diff --git a/pkg/endpoint/endpoint.go b/pkg/endpoint/endpoint.go
index 64084935..e58285e9 100644
--- a/pkg/endpoint/endpoint.go
+++ b/pkg/endpoint/endpoint.go
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ func validateStorageEndpoint(str string) error {
 	if strings.Contains(str, "://") {
 		return nil
 	}
-	if str == "" {
+	if str == "" || str == "sqlite" {
 		return nil
 	}
 	// without this check kine will silently run embedded sqlite, despite user intending to use a passed backend