diff --git a/cypress/plugins/index.js b/cypress/plugins/index.js
--- a/cypress/plugins/index.js
+++ b/cypress/plugins/index.js
@@ -35,7 +35,9 @@
 };
 
 function getDatabase() {
-  return new sqlite3.Database('./swh-web-test.sqlite3');
+  const db = new sqlite3.Database('./swh-web-test.sqlite3');
+  db.configure('busyTimeout', 20000); // 20 seconds
+  return db;
 }
 
 module.exports = (on, config) => {
diff --git a/swh/web/settings/common.py b/swh/web/settings/common.py
--- a/swh/web/settings/common.py
+++ b/swh/web/settings/common.py
@@ -132,6 +132,9 @@
     "default": {
         "ENGINE": "django.db.backends.sqlite3",
         "NAME": swh_web_config.get("development_db", ""),
+        "OPTIONS": {
+            "timeout": 20,  # in seconds
+        },
     }
 }