diff --git a/lib/travis/api/app.rb b/lib/travis/api/app.rb
index ff0aaa51..03b30062 100644
--- a/lib/travis/api/app.rb
+++ b/lib/travis/api/app.rb
@@ -200,6 +200,8 @@ module Travis::Api
       end
 
       def self.setup_database_connections
+        Travis.config.database.variables                  ||= {}
+        Travis.config.database.variables.application_name ||= ["api", Travis.config.env, ENV['DYNO']].compact.join(?-)
         Travis::Database.connect
 
         if Travis.config.logs_database