Database (database/database.sqlite) does not exist. Database works from artisan tinker

I created my database.sqlite file in the database folder. My .env file contents are :

DB_CONNECTION=sqlite
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=absolute\path\to\database\database.sqlite
DB_USERNAME=admin
DB_PASSWORD=

When I run php artisan tinker and DB::table('users')->get(); I get the info from the database.

My DatabaseController is:

class DatabaseController extends Controller
{
    public function main()
    {
        $users = DB::table('users')->get();

        return view('database',compact($users));
    }
}

Yet when I request /database path I get the error:

QueryException in Connection.php line 647: Database (database/database.sqlite) does not exist. (SQL: select * from "users")

UPDATE: A temporary fix is to change the database.php from the config folder:

  'connections' => [

    'sqlite' => [
        'driver' => 'sqlite',
        'database' => 'absolute\path\database\database.sqlite', 
        'prefix' => '',
    ],

Instead of using env('DB_DATABASE', database_path('database.sqlite')), which returns database/database.sqlite not my absolute path.

You need to use full path, something like:

DB_DATABASE=/home/laravel-project/database/database.sqlite