diff --git a/src/datajoint/connection.py b/src/datajoint/connection.py
index 43dd43fa8..1445300ed 100644
--- a/src/datajoint/connection.py
+++ b/src/datajoint/connection.py
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@
 import re
 import warnings
 from contextlib import contextmanager
-from getpass import getpass
 from typing import Callable
 
 import pymysql as client
@@ -110,9 +109,9 @@ def conn(
     host : str, optional
         Database hostname.
     user : str, optional
-        MySQL username.
+        Database username. Required if not set in config.
     password : str, optional
-        MySQL password. Prompts if not provided.
+        Database password. Required if not set in config.
     init_fun : callable, optional
         Initialization function called after connection.
     reset : bool, optional
@@ -125,15 +124,24 @@ def conn(
     -------
     Connection
         Persistent database connection.
+
+    Raises
+    ------
+    DataJointError
+        If user or password is not provided and not set in config.
     """
     if not hasattr(conn, "connection") or reset:
         host = host if host is not None else config["database.host"]
         user = user if user is not None else config["database.user"]
         password = password if password is not None else config["database.password"]
         if user is None:
-            user = input("Please enter DataJoint username: ")
+            raise errors.DataJointError(
+                "Database user not configured. Set datajoint.config['database.user'] or pass user= argument."
+            )
         if password is None:
-            password = getpass(prompt="Please enter DataJoint password: ")
+            raise errors.DataJointError(
+                "Database password not configured. Set datajoint.config['database.password'] or pass password= argument."
+            )
         init_fun = init_fun if init_fun is not None else config["connection.init_function"]
         use_tls = use_tls if use_tls is not None else config["database.use_tls"]
         conn.connection = Connection(host, user, password, None, init_fun, use_tls)
diff --git a/src/datajoint/schemas.py b/src/datajoint/schemas.py
index 98faa83f2..1878870df 100644
--- a/src/datajoint/schemas.py
+++ b/src/datajoint/schemas.py
@@ -72,7 +72,8 @@ class Schema:
     create_schema : bool, optional
         If False, raise error if schema doesn't exist. Default True.
     create_tables : bool, optional
-        If False, raise error when accessing missing tables. Default True.
+        If False, raise error when accessing missing tables.
+        Default from ``dj.config.database.create_tables`` (True unless configured).
     add_objects : dict, optional
         Additional objects for the declaration context.
 
@@ -93,7 +94,7 @@ def __init__(
         *,
         connection: Connection | None = None,
         create_schema: bool = True,
-        create_tables: bool = True,
+        create_tables: bool | None = None,
         add_objects: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
     ) -> None:
         """
@@ -110,7 +111,8 @@ def __init__(
         create_schema : bool, optional
             If False, raise error if schema doesn't exist. Default True.
         create_tables : bool, optional
-            If False, raise error when accessing missing tables. Default True.
+            If False, raise error when accessing missing tables.
+            Default from ``dj.config.database.create_tables`` (True unless configured).
         add_objects : dict, optional
             Additional objects for the declaration context.
         """
@@ -118,7 +120,7 @@ def __init__(
         self.database = None
         self.context = context
         self.create_schema = create_schema
-        self.create_tables = create_tables
+        self.create_tables = create_tables if create_tables is not None else config.database.create_tables
         self.add_objects = add_objects
         self.declare_list = []
         if schema_name:
diff --git a/src/datajoint/settings.py b/src/datajoint/settings.py
index e9b6f6570..be06673f3 100644
--- a/src/datajoint/settings.py
+++ b/src/datajoint/settings.py
@@ -60,6 +60,8 @@
     "database.user": "DJ_USER",
     "database.password": "DJ_PASS",
     "database.port": "DJ_PORT",
+    "database.schema_prefix": "DJ_SCHEMA_PREFIX",
+    "database.create_tables": "DJ_CREATE_TABLES",
     "loglevel": "DJ_LOG_LEVEL",
 }
 
@@ -185,6 +187,18 @@ class DatabaseSettings(BaseSettings):
     port: int = Field(default=3306, validation_alias="DJ_PORT")
     reconnect: bool = True
     use_tls: bool | None = None
+    schema_prefix: str = Field(
+        default="",
+        validation_alias="DJ_SCHEMA_PREFIX",
+        description="Project-specific prefix for schema names. "
+        "Not automatically applied; use dj.config.database.schema_prefix when creating schemas.",
+    )
+    create_tables: bool = Field(
+        default=True,
+        validation_alias="DJ_CREATE_TABLES",
+        description="Default for Schema create_tables parameter. "
+        "Set to False for production mode to prevent automatic table creation.",
+    )
 
 
 class ConnectionSettings(BaseSettings):
diff --git a/src/datajoint/version.py b/src/datajoint/version.py
index 98a5f2b93..c3800af52 100644
--- a/src/datajoint/version.py
+++ b/src/datajoint/version.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 # version bump auto managed by Github Actions:
 # label_prs.yaml(prep), release.yaml(bump), post_release.yaml(edit)
 # manually set this version will be eventually overwritten by the above actions
-__version__ = "2.0.0a22"
+__version__ = "2.0.0a24"