diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 20e3127..f3dfb5e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 [![npm version](https://badge.fury.io/js/pgstrap.svg)](https://badge.fury.io/js/pgstrap)
 [![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
 
-pgstrap allows you to easily run typescript migrations or generate a directory that represents your database schemas with `table.sql` files. Run `pgstrap generate` to generate a directory with the structure of your postgres database schemas!
+pgstrap allows you to easily run typescript migrations or generate a directory that represents your database schemas with `table.sql` files. Run `pgstrap generate` to apply migrations in an in-memory PGlite database and generate a directory with the structure of your postgres database schemas.
 
 ## Features
 
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ npm install pgstrap --save-dev
 
 - `npm run db:migrate` - Run pending migrations
 - `npm run db:reset` - Drop and recreate the database, then run all migrations
-- `npm run db:generate` - Generate types and structure dumps. Use `pgstrap generate --pglite` to run migrations against an in-memory PGlite instance.
+- `npm run db:generate` - Generate types and structure dumps by running migrations against an in-memory PGlite instance. Use `pgstrap generate --no-pglite` to generate from a running Postgres database instead.
 - `npm run db:create-migration` - Create a new migration file
 
 ### Configuration
diff --git a/src/cli.ts b/src/cli.ts
index 9a9bdec..58d4a06 100644
--- a/src/cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli.ts
@@ -35,10 +35,18 @@ import { getProjectContext } from "./get-project-context"
     "generate",
     "generate types and sql documentation from database",
     (yargs) => {
-      yargs.option("pglite", { type: "boolean", default: false })
+      yargs.option("pglite", {
+        type: "boolean",
+        default: true,
+        describe:
+          "Run migrations in an in-memory PGlite database before generating types",
+      })
     },
     async (argv) => {
-      generate({ ...(await getProjectContext()), pglite: !!argv.pglite })
+      generate({
+        ...(await getProjectContext()),
+        pglite: argv.pglite !== false,
+      })
     },
   )
   .parse()
diff --git a/src/generate.ts b/src/generate.ts
index f337094..5af6fb2 100644
--- a/src/generate.ts
+++ b/src/generate.ts
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ export const generate = async ({
   schemas,
   defaultDatabase,
   dbDir,
-  pglite = false,
+  pglite = true,
   migrationsDir,
 }: Pick<Context, "schemas" | "defaultDatabase" | "dbDir"> & {
   pglite?: boolean
@@ -67,25 +67,30 @@ export const generate = async ({
     const prevDbUrl = process.env.DATABASE_URL
     process.env.DATABASE_URL = connectionString
 
-    await zg.generate({
-      db: {
-        connectionString,
-      },
-      schemas: Object.fromEntries(
-        schemas.map((s) => [s, { include: "*", exclude: [] }]),
-      ),
-      outDir: dbDir,
-    })
-
-    await dumpTree({
-      targetDir: path.join(dbDir, "structure"),
-      defaultDatabase: "postgres",
-      schemas,
-    })
+    try {
+      await zg.generate({
+        db: {
+          connectionString,
+        },
+        schemas: Object.fromEntries(
+          schemas.map((s) => [s, { include: "*", exclude: [] }]),
+        ),
+        outDir: dbDir,
+      })
 
-    server.close()
-    if (prevDbUrl === undefined) delete process.env.DATABASE_URL
-    else process.env.DATABASE_URL = prevDbUrl
+      await dumpTree({
+        targetDir: path.join(dbDir, "structure"),
+        defaultDatabase: "postgres",
+        schemas,
+      })
+    } finally {
+      await new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
+        server.close((err) => (err ? reject(err) : resolve()))
+      })
+      await db.close()
+      if (prevDbUrl === undefined) delete process.env.DATABASE_URL
+      else process.env.DATABASE_URL = prevDbUrl
+    }
     return
   }
 
diff --git a/tests/generate.pglite.test.ts b/tests/generate.pglite.test.ts
index 56dcd53..e097094 100644
--- a/tests/generate.pglite.test.ts
+++ b/tests/generate.pglite.test.ts
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ exports.down = async (pgm) => {
 }
 `
 
-test("generate with pglite runs migrations and dumps structure", async () => {
+test("generate runs migrations in pglite by default and dumps structure", async () => {
   const tmp = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "pgstrap-generate-"))
   const migrationsDir = path.join(tmp, "migrations")
   fs.mkdirSync(migrationsDir, { recursive: true })
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ test("generate with pglite runs migrations and dumps structure", async () => {
     defaultDatabase: "postgres",
     dbDir: path.join(tmp, "db"),
     migrationsDir,
-    pglite: true,
   })
 
   const zapatosFile = path.join(tmp, "db", "zapatos", "schema.d.ts")