diff --git a/libpod/sqlite_state.go b/libpod/sqlite_state.go
index 9082e736e5..7b9244913e 100644
--- a/libpod/sqlite_state.go
+++ b/libpod/sqlite_state.go
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ func NewSqliteState(runtime *Runtime) (_ State, defErr error) {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("creating root directory: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	conn, err := sql.Open("sqlite3", filepath.Join(basePath, "db.sql?_loc=auto"))
+	conn, err := sql.Open("sqlite3", filepath.Join(basePath, "db.sql?_loc=auto&cache=shared"))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("initializing sqlite database: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -57,6 +57,9 @@ func NewSqliteState(runtime *Runtime) (_ State, defErr error) {
 		}
 	}()
 
+	// Necessary to avoid database locked errors.
+	conn.SetMaxOpenConns(1)
+
 	state.conn = conn
 
 	if err := state.conn.Ping(); err != nil {