diff --git a/internal/doltserver/doltserver.go b/internal/doltserver/doltserver.go
index b5dcb1fdd6..8127ddcb5e 100644
--- a/internal/doltserver/doltserver.go
+++ b/internal/doltserver/doltserver.go
@@ -407,14 +407,20 @@ func (c *Config) HostPort() string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%s:%d", host, c.Port)
 }
 
-// buildDoltSQLCmd constructs a dolt sql command that works for both local and remote servers.
-// For local: runs from config.DataDir so dolt auto-detects the running server.
-// For remote: prepends connection flags and passes password via DOLT_CLI_PASSWORD env var.
+// buildDoltSQLCmd constructs a non-interactive dolt sql command that always
+// talks to the running SQL server over TCP.
+//
+// For local servers, this avoids embedded-mode auto-discovery, which can load
+// databases relative to cmd.Dir instead of querying the live shared server.
 func buildDoltSQLCmd(ctx context.Context, config *Config, args ...string) *exec.Cmd {
-	sqlArgs := config.SQLArgs()
-	fullArgs := make([]string, 0, len(sqlArgs)+1+len(args))
-	fullArgs = append(fullArgs, "sql")
-	fullArgs = append(fullArgs, sqlArgs...)
+	fullArgs := make([]string, 0, 8+len(args))
+	fullArgs = append(fullArgs,
+		"--host", config.EffectiveHost(),
+		"--port", strconv.Itoa(config.Port),
+		"--user", config.User,
+		"--no-tls",
+		"sql",
+	)
 	fullArgs = append(fullArgs, args...)
 
 	cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, "dolt", fullArgs...)
@@ -425,9 +431,9 @@ func buildDoltSQLCmd(ctx context.Context, config *Config, args ...string) *exec.
 	cmd.Dir = config.DataDir
 	setProcessGroup(cmd)
 
-	if config.IsRemote() && config.Password != "" {
-		cmd.Env = append(os.Environ(), "DOLT_CLI_PASSWORD="+config.Password)
-	}
+	// Always set DOLT_CLI_PASSWORD to suppress interactive prompts.
+	// When empty, dolt connects without a password, which is the local default.
+	cmd.Env = append(os.Environ(), "DOLT_CLI_PASSWORD="+config.Password)
 
 	return cmd
 }
diff --git a/internal/doltserver/doltserver_test.go b/internal/doltserver/doltserver_test.go
index a1dcdc8fbc..ca18d1e98e 100644
--- a/internal/doltserver/doltserver_test.go
+++ b/internal/doltserver/doltserver_test.go
@@ -3537,23 +3537,27 @@ func TestBuildDoltSQLCmd_Local(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("cmd.Dir = %q, want %q", cmd.Dir, "/tmp/dolt-data")
 	}
 
-	// Should have: dolt sql -q "SELECT 1" (no connection flags)
+	// Should force a TCP client connection even for local servers.
 	args := cmd.Args
-	if len(args) < 4 {
-		t.Fatalf("expected at least 4 args, got %v", args)
+	if len(args) < 10 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected at least 10 args, got %v", args)
 	}
-	if args[1] != "sql" {
-		t.Errorf("args[1] = %q, want 'sql'", args[1])
-	}
-	if args[2] != "-q" {
-		t.Errorf("args[2] = %q, want '-q'", args[2])
+	argStr := strings.Join(args, " ")
+	for _, want := range []string{"--host", "127.0.0.1", "--port", "3307", "--user", "root", "--no-tls", "sql", "-q", "SELECT 1"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(argStr, want) {
+			t.Errorf("args %q missing expected %q", argStr, want)
+		}
 	}
-	// Should NOT have --host flag
-	for _, arg := range args {
-		if arg == "--host" {
-			t.Error("local cmd should not have --host flag")
+	found := false
+	for _, env := range cmd.Env {
+		if env == "DOLT_CLI_PASSWORD=" {
+			found = true
+			break
 		}
 	}
+	if !found {
+		t.Error("local cmd should set empty DOLT_CLI_PASSWORD to suppress prompts")
+	}
 }
 
 func TestBuildDoltSQLCmd_Remote(t *testing.T) {
@@ -3606,12 +3610,13 @@ func TestBuildDoltSQLCmd_RemoteNoPassword(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	cmd := buildDoltSQLCmd(ctx, config, "-q", "SELECT 1")
 
-	// Should NOT have DOLT_CLI_PASSWORD in env
+	// Should still have empty DOLT_CLI_PASSWORD in env to suppress prompts.
 	for _, env := range cmd.Env {
-		if strings.HasPrefix(env, "DOLT_CLI_PASSWORD=") {
-			t.Error("remote cmd without password should not have DOLT_CLI_PASSWORD env var")
+		if env == "DOLT_CLI_PASSWORD=" {
+			return
 		}
 	}
+	t.Error("remote cmd without password should set empty DOLT_CLI_PASSWORD env var")
 }
 
 // =============================================================================