diff --git a/src/infrastructure/cluster/PhabricatorDatabaseRef.php b/src/infrastructure/cluster/PhabricatorDatabaseRef.php
--- a/src/infrastructure/cluster/PhabricatorDatabaseRef.php
+++ b/src/infrastructure/cluster/PhabricatorDatabaseRef.php
@@ -405,6 +405,12 @@
     try {
       $connection->openConnection();
       $reachable = true;
+    } catch (AphrontSchemaQueryException $ex) {
+      // We get one of these if the database we're trying to select does not
+      // exist. In this case, just re-throw the exception. This is expected
+      // during first-time setup, when databases like "config" will not exist
+      // yet.
+      throw $ex;
     } catch (Exception $ex) {
       $reachable = false;
     }
diff --git a/src/infrastructure/env/PhabricatorEnv.php b/src/infrastructure/env/PhabricatorEnv.php
--- a/src/infrastructure/env/PhabricatorEnv.php
+++ b/src/infrastructure/env/PhabricatorEnv.php
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@
       $stack->pushSource(
         id(new PhabricatorConfigDatabaseSource('default'))
           ->setName(pht('Database')));
-    } catch (AphrontQueryException $exception) {
+    } catch (AphrontSchemaQueryException $exception) {
       // If the database is not available, just skip this configuration
       // source. This happens during `bin/storage upgrade`, `bin/conf` before
       // schema setup, etc.