diff --git a/proxy/go.mod b/proxy/go.mod
index 3782d6a..76c5712 100644
--- a/proxy/go.mod
+++ b/proxy/go.mod
@@ -8,4 +8,8 @@ require (
 	github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.28
 )
 
-require github.com/felixge/httpsnoop v1.0.3 // indirect
+require (
+	github.com/felixge/httpsnoop v1.0.3 // indirect
+	github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1 // indirect
+	github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.28 // indirect
+)
diff --git a/proxy/go.sum b/proxy/go.sum
index 7c0f91b..3a19b1d 100644
--- a/proxy/go.sum
+++ b/proxy/go.sum
@@ -4,5 +4,7 @@ github.com/gorilla/handlers v1.5.2 h1:cLTUSsNkgcwhgRqvCNmdbRWG0A3N4F+M2nWKdScwyE
 github.com/gorilla/handlers v1.5.2/go.mod h1:dX+xVpaxdSw+q0Qek8SSsl3dfMk3jNddUkMzo0GtH0w=
 github.com/gorilla/mux v1.8.1 h1:TuBL49tXwgrFYWhqrNgrUNEY92u81SPhu7sTdzQEiWY=
 github.com/gorilla/mux v1.8.1/go.mod h1:AKf9I4AEqPTmMytcMc0KkNouC66V3BtZ4qD5fmWSiMQ=
+github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1 h1:7eLL/+HRGLY0ldzfGMeQkb7vMd0as4CfYvUVzLqw0N0=
+github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1/go.mod h1:f4LDr5Voq0i2e/R5DDNOoa2zzDfwtkZa6DnEwAbqwq4=
 github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.28 h1:ThEiQrnbtumT+QMknw63Befp/ce/nUPgBPMlRFEum7A=
 github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.28/go.mod h1:Uh1q+B4BYcTPb+yiD3kU8Ct7aC0hY9fxUwlHK0RXw+Y=
diff --git a/proxy/internal/config/config.go b/proxy/internal/config/config.go
index 3e9619f..a9540c3 100644
--- a/proxy/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/proxy/internal/config/config.go
@@ -2,8 +2,11 @@ package config
 
 import (
 	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"strconv"
 	"time"
+
+	"github.com/joho/godotenv"
 )
 
 type Config struct {
@@ -31,6 +34,17 @@ type StorageConfig struct {
 }
 
 func Load() (*Config, error) {
+	// Load .env file if it exists
+	// Look for .env file in the project root (one level up from proxy/)
+	envPath := filepath.Join("..", ".env")
+	if err := godotenv.Load(envPath); err != nil {
+		// If .env doesn't exist in parent directory, try current directory
+		if err := godotenv.Load(".env"); err != nil {
+			// .env file is optional, so we just log and continue
+			// This allows the app to work with system environment variables only
+		}
+	}
+
 	cfg := &Config{
 		Server: ServerConfig{
 			Port:         getEnv("PORT", "3001"),