diff --git a/migrations/env.py b/migrations/env.py
index f788062..8b48389 100644
--- a/migrations/env.py
+++ b/migrations/env.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import os
 import sys
 from logging.config import fileConfig
 
-from sqlalchemy import engine_from_config
+from sqlalchemy import create_engine
 from sqlalchemy import pool
 from sqlmodel import SQLModel
 
@@ -18,8 +18,11 @@ from app import models  # noqa: E402,F401  -- populates SQLModel.metadata via au
 config = context.config
 
 # Share one source of truth for the DB URL with the FastAPI app instead of
-# whatever placeholder sits in alembic.ini.
-config.set_main_option("sqlalchemy.url", get_settings().database_url)
+# whatever placeholder sits in alembic.ini. Stored in `config.attributes`
+# (a plain dict) rather than via set_main_option — that goes through
+# configparser's interpolation, which crashes on a literal "%" in the URL
+# (eg. from a percent-encoded special character in the password).
+config.attributes["sqlalchemy_url"] = get_settings().database_url
 
 # Interpret the config file for Python logging.
 # This line sets up loggers basically.
@@ -48,7 +51,7 @@ def run_migrations_offline() -> None:
     script output.
 
     """
-    url = config.get_main_option("sqlalchemy.url")
+    url = config.attributes["sqlalchemy_url"]
     context.configure(
         url=url,
         target_metadata=target_metadata,
@@ -67,11 +70,7 @@ def run_migrations_online() -> None:
     and associate a connection with the context.
 
     """
-    connectable = engine_from_config(
-        config.get_section(config.config_ini_section, {}),
-        prefix="sqlalchemy.",
-        poolclass=pool.NullPool,
-    )
+    connectable = create_engine(config.attributes["sqlalchemy_url"], poolclass=pool.NullPool)
 
     with connectable.connect() as connection:
         context.configure(