diff --git a/bin/start_console_production b/bin/start_console_production
index 08b5d5a9..7ba895a6 100755
--- a/bin/start_console_production
+++ b/bin/start_console_production
@@ -266,7 +266,8 @@ main() {
     # Check if READONLY mode is enabled
     if [ "$READONLY" = "true" ]; then
         echo "Starting Rails console in READONLY mode..."
-        exec ./bin/rails console -e 'ActiveRecord::Base.connection.execute("SET default_transaction_read_only = true")'
+        export RAILS_READONLY=true
+        exec ./bin/rails console
     else
         echo "Starting Rails console in normal mode..."
         exec ./bin/rails console
diff --git a/bin/start_console_staging b/bin/start_console_staging
index 3e9513fd..0991d160 100755
--- a/bin/start_console_staging
+++ b/bin/start_console_staging
@@ -266,7 +266,8 @@ main() {
     # Check if READONLY mode is enabled
     if [ "$READONLY" = "true" ]; then
         echo "Starting Rails console in READONLY mode..."
-        exec ./bin/rails console -e 'ActiveRecord::Base.connection.execute("SET default_transaction_read_only = true")'
+        export RAILS_READONLY=true
+        exec ./bin/rails console
     else
         echo "Starting Rails console in normal mode..."
         exec ./bin/rails console
diff --git a/config/initializers/readonly_mode.rb b/config/initializers/readonly_mode.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1ea1ab6e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/initializers/readonly_mode.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+# Set database to readonly mode when RAILS_READONLY environment variable is set
+if ENV['RAILS_READONLY'] == 'true'
+  Rails.application.config.after_initialize do
+    if defined?(Rails::Console)
+      puts 'Setting database connection to read-only mode...'
+
+      # Delay execution to ensure all connections are established
+      at_exit do
+        # Ensure we have an active connection
+        ActiveRecord::Base.establish_connection
+
+        # Set readonly mode at the database level
+        ActiveRecord::Base.connection.execute('SET SESSION default_transaction_read_only = true')
+        puts '✓ Database session is now in read-only mode. Any write operations will fail.'
+      rescue StandardError => e
+        puts "⚠ Warning: Could not set read-only mode: #{e.message}"
+      end
+
+      # Also set it immediately if connection is already available
+      begin
+        if ActiveRecord::Base.connection_pool.connected?
+          ActiveRecord::Base.connection.execute('SET SESSION default_transaction_read_only = true')
+          puts '✓ Database session is now in read-only mode. Any write operations will fail.'
+        end
+      rescue StandardError => e
+        puts "⚠ Note: Will set read-only mode when console starts: #{e.message}"
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end