diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 5319b8e..aada400 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -17,6 +17,12 @@ services:
     # Apply pending migrations on boot, then serve.
     command: sh -c "npx prisma migrate deploy && npm run start"
     restart: unless-stopped
+    # Dokploy writes the Environment tab into a .env beside this file. Compose uses
+    # that for ${VAR} interpolation (the build args above) but does NOT put it
+    # inside the container — env_file is what actually injects DATABASE_URL,
+    # BETTER_AUTH_SECRET, the Turnstile keys, etc. at runtime.
+    env_file:
+      - .env
     environment:
       STORAGE_DIR: /app/storage
       PORT: "3000"
@@ -40,6 +46,8 @@ services:
     image: podcast-distribution-ai:latest
     command: npx tsx worker/index.ts
     restart: unless-stopped
+    env_file:
+      - .env
     environment:
       STORAGE_DIR: /app/storage
     volumes: