diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 42aa982..362c4b6 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -8,9 +8,9 @@
 #   echo "POSTGRES_URL=$(az keyvault secret show --vault-name kv-hyf-data --name postgres-url --query value -o tsv)" >> .env
 #   echo "AZURE_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING=$(az keyvault secret show --vault-name kv-hyf-data --name storage-connection-string --query value -o tsv)" >> .env
 
-POSTGRES_URL=postgresql://<user>:<password>@<server>.postgres.database.azure.com:5432/<db>?sslmode=require
-AZURE_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING=DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;AccountName=...;AccountKey=...;EndpointSuffix=core.windows.net
+export POSTGRES_URL=postgresql://<user>:<password>@<server>.postgres.database.azure.com:5432/<db>?sslmode=require
+export AZURE_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING=DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;AccountName=...;AccountKey=...;EndpointSuffix=core.windows.net
 # Your personal schema on the shared Postgres server — replace with your GitHub handle.
 # All tables are created here so they don't collide with other students.
-DB_SCHEMA=dev_<your_github_handle>
-LOG_LEVEL=INFO
+export DB_SCHEMA=dev_<your_github_handle>
+export LOG_LEVEL=INFO
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d86d31d..aef441f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -42,15 +42,15 @@ uv run pytest tests/ -v
 
 ```bash
 # Build for linux/amd64 (required by Azure Container Apps) and push to ACR
-docker build --platform linux/amd64 -t hyfregistry.azurecr.io/my-pipeline:1.0 .
-docker push hyfregistry.azurecr.io/my-pipeline:1.0
+docker build --platform linux/amd64 -t hyfregistry.azurecr.io/my-pipeline:latest .
+docker push hyfregistry.azurecr.io/my-pipeline:latest
 
 # Create Container App Job (runs daily at 06:00 UTC)
 az containerapp job create \
   --name my-pipeline-job \
   --resource-group rg-hyf-data \
   --environment env-hyf-data \
-  --image hyfregistry.azurecr.io/my-pipeline:1.0 \
+  --image hyfregistry.azurecr.io/my-pipeline:latest \
   --registry-server hyfregistry.azurecr.io \
   --trigger-type Schedule \
   --cron-expression "0 6 * * *" \
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index cc04ace..287e092 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "azure-storage-blob==12.25.1",
     "requests==2.32.3",
     "pandas==2.2.3",
+    "python-dotenv>=1.0",
 ]
 
 [dependency-groups]
diff --git a/src/pipeline.py b/src/pipeline.py
index 635112d..0d19b1e 100644
--- a/src/pipeline.py
+++ b/src/pipeline.py
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@
 import os
 import sys
 
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+
+load_dotenv()
+
 import pandas as pd
 from pydantic import ValidationError
 
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 50ac0b7..fe43735 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -247,6 +247,7 @@ dependencies = [
     { name = "pandas" },
     { name = "psycopg2-binary" },
     { name = "pydantic" },
+    { name = "python-dotenv" },
     { name = "requests" },
 ]
 
@@ -262,6 +263,7 @@ requires-dist = [
     { name = "pandas", specifier = "==2.2.3" },
     { name = "psycopg2-binary", specifier = "==2.9.10" },
     { name = "pydantic", specifier = "==2.10.6" },
+    { name = "python-dotenv", specifier = ">=1.0" },
     { name = "requests", specifier = "==2.32.3" },
 ]
 
@@ -544,6 +546,15 @@ wheels = [
     { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/ec/57/56b9bcc3c9c6a792fcbaf139543cee77261f3651ca9da0c93f5c1221264b/python_dateutil-2.9.0.post0-py2.py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:a8b2bc7bffae282281c8140a97d3aa9c14da0b136dfe83f850eea9a5f7470427", size = 229892, upload-time = "2024-03-01T18:36:18.57Z" },
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "python-dotenv"
+version = "1.2.2"
+source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
+sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/82/ed/0301aeeac3e5353ef3d94b6ec08bbcabd04a72018415dcb29e588514bba8/python_dotenv-1.2.2.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:2c371a91fbd7ba082c2c1dc1f8bf89ca22564a087c2c287cd9b662adde799cf3", size = 50135, upload-time = "2026-03-01T16:00:26.196Z" }
+wheels = [
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/0b/d7/1959b9648791274998a9c3526f6d0ec8fd2233e4d4acce81bbae76b44b2a/python_dotenv-1.2.2-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:1d8214789a24de455a8b8bd8ae6fe3c6b69a5e3d64aa8a8e5d68e694bbcb285a", size = 22101, upload-time = "2026-03-01T16:00:25.09Z" },
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "pytz"
 version = "2026.2"