diff --git a/packages/backend-core/package.json b/packages/backend-core/package.json
index 2fbc087214..63e0d9ff9b 100644
--- a/packages/backend-core/package.json
+++ b/packages/backend-core/package.json
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@
     "testEnvironment": "node",
     "moduleNameMapper": {
       "@budibase/types": "<rootDir>/../types/src",
-      "axios": "axios/dist/node/axios.cjs"
+      "^axios.*$": "<rootDir>/node_modules/axios/lib/axios.js"
     },
     "setupFiles": [
       "./scripts/jestSetup.ts"
diff --git a/packages/backend-core/src/db/couch/pouchDB.ts b/packages/backend-core/src/db/couch/pouchDB.ts
index 07f7b6c90d..e7efbf6dcd 100644
--- a/packages/backend-core/src/db/couch/pouchDB.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-core/src/db/couch/pouchDB.ts
@@ -66,7 +66,20 @@ const checkInitialised = () => {
 
 export function getPouchDB(dbName: string, opts?: any): PouchDB.Database {
   checkInitialised()
-  return new Pouch(dbName, opts)
+  const db = new Pouch(dbName, opts)
+  const dbPut = db.put
+  db.put = async (doc: any, options = {}) => {
+    if (!doc.createdAt) {
+      doc.createdAt = new Date().toISOString()
+    }
+    doc.updatedAt = new Date().toISOString()
+    return dbPut(doc, options)
+  }
+  db.exists = async () => {
+    const info = await db.info()
+    return !info.error
+  }
+  return db
 }
 
 // use this function if you have called getPouchDB - close
diff --git a/packages/backend-core/src/db/db.ts b/packages/backend-core/src/db/db.ts
index 909d286d32..beaea3d42c 100644
--- a/packages/backend-core/src/db/db.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-core/src/db/db.ts
@@ -1,19 +1,15 @@
 import env from "../environment"
-import { directCouchQuery, PouchLike } from "./couch"
+import { directCouchQuery, PouchLike, getPouchDB } from "./couch"
 import { CouchFindOptions } from "@budibase/types"
 
-let initialised = false
 const dbList = new Set()
 
-const checkInitialised = () => {
-  if (!initialised) {
-    throw new Error("init has not been called")
-  }
-}
-
 export function getDB(dbName?: string, opts?: any): PouchLike {
+  // TODO: once using the test image, need to remove this
   if (env.isTest()) {
     dbList.add(dbName)
+    // @ts-ignore
+    return getPouchDB(dbName, opts)
   }
   return new PouchLike(dbName, opts)
 }
@@ -32,7 +28,6 @@ export function allDbs() {
   if (!env.isTest()) {
     throw new Error("Cannot be used outside test environment.")
   }
-  checkInitialised()
   return [...dbList]
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/backend-core/src/db/tests/pouch.spec.js b/packages/backend-core/src/db/tests/pouch.spec.js
index 30cdd0f5ec..ce27ab7d22 100644
--- a/packages/backend-core/src/db/tests/pouch.spec.js
+++ b/packages/backend-core/src/db/tests/pouch.spec.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 require("../../../tests/utilities/TestConfiguration")
-const getUrlInfo = require("../pouch").getUrlInfo
+const getUrlInfo = require("../couch").getUrlInfo
 
 describe("pouch", () => {
   describe("Couch DB URL parsing", () => {
diff --git a/packages/backend-core/src/db/tests/utils.spec.js b/packages/backend-core/src/db/tests/utils.spec.js
index 5f9a224e7a..1700621334 100644
--- a/packages/backend-core/src/db/tests/utils.spec.js
+++ b/packages/backend-core/src/db/tests/utils.spec.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-require("../../../tests/utilities/TestConfiguration");
+require("../../../tests/utilities/TestConfiguration")
 const {
   generateAppID,
   getDevelopmentAppID,
@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ const {
   getPlatformUrl,
   getScopedConfig
 } = require("../utils")
-const tenancy = require("../../tenancy");
-const { Configs, DEFAULT_TENANT_ID } = require("../../constants");
+const tenancy = require("../../tenancy")
+const { Configs, DEFAULT_TENANT_ID } = require("../../constants")
 const env = require("../../environment")
 
 describe("utils", () => {
diff --git a/packages/server/__mocks__/node-fetch.ts b/packages/server/__mocks__/node-fetch.ts
index 0e32c39edd..c3d6b623dd 100644
--- a/packages/server/__mocks__/node-fetch.ts
+++ b/packages/server/__mocks__/node-fetch.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ module FetchMock {
   const fetch = jest.requireActual("node-fetch")
   let failCount = 0
 
-  module.exports = async (url: any, opts: any) => {
+  const func = async (url: any, opts: any) => {
     function json(body: any, status = 200) {
       return {
         status,
@@ -106,4 +106,8 @@ module FetchMock {
     }
     return fetch(url, opts)
   }
+
+  func.Headers = fetch.Headers
+
+  module.exports = func
 }
diff --git a/packages/server/package.json b/packages/server/package.json
index 6d75877c79..ad8f62739d 100644
--- a/packages/server/package.json
+++ b/packages/server/package.json
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
       "@budibase/backend-core/(.*)": "<rootDir>/../backend-core/$1",
       "@budibase/backend-core": "<rootDir>/../backend-core/src",
       "@budibase/types": "<rootDir>/../types/src",
-      "axios": "axios/dist/node/axios.cjs"
+      "^axios.*$": "<rootDir>/node_modules/axios/lib/axios.js"
     },
     "setupFiles": [
       "./scripts/jestSetup.js"
diff --git a/packages/server/src/db/tests/linkTests.spec.js b/packages/server/src/db/tests/linkTests.spec.js
index 8bc26cde2a..0684255ea1 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/db/tests/linkTests.spec.js
+++ b/packages/server/src/db/tests/linkTests.spec.js
@@ -1,30 +1,34 @@
 const TestConfig = require("../../tests/utilities/TestConfiguration")
 const { basicTable } = require("../../tests/utilities/structures")
 const linkUtils = require("../linkedRows/linkUtils")
-const { getAppDB } = require("@budibase/backend-core/context")
-const { doWithDB } = require("@budibase/backend-core/db")
+const { context } = require("@budibase/backend-core")
 
 describe("test link functionality", () => {
   const config = new TestConfig(false)
+  let appId
 
   describe("getLinkedTable", () => {
-    let db, table
+    let table
     beforeEach(async () => {
-      await config.init()
-      db = getAppDB()
+      const app = await config.init()
+      appId = app.appId
       table = await config.createTable()
     })
 
     it("should be able to retrieve a linked table from a list", async () => {
-      const retrieved = await linkUtils.getLinkedTable(table._id, [table])
-      expect(retrieved._id).toBe(table._id)
+      await context.doInAppContext(appId, async () => {
+        const retrieved = await linkUtils.getLinkedTable(table._id, [table])
+        expect(retrieved._id).toBe(table._id)
+      })
     })
 
     it("should be able to retrieve a table from DB and update list", async () => {
       const tables = []
-      const retrieved = await linkUtils.getLinkedTable(table._id, tables)
-      expect(retrieved._id).toBe(table._id)
-      expect(tables[0]).toBeDefined()
+      await context.doInAppContext(appId, async () => {
+        const retrieved = await linkUtils.getLinkedTable(table._id, tables)
+        expect(retrieved._id).toBe(table._id)
+        expect(tables[0]).toBeDefined()
+      })
     })
   })
 
@@ -48,15 +52,14 @@ describe("test link functionality", () => {
   describe("getLinkDocuments", () => {
     it("should create the link view when it doesn't exist", async () => {
       // create the DB and a very basic app design DB
-      const output = await doWithDB("test", async db => {
-        await db.put({ _id: "_design/database", views: {} })
-        return await linkUtils.getLinkDocuments({
+      await context.doInAppContext(appId, async () => {
+        const output = await linkUtils.getLinkDocuments({
           tableId: "test",
           rowId: "test",
           includeDocs: false,
         })
+        expect(Array.isArray(output)).toBe(true)
       })
-      expect(Array.isArray(output)).toBe(true)
     })
   })
 })
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/server/src/middleware/tests/currentapp.spec.js b/packages/server/src/middleware/tests/currentapp.spec.js
index 638abcbba4..12f68bedfc 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/middleware/tests/currentapp.spec.js
+++ b/packages/server/src/middleware/tests/currentapp.spec.js
@@ -1,16 +1,8 @@
+require("../../db").init()
 mockAuthWithNoCookie()
 mockWorker()
 mockUserGroups()
 
-jest.mock("@budibase/backend-core/db", () => {
-  const coreDb = jest.requireActual("@budibase/backend-core/db")
-  coreDb.init()
-  return {
-    ...coreDb,
-    dbExists: async () => true,
-  }
-})
-
 function mockWorker() {
   jest.mock("../../utilities/workerRequests", () => ({
     getGlobalSelf: () => {
@@ -43,42 +35,51 @@ function mockUserGroups() {
 function mockAuthWithNoCookie() {
   jest.resetModules()
   mockWorker()
-  jest.mock("@budibase/backend-core/cache", () => ({
-    user: {
-      getUser: () => {
-        return {
-          _id: "us_uuid1",
-        }
+  jest.mock("@budibase/backend-core", () => {
+    const core = jest.requireActual("@budibase/backend-core")
+    return {
+      ...core,
+      db: {
+        dbExists: () => true,
       },
-    },
-  }))
-  jest.mock("@budibase/backend-core/utils", () => ({
-    getAppIdFromCtx: jest.fn(),
-    setCookie: jest.fn(),
-    getCookie: jest.fn(),
-  }))
-  jest.mock("@budibase/backend-core/constants", () => ({
-    Cookies: {},
-  }))
+      cache: {
+        user: {
+          getUser: () => {
+            return {
+              _id: "us_uuid1",
+            }
+          },
+        },
+      },
+      utils: {
+        getAppIdFromCtx: jest.fn(),
+        setCookie: jest.fn(),
+        getCookie: jest.fn(),
+      },
+    }
+  })
 }
 
 function mockAuthWithCookie() {
   jest.resetModules()
   mockWorker()
-  jest.mock("@budibase/backend-core/utils", () => ({
-    getAppIdFromCtx: () => {
-      return "app_test"
-    },
-    setCookie: jest.fn(),
-    clearCookie: jest.fn(),
-    getCookie: () => ({appId: "app_different", roleId: "PUBLIC"}),
-  }))
-  jest.mock("@budibase/backend-core/constants", () => ({
-    Cookies: {
-      Auth: "auth",
-      CurrentApp: "currentapp",
-    },
-  }))
+  jest.mock("@budibase/backend-core", () => {
+    const core = jest.requireActual("@budibase/backend-core")
+    return {
+      ...core,
+      db: {
+        dbExists: () => true,
+      },
+      utils: {
+        getAppIdFromCtx: () => {
+          return "app_test"
+        },
+        setCookie: jest.fn(),
+        clearCookie: jest.fn(),
+        getCookie: () => ({ appId: "app_different", roleId: "PUBLIC" }),
+      },
+    }
+  })
 }
 
 class TestConfiguration {
@@ -88,7 +89,16 @@ class TestConfiguration {
 
     this.ctx = {
       next: this.next,
-      throw: this.throw
+      throw: this.throw,
+      request: {
+        body: {},
+        headers: {},
+      },
+      headers: {},
+      path: "",
+      cookies: {
+        set: jest.fn(),
+      }
     }
   }
 
@@ -101,6 +111,8 @@ class TestConfiguration {
 
   executeMiddleware() {
     // import as late as possible for mocks
+    jest.resetModules()
+    require("../../db").init()
     const currentAppMiddleware = require("../currentapp")
     return currentAppMiddleware(this.ctx, this.next)
   }
@@ -138,11 +150,11 @@ describe("Current app middleware", () => {
     async function checkExpected(setCookie) {
       config.setUser()
       await config.executeMiddleware()
-      let { setCookie: cookieFn } = require("@budibase/backend-core/utils")
+      let { utils } = require("@budibase/backend-core")
       if (setCookie) {
-        expect(cookieFn).toHaveBeenCalled()
+        expect(utils.setCookie).toHaveBeenCalled()
       } else {
-        expect(cookieFn).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+        expect(utils.setCookie).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
       }
       expect(config.ctx.roleId).toEqual("PUBLIC")
       expect(config.ctx.user.role._id).toEqual("PUBLIC")
@@ -157,31 +169,43 @@ describe("Current app middleware", () => {
 
     it("should perform correct when no cookie exists", async () => {
       mockReset()
-      jest.mock("@budibase/backend-core/utils", () => ({
-        getAppIdFromCtx: () => {
-          return "app_test"
-        },
-        setCookie: jest.fn(),
-        getCookie: jest.fn(),
-      }))
-      jest.mock("@budibase/backend-core/constants", () => ({
-        Cookies: {},
-      }))
+      jest.mock("@budibase/backend-core", () => {
+        const core = jest.requireActual("@budibase/backend-core")
+        return {
+          ...core,
+          db: {
+            dbExists: () => true,
+          },
+          utils: {
+            getAppIdFromCtx: () => {
+              return "app_test"
+            },
+            setCookie: jest.fn(),
+            getCookie: jest.fn(),
+          },
+        }
+      })
       await checkExpected(true)
     })
 
     it("lastly check what occurs when cookie doesn't need updated", async () => {
       mockReset()
-      jest.mock("@budibase/backend-core/utils", () => ({
-        getAppIdFromCtx: () => {
-          return "app_test"
-        },
-        setCookie: jest.fn(),
-        getCookie: () => ({appId: "app_test", roleId: "PUBLIC"}),
-      }))
-      jest.mock("@budibase/backend-core/constants", () => ({
-        Cookies: {},
-      }))
+      jest.mock("@budibase/backend-core", () => {
+        const core = jest.requireActual("@budibase/backend-core")
+        return {
+          ...core,
+          db: {
+            dbExists: () => true,
+          },
+          utils: {
+            getAppIdFromCtx: () => {
+              return "app_test"
+            },
+            setCookie: jest.fn(),
+            getCookie: () => ({ appId: "app_test", roleId: "PUBLIC" }),
+          },
+        }
+      })
       await checkExpected(false)
     })
   })
diff --git a/packages/worker/package.json b/packages/worker/package.json
index 844448b569..1e694adfc9 100644
--- a/packages/worker/package.json
+++ b/packages/worker/package.json
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@
       "@budibase/backend-core/(.*)": "<rootDir>/../backend-core/$1",
       "@budibase/backend-core": "<rootDir>/../backend-core/src",
       "@budibase/types": "<rootDir>/../types/src",
-      "axios": "axios/dist/node/axios.cjs"
+      "^axios.*$": "<rootDir>/node_modules/axios/lib/axios.js"
     },
     "setupFiles": [
       "./scripts/jestSetup.js"