diff --git a/backend/go.mod b/backend/go.mod
index ca29efc..1099c26 100644
--- a/backend/go.mod
+++ b/backend/go.mod
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/jackc/pgpassfile v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/jackc/pgservicefile v0.0.0-20240606120523-5a60cdf6a761 // indirect
 	github.com/jackc/puddle/v2 v2.2.2 // indirect
+	github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1 // indirect
 	github.com/josharian/intern v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/mailru/easyjson v0.7.6 // indirect
 	github.com/modern-go/concurrent v0.0.0-20180228061459-e0a39a4cb421 // indirect
diff --git a/backend/go.sum b/backend/go.sum
index c1ad7eb..77d331d 100644
--- a/backend/go.sum
+++ b/backend/go.sum
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ github.com/jackc/puddle/v2 v2.2.2 h1:PR8nw+E/1w0GLuRFSmiioY6UooMp6KJv0/61nB7icHo
 github.com/jackc/puddle/v2 v2.2.2/go.mod h1:vriiEXHvEE654aYKXXjOvZM39qJ0q+azkZFrfEOc3H4=
 github.com/jmoiron/sqlx v1.4.0 h1:1PLqN7S1UYp5t4SrVVnt4nUVNemrDAtxlulVe+Qgm3o=
 github.com/jmoiron/sqlx v1.4.0/go.mod h1:ZrZ7UsYB/weZdl2Bxg6jCRO9c3YHl8r3ahlKmRT4JLY=
+github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1 h1:7eLL/+HRGLY0ldzfGMeQkb7vMd0as4CfYvUVzLqw0N0=
+github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1/go.mod h1:f4LDr5Voq0i2e/R5DDNOoa2zzDfwtkZa6DnEwAbqwq4=
 github.com/josharian/intern v1.0.0 h1:vlS4z54oSdjm0bgjRigI+G1HpF+tI+9rE5LLzOg8HmY=
 github.com/josharian/intern v1.0.0/go.mod h1:5DoeVV0s6jJacbCEi61lwdGj/aVlrQvzHFFd8Hwg//Y=
 github.com/json-iterator/go v1.1.12 h1:PV8peI4a0ysnczrg+LtxykD8LfKY9ML6u2jnxaEnrnM=
diff --git a/backend/internal/config/config.go b/backend/internal/config/config.go
index 14e658a..905632a 100644
--- a/backend/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/backend/internal/config/config.go
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ import (
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
+
+	"github.com/joho/godotenv"
 )
 
 // Config centralizes runtime configuration loaded from the environment.
@@ -30,6 +32,8 @@ type Config struct {
 // Load reads configuration from environment variables and applies sane defaults
 // for local development.
 func Load() Config {
+	_ = godotenv.Load() // Load from .env if present
+
 	cfg := Config{
 		AppName:               getEnv("APP_NAME", "saveinmed-performance-core"),
 		Port:                  getEnv("BACKEND_PORT", "8214"),