diff --git a/influxdb3/src/commands/create.rs b/influxdb3/src/commands/create.rs
index 049b9b1bb2b..cdb437e3dd8 100644
--- a/influxdb3/src/commands/create.rs
+++ b/influxdb3/src/commands/create.rs
@@ -84,8 +84,8 @@ impl Config {
                 Ok(client)
             }
             // We don't need a client for this, so we're just creating a
-            // placeholder client
-            SubCommand::Token => Ok(Client::new("http://localhost")?),
+            // placeholder client with an unusable URL
+            SubCommand::Token => Ok(Client::new("http://recall.invalid")?),
         }
     }
 }