diff --git a/ircd/db.cc b/ircd/db.cc
index daad8fe95..33b7c70f6 100644
--- a/ircd/db.cc
+++ b/ircd/db.cc
@@ -323,9 +323,17 @@ ircd::db::shared_from(const database::column &column)
 //
 namespace ircd::db
 {
-	database::description default_description;
+	extern const database::description default_description;
 }
 
+decltype(ircd::db::default_description)
+ircd::db::default_description
+{
+	/// Requirement of RocksDB going back to LevelDB. This column must
+	/// always exist in all descriptions and probably should be at idx[0].
+	{ "default" }
+};
+
 ircd::db::database::database(std::string name,
                              std::string optstr)
 :database