diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 7ae7825..307ba84 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,12 +5,6 @@ All notable changes to WuttJamaican will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](http://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/)
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
-## v0.21.0 (2025-06-29)
-
-### Feat
-
-- remove version cap for SQLAlchemy (allow 1.x or 2.x)
-
 ## v0.20.6 (2025-06-29)
 
 ### Fix
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 954a7a0..c625694 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ build-backend = "hatchling.build"
 
 [project]
 name = "WuttJamaican"
-version = "0.21.1"
+version = "0.20.6"
 description = "Base package for Wutta Framework"
 readme = "README.md"
 authors = [{name = "Lance Edgar", email = "lance@wuttaproject.org"}]
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
-db = ["SQLAlchemy", "alembic", "alembic-postgresql-enum", "passlib"]
+db = ["SQLAlchemy<2", "alembic", "alembic-postgresql-enum", "passlib"]
 docs = ["Sphinx", "sphinxcontrib-programoutput", "enum-tools[sphinx]", "furo"]
 tests = ["pytest-cov", "tox"]
 
diff --git a/src/wuttjamaican/db/handler.py b/src/wuttjamaican/db/handler.py
index 849f954..7c745d8 100644
--- a/src/wuttjamaican/db/handler.py
+++ b/src/wuttjamaican/db/handler.py
@@ -34,10 +34,6 @@ class DatabaseHandler(GenericHandler):
     Base class and default implementation for the :term:`db handler`.
     """
 
-    def get_dialect(self, bind):
-        """ """
-        return bind.url.get_dialect().name
-
     def next_counter_value(self, session, key):
         """
         Return the next counter value for the given key.
@@ -56,7 +52,7 @@ class DatabaseHandler(GenericHandler):
 
         :returns: Next value as integer.
         """
-        dialect = self.get_dialect(session.bind)
+        dialect = session.bind.url.get_dialect().name
 
         # postgres uses "true" native sequence
         if dialect == 'postgresql':
diff --git a/src/wuttjamaican/db/util.py b/src/wuttjamaican/db/util.py
index ff4b69b..bc06e22 100644
--- a/src/wuttjamaican/db/util.py
+++ b/src/wuttjamaican/db/util.py
@@ -25,8 +25,6 @@ Database Utilities
 """
 
 import uuid as _uuid
-from importlib.metadata import version
-from packaging.version import Version
 
 import sqlalchemy as sa
 from sqlalchemy import orm
@@ -46,11 +44,6 @@ naming_convention = {
 }
 
 
-SA2 = True
-if Version(version('SQLAlchemy')) < Version('2'): # pragma: no cover
-    SA2 = False
-
-
 class ModelBase:
     """ """
 
diff --git a/tests/db/test_handler.py b/tests/db/test_handler.py
index bee05e5..e28e813 100644
--- a/tests/db/test_handler.py
+++ b/tests/db/test_handler.py
@@ -51,7 +51,8 @@ else:
             # using sqlite backend.
 
             # using postgres as backend, should use "sequence"
-            with patch.object(handler, 'get_dialect', return_value='postgresql'):
+            with patch.object(self.session.bind.url, 'get_dialect') as get_dialect:
+                get_dialect.return_value.name = 'postgresql'
                 with patch.object(self.session, 'execute') as execute:
                     execute.return_value.scalar.return_value = 1
                     value = handler.next_counter_value(self.session, 'testing')
diff --git a/tests/test_install.py b/tests/test_install.py
index 2bc2ddb..ba410b1 100644
--- a/tests/test_install.py
+++ b/tests/test_install.py
@@ -92,8 +92,6 @@ class TestInstallHandler(ConfigTestCase):
         except ImportError:
             pytest.skip("test is not relevant without sqlalchemy")
 
-        from wuttjamaican.db.util import SA2
-
         handler = self.make_handler()
 
         def prompt_generic(info, default=None, is_password=False):
@@ -114,8 +112,6 @@ class TestInstallHandler(ConfigTestCase):
                         self.assertRaises(RuntimeError, handler.get_dbinfo)
                         sys.exit.assert_called_once_with(1)
 
-                        seekrit = '***' if SA2 else 'seekrit'
-
                         # good dbinfo
                         sys.exit.reset_mock()
                         test_db_connection.return_value = None
@@ -123,7 +119,7 @@ class TestInstallHandler(ConfigTestCase):
                         self.assertFalse(sys.exit.called)
                         rprint.assert_called_with("[bold green]good[/bold green]")
                         self.assertEqual(str(dbinfo['dburl']),
-                                         f'postgresql+psycopg2://poser:{seekrit}@localhost:5432/poser')
+                                         'postgresql+psycopg2://poser:seekrit@localhost:5432/poser')
 
     def test_make_db_url(self):
         try:
@@ -131,16 +127,13 @@ class TestInstallHandler(ConfigTestCase):
         except ImportError:
             pytest.skip("test is not relevant without sqlalchemy")
 
-        from wuttjamaican.db.util import SA2
-
         handler = self.make_handler()
-        seekrit = '***' if SA2 else 'seekrit'
 
         url = handler.make_db_url('postgresql', 'localhost', '5432', 'poser', 'poser', 'seekrit')
-        self.assertEqual(str(url), f'postgresql+psycopg2://poser:{seekrit}@localhost:5432/poser')
+        self.assertEqual(str(url), 'postgresql+psycopg2://poser:seekrit@localhost:5432/poser')
 
         url = handler.make_db_url('mysql', 'localhost', '3306', 'poser', 'poser', 'seekrit')
-        self.assertEqual(str(url), f'mysql+mysqlconnector://poser:{seekrit}@localhost:3306/poser')
+        self.assertEqual(str(url), 'mysql+mysqlconnector://poser:seekrit@localhost:3306/poser')
 
     def test_test_db_connection(self):
         try: