diff --git a/deploy.sh b/deploy.sh
index 22d0847..cffa049 100644
--- a/deploy.sh
+++ b/deploy.sh
@@ -204,9 +204,9 @@ cd /opt/dockge
 docker compose up -d
 
 # call replacements for nginx db
-replace_in_sqlite_db "/opt/stacks/npm/data/database.sqlite" "?domain?" $domain
-replace_in_sqlite_db "/opt/stacks/npm/data/database.sqlite" "?localip?" $localip
-replace_in_sqlite_db "/opt/stacks/npm/data/database.sqlite" "?adminpass?" $adminpass
+replace_in_sqlite_db "/opt/stacks/npm/data/database.sqlite" "<domain>" $domain
+replace_in_sqlite_db "/opt/stacks/npm/data/database.sqlite" "<localip>" $localip
+replace_in_sqlite_db "/opt/stacks/npm/data/database.sqlite" "<adminpass>" $adminpass
 
 
 echo ""
diff --git a/prepdb.sh b/prepdb.sh
index 20390f3..b9a3a65 100644
--- a/prepdb.sh
+++ b/prepdb.sh
@@ -20,22 +20,9 @@ replace_in_sqlite_db() {
     local OLD_STRING_ESC=$(printf '%s\n' "$OLD_STRING" | sed "s/'/''/g")
     local NEW_STRING_ESC=$(printf '%s\n' "$NEW_STRING" | sed "s/'/''/g")
 
-    # Start a transaction with immediate mode for better locking
-    if ! sqlite3 "$DB_PATH" "BEGIN IMMEDIATE TRANSACTION;"; then
-        echo "Error: Failed to begin transaction"
-        exit 1
-    fi
-
     # Get a list of all tables in the database
     local TABLES
-    TABLES=$(sqlite3 "$DB_PATH" ".tables") || {
-        echo "Error: Failed to get list of tables"
-        sqlite3 "$DB_PATH" "ROLLBACK;"
-        exit 1
-    }
-
-    # Track if we made any changes
-    local CHANGES_MADE=false
+    TABLES=$(sqlite3 "$DB_PATH" ".tables")
 
     # Loop through each table
     for TABLE in $TABLES; do
@@ -68,41 +55,17 @@ replace_in_sqlite_db() {
                 fi
 
                 # Update only rows where the column contains OLD_STRING
-                if sqlite3 "$DB_PATH" "
+                # Run each update in its own connection to avoid locking issues
+                sqlite3 "$DB_PATH" "
                 UPDATE $ESCAPED_TABLE
                 SET $ESCAPED_COLUMN = replace(CAST($ESCAPED_COLUMN AS TEXT), '$OLD_STRING_ESC', '$NEW_STRING_ESC')
                 WHERE CAST($ESCAPED_COLUMN AS TEXT) LIKE '%$OLD_STRING_ESC%';
-                " 2>/dev/null; then
-                    CHANGES_MADE=true
-                else
-                    echo "    Warning: Failed to update table $TABLE, column $COLUMN"
-                fi
+                "
             fi
         done
     done
 
-    # Try to commit the transaction with retries
-    local RETRIES=3
-    local COMMIT_SUCCESS=false
-
-    while [ $RETRIES -gt 0 ]; do
-        if sqlite3 "$DB_PATH" "COMMIT;" 2>/dev/null; then
-            COMMIT_SUCCESS=true
-            break
-        else
-            echo "Warning: Failed to commit transaction, retrying ($RETRIES attempts left)..."
-            sleep 1
-            ((RETRIES--))
-        fi
-    done
-
-    if [ "$COMMIT_SUCCESS" = false ]; then
-        echo "Error: Failed to commit transaction after multiple attempts"
-        sqlite3 "$DB_PATH" "ROLLBACK;" 2>/dev/null
-        exit 1
-    else
-        echo "Replacement completed in '$DB_PATH'. Original database backed up to '$BACKUP_PATH'."
-    fi
+    echo "Replacement completed in '$DB_PATH'. Original database backed up to '$BACKUP_PATH'."
 }
 
 #set script directory
@@ -110,7 +73,7 @@ scriptdir="$(dirname "$(realpath "$0")")"
 
 #example usage: replace_in_sqlite_db "database.sqlite" "Europe/Amsterdam" "UTC"
 cp $scriptdir/stacks/npm/data/database-pre.sqlite $scriptdir/stacks/npm/data/database.sqlite
-replace_in_sqlite_db "$scriptdir/stacks/npm/data/database.sqlite" "sdgserver.online" "?domain?"
-replace_in_sqlite_db "$scriptdir/stacks/npm/data/database.sqlite" "192.168.2.132" "?localip?"
-replace_in_sqlite_db "$scriptdir/stacks/npm/data/database.sqlite" "z5fGWz2i0q" "?adminpass?"
-replace_in_sqlite_db "$scriptdir/stacks/npm/data/database.sqlite" "0.0.0.0/0" "?localip?"
+replace_in_sqlite_db "$scriptdir/stacks/npm/data/database.sqlite" "sdgserver.online" "<domain>"
+replace_in_sqlite_db "$scriptdir/stacks/npm/data/database.sqlite" "192.168.2.132" "<localip>"
+replace_in_sqlite_db "$scriptdir/stacks/npm/data/database.sqlite" "z5fGWz2i0q" "<adminpass>"
+replace_in_sqlite_db "$scriptdir/stacks/npm/data/database.sqlite" "0.0.0.0/0" "<localip>"