUES (?, ?)
+                VALUES (%s, %s)
                 """
 
         database.execute_query(query, (self.user_id, birthday))
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ class Birthday:
         query = """
                 SELECT user_id
                 FROM birthdays
-                WHERE strftime('%m-%d', birthday) = ?
+                WHERE strftime('%m-%d', birthday) = %s
                 """
 
         tz = pytz.timezone('US/Eastern')
diff --git a/data/BlackJackStats.py b/data/BlackJackStats.py
index 4dc5f78..3b2d120 100644
--- a/data/BlackJackStats.py
+++ b/data/BlackJackStats.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ class BlackJackStats:
     def push(self):
         query = """
         INSERT INTO stats_bj (user_id, is_won, bet, payout, hand_player, hand_dealer)
-        VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)
+        VALUES (%s, %s, %s, %s, %s, %s)
         """
 
         values = (self.user_id, self.is_won, self.bet, self.payout, self.hand_player, self.hand_dealer)
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ class BlackJackStats:
                     SUM(CASE WHEN is_won = 1 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS winning,
                     SUM(CASE WHEN is_won = 0 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS losing
                 FROM stats_bj
-                WHERE user_id = ?;
+                WHERE user_id = %s;
                 """
         (amount_of_games, total_bet,
          total_payout, winning_amount, losing_amount) = database.select_query(query, (user_id,))[0]
diff --git a/data/Currency.py b/data/Currency.py
index 88d8cb3..6b16bbc 100644
--- a/data/Currency.py
+++ b/data/Currency.py
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ class Currency:
     def push(self):
         query = """
         UPDATE currency
-        SET cash_balance = ?, special_balance = ?
-        WHERE user_id = ?
+        SET cash_balance = %s, special_balance = %s
+        WHERE user_id = %s
         """
 
         database.execute_query(query, (round(self.cash), round(self.special), self.user_id))
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ class Currency:
         query = """
         SELECT cash_balance, special_balance
         FROM currency
-        WHERE user_id = ?
+        WHERE user_id = %s
         """
 
         try:
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ class Currency:
         if cash_balance is None or special_balance is None:
             query = """
             INSERT INTO currency (user_id, cash_balance, special_balance)
-            VALUES (?, 50, 3)
+            VALUES (%s, 50, 3)
             """
             database.execute_query(query, (user_id,))
             return 50, 3
diff --git a/data/Dailies.py b/data/Dailies.py
index 8a413ed..bd12141 100644
--- a/data/Dailies.py
+++ b/data/Dailies.py
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ class Dailies:
 
         query = """
         INSERT INTO dailies (user_id, amount, claimed_at, streak)
-        VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?)
+        VALUES (%s, %s, %s, %s)
         """
         values = (self.user_id, self.amount, self.claimed_at, self.streak)
         database.execute_query(query, values)
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ class Dailies:
         WHERE id = (
             SELECT MAX(id)
             FROM dailies
-            WHERE user_id = ?
+            WHERE user_id = %s
         )
         """
 
diff --git a/data/Inventory.py b/data/Inventory.py
index bc320ed..4e0d3fb 100644
--- a/data/Inventory.py
+++ b/data/Inventory.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ class Inventory:
 
         query = """
         INSERT OR REPLACE INTO inventory (user_id, item_id, quantity)
-        VALUES (?, ?, COALESCE((SELECT quantity FROM inventory WHERE user_id = ? AND item_id = ?), 0) + ?)
+        VALUES (%s, %s, COALESCE((SELECT quantity FROM inventory WHERE user_id = %s AND item_id = %s), 0) + %s)
         """
 
         database.execute_query(query, (self.user_id, item.id, self.user_id, item.id, abs(quantity)))
@@ -29,13 +29,13 @@ class Inventory:
     def take_item(self, item: Item.Item, quantity=1):
         query = """
                 INSERT OR REPLACE INTO inventory (user_id, item_id, quantity)
-                VALUES (?, ?, COALESCE((SELECT quantity FROM inventory WHERE user_id = ? AND item_id = ?) - ?, 0))
+                VALUES (%s, %s, COALESCE((SELECT quantity FROM inventory WHERE user_id = %s AND item_id = %s) - %s, 0))
                 """
 
         database.execute_query(query, (self.user_id, item.id, self.user_id, item.id, abs(quantity)))
 
     def get_inventory(self):
-        query = "SELECT item_id, quantity FROM inventory WHERE user_id = ? AND quantity > 0"
+        query = "SELECT item_id, quantity FROM inventory WHERE user_id = %s AND quantity > 0"
         results = database.select_query(query, (self.user_id,))
 
         items_dict = {}
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ class Inventory:
         return items_dict
 
     def get_item_quantity(self, item: Item.Item):
-        query = "SELECT COALESCE(quantity, 0) FROM inventory WHERE user_id = ? AND item_id = ?"
+        query = "SELECT COALESCE(quantity, 0) FROM inventory WHERE user_id = %s AND item_id = %s"
         result = database.select_query_one(query, (self.user_id, item.id))
         return result
 
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ class Inventory:
                 FROM inventory
                 JOIN ShopItem ON inventory.item_id = ShopItem.item_id
                 JOIN item ON inventory.item_id = item.id
-                WHERE inventory.user_id = ? AND inventory.quantity > 0 AND ShopItem.worth > 0
+                WHERE inventory.user_id = %s AND inventory.quantity > 0 AND ShopItem.worth > 0
                 """
 
         try:
diff --git a/data/Item.py b/data/Item.py
index ce7d62c..8edf0d7 100644
--- a/data/Item.py
+++ b/data/Item.py
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ class Item:
         query = """
         SELECT name, display_name, description, image_url, emote_id, quote, type
         FROM item
-        WHERE id = ?
+        WHERE id = %s
         """
 
         data = database.select_query(query, (self.id,))[0]
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ class Item:
 
     def get_quantity(self, author_id):
         query = """
-                SELECT COALESCE((SELECT quantity FROM inventory WHERE user_id = ? AND item_id = ?), 0) AS quantity
+                SELECT COALESCE((SELECT quantity FROM inventory WHERE user_id = %s AND item_id = %s), 0) AS quantity
                 """
 
         quantity = database.select_query_one(query, (author_id, self.id))
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ class Item:
         query = """
                 SELECT worth
                 FROM ShopItem
-                WHERE item_id = ?
+                WHERE item_id = %s
                 """
 
         return database.select_query_one(query, (self.id,))
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ class Item:
             query = """
                     INSERT OR REPLACE INTO item 
                     (id, name, display_name, description, image_url, emote_id, quote, type)
-                    VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)
+                    VALUES (%s, %s, %s, %s, %s, %s, %s, %s)
                     """
             database.execute_query(query,
                                    (index, name, display_name, description, image_url, emote_id, quote, item_type))
@@ -92,12 +92,12 @@ class Item:
 
     @staticmethod
     def get_item_by_display_name(display_name):
-        query = "SELECT id FROM item WHERE display_name = ?"
+        query = "SELECT id FROM item WHERE display_name = %s"
         item_id = database.select_query_one(query, (display_name,))
         return Item(item_id)
 
     @staticmethod
     def get_item_by_name(name):
-        query = "SELECT id FROM item WHERE name = ?"
+        query = "SELECT id FROM item WHERE name = %s"
         item_id = database.select_query_one(query, (name,))
         return Item(item_id)
diff --git a/data/ShopItem.py b/data/ShopItem.py
index 55c2652..8180071 100644
--- a/data/ShopItem.py
+++ b/data/ShopItem.py
@@ -18,22 +18,22 @@ class ShopItem:
         """
 
     def set_price(self, price):
-        query = "UPDATE ShopItem SET price = ? WHERE item_id = ?"
+        query = "UPDATE ShopItem SET price = %s WHERE item_id = %s"
         database.execute_query(query, (price, self.item.id))
         self.price = price
 
     def set_price_special(self, price_special):
-        query = "UPDATE ShopItem SET price_special = ? WHERE item_id = ?"
+        query = "UPDATE ShopItem SET price_special = %s WHERE item_id = %s"
         database.execute_query(query, (price_special, self.item.id))
         self.price_special = price_special
 
     def set_worth(self, worth):
-        query = "UPDATE ShopItem SET worth = ? WHERE item_id = ?"
+        query = "UPDATE ShopItem SET worth = %s WHERE item_id = %s"
         database.execute_query(query, (worth, self.item.id))
         self.worth = worth
 
     def set_description(self, description):
-        query = "UPDATE ShopItem SET description = ? WHERE item_id = ?"
+        query = "UPDATE ShopItem SET description = %s WHERE item_id = %s"
         database.execute_query(query, (description, self.item.id))
         self.description = description
 
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ class ShopItem:
         query = """
                 SELECT price, price_special, worth, description
                 FROM ShopItem
-                WHERE item_id = ?
+                WHERE item_id = %s
                 """
 
         try:
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ class ShopItem:
         except (IndexError, TypeError):
             query = """
                                 INSERT INTO ShopItem (item_id, price, price_special, worth, description)
-                                VALUES (?, 0, 0, 0, "placeholder_descr")
+                                VALUES (%s, 0, 0, 0, "placeholder_descr")
                                 """
             database.execute_query(query, (self.item.id,))
             (price, price_special, worth, description) = 0, 0, 0, "placeholder_descr"
diff --git a/data/SlotsStats.py b/data/SlotsStats.py
index 24f8e3d..7abc393 100644
--- a/data/SlotsStats.py
+++ b/data/SlotsStats.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ class SlotsStats:
     def push(self):
         query = """
         INSERT INTO stats_slots (user_id, is_won, bet, payout, spin_type, icons)
-        VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)
+        VALUES (%s, %s, %s, %s, %s, %s)
         """
 
         values = (self.user_id, self.is_won, self.bet, self.payout, self.spin_type, self.icons)
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ class SlotsStats:
             SUM(CASE WHEN spin_type = 'three_diamonds' AND is_won = 1 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS games_won_three_diamonds,
             SUM(CASE WHEN spin_type = 'jackpot' AND is_won = 1 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS games_won_jackpot
         FROM stats_slots
-        WHERE user_id = ?
+        WHERE user_id = %s
         """
 
         (amount_of_games, total_bet,
diff --git a/data/Xp.py b/data/Xp.py
index b965def..98a3738 100644
--- a/data/Xp.py
+++ b/data/Xp.py
@@ -24,13 +24,13 @@ class Xp:
     def push(self):
         query = """
                 UPDATE xp
-                SET user_xp = ?, user_level = ?, cooldown = ?
-                WHERE user_id = ?
+                SET user_xp = %s, user_level = %s, cooldown = %s
+                WHERE user_id = %s
                 """
         database.execute_query(query, (self.xp, self.level, self.ctime, self.user_id))
 
     def fetch_or_create_xp(self):
-        query = "SELECT user_xp, user_level, cooldown FROM xp WHERE user_id = ?"
+        query = "SELECT user_xp, user_level, cooldown FROM xp WHERE user_id = %s"
 
         try:
             (user_xp, user_level, cooldown) = database.select_query(query, (self.user_id,))[0]
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ class Xp:
         if any(var is None for var in [user_xp, user_level, cooldown]):
             query = """
                     INSERT INTO xp (user_id, user_xp, user_level, cooldown)
-                    VALUES (?, 0, 0, ?)
+                    VALUES (%s, 0, 0, %s)
                     """
             database.execute_query(query, (self.user_id, time.time()))
             (user_xp, user_level, cooldown) = (0, 0, time.time())
diff --git a/db/database.py b/db/database.py
index 1418d25..daca56c 100644
--- a/db/database.py
+++ b/db/database.py
@@ -1,22 +1,25 @@
 import logging
-import sqlite3
-from sqlite3 import Error
+import mysql.connector
+from mysql.connector import Error
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+import os
 
 racu_logs = logging.getLogger('Racu.Core')
+load_dotenv('.env')
 
 
-def create_connection():
-    try:
-        conn = sqlite3.connect("db/rcu.db")
-    except Error as e:
-        racu_logs.error("'create_connection()' Error occurred: {}".format(e))
-        return
-
-    return conn
+cnxpool = mysql.connector.pooling.MySQLConnectionPool(
+    pool_name='core-pool',
+    pool_size=25,
+    host='db',
+    user=os.getenv("MARIADB_USER"),
+    password=os.getenv("MARIADB_PASSWORD"),
+    database='racudb'
+)
 
 
 def execute_query(query, values=None):
-    conn = create_connection()
+    conn = cnxpool.get_connection()
     cursor = conn.cursor()
 
     if values:
@@ -25,32 +28,42 @@ def execute_query(query, values=None):
         cursor.execute(query)
 
     conn.commit()
+    conn.close()
     racu_logs.debug(f"database.execute_query: 'query': {query}, 'values': {values}")
     return cursor
 
 
 def select_query(query, values=None):
-    conn = create_connection()
+    conn = cnxpool.get_connection()
     cursor = conn.cursor()
 
     racu_logs.debug(f"database.select_query: 'query': {query}, 'values': {values}")
 
     if values:
-        return cursor.execute(query, values).fetchall()
+        cursor.execute(query, values)
+        output = cursor.fetchall()
     else:
-        return cursor.execute(query).fetchall()
+        cursor.execute(query)
+        output = cursor.fetchall()
+
+    conn.close()
+    return output
 
 
 def select_query_one(query, values=None):
-    conn = create_connection()
+    conn = cnxpool.get_connection()
     cursor = conn.cursor()
 
     racu_logs.debug(f"database.select_query_one: 'query': {query}, 'values': {values}")
 
     if values:
-        output = cursor.execute(query, values).fetchone()
+        cursor.execute(query, values)
+        output = cursor.fetchone()
     else:
-        output = cursor.execute(query).fetchone()
+        cursor.execute(query)
+        output = cursor.fetchone()
+
+    conn.close()
 
     if output:
         return output[0]
diff --git a/db/init/1-tables.sql b/db/init/1-tables.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..73aa5a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/init/1-tables.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=0;
+
+CREATE TABLE xp (
+    user_id BIGINT PRIMARY KEY NOT NULL,
+    user_xp INT NOT NULL,
+    user_level INT NOT NULL,
+    cooldown FLOAT
+);
+
+CREATE TABLE currency (
+    user_id BIGINT PRIMARY KEY NOT NULL,
+    cash_balance BIGINT NOT NULL,
+    special_balance BIGINT
+);
+
+CREATE TABLE stats_bj (
+    id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
+    user_id BIGINT,
+    is_won BOOLEAN,
+    bet BIGINT,
+    payout BIGINT,
+    hand_player TEXT,
+    hand_dealer TEXT
+);
+
+CREATE TABLE stats_slots (
+    id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
+    user_id BIGINT,
+    is_won BOOLEAN,
+    bet BIGINT,
+    payout BIGINT,
+    spin_type TEXT,
+    icons TEXT
+);
+
+CREATE TABLE stats_duel (
+    id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
+    user_id BIGINT,
+    is_won BOOLEAN,
+    bet BIGINT
+);
+
+CREATE TABLE dailies (
+    id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
+    user_id BIGINT,
+    amount BIGINT,
+    claimed_at TINYTEXT,
+    streak INT
+);
+
+CREATE TABLE item (
+    id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
+    name TEXT,
+    display_name TEXT,
+    description TEXT,
+    image_url TEXT,
+    emote_id BIGINT,
+    quote TEXT,
+    type TEXT
+);
+
+CREATE TABLE inventory (
+    user_id BIGINT,
+    item_id INT,
+    quantity INT,
+
+    PRIMARY KEY (user_id, item_id),
+    FOREIGN KEY (item_id) REFERENCES item (id)
+);
+
+CREATE TABLE ShopItem (
+    item_id INT PRIMARY KEY,
+    price BIGINT,
+    price_special BIGINT,
+    worth BIGINT,
+    description TEXT
+);
+
+CREATE TABLE birthdays (
+  user_id BIGINT NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
+  birthday DATETIME DEFAULT NULL
+);
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a0a487
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+version: '3'
+
+services:
+    core:
+        build: .
+        restart: always
+        depends_on:
+            db:
+                condition: service_healthy
+
+    db:
+        image: mariadb
+        restart: always
+        environment:
+            MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD}
+            MARIADB_USER: ${MARIADB_USER}
+            MARIADB_PASSWORD: ${MARIADB_PASSWORD}
+            MARIADB_DATABASE: racudb
+        volumes:
+            - ./db/init:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/
+            - ./db/data:/var/lib/mysql
+        ports:
+            - 3306:3306
+        healthcheck:
+            test: [ "CMD", "mariadb", "-h", "localhost", "-u", "${MARIADB_USER}", "-p${MARIADB_PASSWORD}", "-e", "SELECT 1" ]
+            interval: 10s
+            timeout: 10s
+            retries: 5
+
+    adminer:
+        image: adminer
+        restart: always
+        ports:
+            - 8080:8080
diff --git a/main.py b/main.py
index dc24a29..03d5f72 100644
--- a/main.py
+++ b/main.py
@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@ SPECIAL_BALANCE_NAME=
 DBX_OAUTH2_REFRESH_TOKEN=
 DBX_APP_KEY=
 DBX_APP_SECRET=
+MARIADB_USER=
+MARIADB_PASSWORD=
+MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD=
 """
 
 import logging
@@ -280,8 +283,8 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
     load_dotenv('.env')
 
     # load db
-    db.tables.sync_database()
-    Item.insert_items()
+    # db.tables.sync_database()
+    # Item.insert_items()
 
     load_cogs()
     sbbot.run(os.getenv('TOKEN'))
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 2b57fea..3fb396c 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -2,4 +2,5 @@ py-cord==2.4.1
 python-dotenv==1.0.0
 setuptools==67.8.0
 pytz==2023.3
-dropbox==11.36.2
\ No newline at end of file
+dropbox==11.36.2
+mysql-connector-python==8.1.0
\ No newline at end of file