diff --git a/.clj-kondo/inline-configs/sqlite4clj.core.clj/config.edn b/.clj-kondo/inline-configs/sqlite4clj.core.clj/config.edn
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6f1e42f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.clj-kondo/inline-configs/sqlite4clj.core.clj/config.edn
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{:lint-as {sqlite4clj.core/with-stmt-reset clojure.core/with-open, sqlite4clj.core/with-conn clojure.core/with-open, sqlite4clj.core/with-read-tx clojure.core/with-open, sqlite4clj.core/with-write-tx clojure.core/with-open}}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.clj-kondo/inline-configs/sqlite4clj.test_common.clj/config.edn b/.clj-kondo/inline-configs/sqlite4clj.test_common.clj/config.edn
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4f25d34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.clj-kondo/inline-configs/sqlite4clj.test_common.clj/config.edn
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{:lint-as {sqlite4clj.test-common/with-db clojure.core/with-open}}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/sqlite4clj/core.clj b/src/sqlite4clj/core.clj
index 5b092d5..dea3269 100644
--- a/src/sqlite4clj/core.clj
+++ b/src/sqlite4clj/core.clj
@@ -174,9 +174,22 @@
             (api/sqlite3-limit pdb limit-id (int v))))
     limits))
 
-(defn pragma->set-pragma-query [pragma]
-  (conj (->> (merge default-pragma pragma)
-          (mapv (fn [[k v]] [(str "pragma " (name k) "=" v)])))))
+(def ^:private read-only-skipped-pragmas
+  "Pragmas that can require a database header write when set. Converting the
+  journal mode to WAL, or setting a page size on an empty database, writes the
+  header, which fails on a connection opened with SQLITE_OPEN_READONLY.
+  Read-only connections skip them; the remaining pragmas are
+  connection-local and safe to set."
+  #{:journal_mode :page_size})
+
+(defn pragma->set-pragma-query
+  ([pragma]
+   (pragma->set-pragma-query pragma false))
+  ([pragma read-only]
+   (->> (merge default-pragma pragma)
+        (remove (fn [[k _]]
+                  (and read-only (contains? read-only-skipped-pragmas k))))
+        (mapv (fn [[k v]] [(str "pragma " (name k) "=" v)])))))
 
 (defn no-unwrap-result-set-fn
   [_col-metadata result-set]
@@ -206,7 +219,7 @@
                          :stmt-cache            statement-cache
                          :default-result-set-fn default-result-set-fn}]
     (set-limits conn limits)
-    (->> (pragma->set-pragma-query pragma)
+    (->> (pragma->set-pragma-query pragma read-only)
       (run! #(q* conn % default-result-set-fn)))
     conn))
 
@@ -233,8 +246,13 @@
 
 (defn init-db!
   "A db consists of a read pool of size :pool-size and a write pool of size 1.
-  The same pragma are set for both pools."
-  [url & [{:keys [pool-size pragma writer-pragma vfs
+  The same pragma are set for both pools.
+
+  When :read-only is true, every connection — the writer pool included —
+  opens with SQLITE_OPEN_READONLY, so writes through any connection fail at
+  the SQLite level. Read-only connections skip the :journal_mode and
+  :page_size pragmas, which can require a database header write."
+  [url & [{:keys [pool-size pragma writer-pragma read-only vfs
                   default-result-set-fn limits writer-limits]
            :or   {default-result-set-fn unwrap-result-set-fn
                   pool-size (Runtime/.availableProcessors
@@ -244,6 +262,7 @@
         writer
         (init-pool! url
           {:pool-size             1
+           :read-only             read-only
            :pragma                (merge pragma writer-pragma)
            :limits                (merge limits writer-limits)
            :vfs                   vfs
diff --git a/test/sqlite4clj/core_test.clj b/test/sqlite4clj/core_test.clj
index 1b2087f..22d19e1 100644
--- a/test/sqlite4clj/core_test.clj
+++ b/test/sqlite4clj/core_test.clj
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   (:require
    [clojure.test :refer [deftest is testing use-fixtures]]
    [sqlite4clj.core :as d]
-   [sqlite4clj.test-common :refer [test-db test-fixture with-db]]))
+   [sqlite4clj.test-common :refer [test-db test-db-path test-fixture with-db]]))
 
 (use-fixtures :once test-fixture)
 
@@ -140,3 +140,31 @@
             #"too many attached databases - max 0"
             (d/q (:reader db)
               ["ATTACH DATABASE 'test-data/test.db' AS other"]))))))
+
+(deftest read-only-db-init
+  (testing "A db opened with :read-only true serves reads and rejects writes
+            through the writer pool."
+    (with-db [db (test-db)]
+      (d/q (:writer db) ["create table ro (id integer primary key, data text)"])
+      (d/q (:writer db) ["insert into ro (id, data) values (1, 'one')"]))
+    (with-db [db (d/init-db! test-db-path {:pool-size 2 :read-only true})]
+      (is (= [1] (d/q (:reader db) ["select id from ro"])))
+      (is (= [1] (d/q (:writer db) ["select id from ro"])))
+      (is (thrown-with-msg? clojure.lang.ExceptionInfo
+            #"readonly database"
+            (d/q (:writer db)
+              ["insert into ro (id, data) values (2, 'two')"]))))))
+
+(deftest read-only-opens-rollback-journal-dbs
+  (testing "Read-only connections skip journal_mode and page_size pragmas, so
+            a rollback-journal database opens read-only without error."
+    ;; A file of its own: journal_mode=delete cannot be set on a database
+    ;; with a leftover write-ahead log, and earlier tests leave the shared
+    ;; test.db in WAL mode.
+    (let [path "test-data/rollback-test.db"]
+      (with-db [db (d/init-db! path {:pool-size 2 :pragma {:journal_mode "delete"}})]
+        (d/q (:writer db) ["create table ro_journal (id integer primary key)"])
+        (d/q (:writer db) ["insert into ro_journal (id) values (1)"]))
+      (with-db [db (d/init-db! path {:pool-size 2 :read-only true})]
+        (is (= [1] (d/q (:reader db) ["select id from ro_journal"])))
+        (is (= "delete" (first (d/q (:writer db) ["pragma journal_mode"]))))))))