diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 17b9e30..4cc3f2d 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 //! Entry point. Argument parsing and top-level command dispatch live in
 //! `commands::Cli`.
 
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::process::ExitCode;
 
 use clap::Parser;
@@ -13,10 +14,7 @@ mod credentials;
 mod http;
 
 fn main() -> ExitCode {
-    // Load .env from CWD if present. Process env vars still take precedence
-    // over .env, so users can override per-invocation. Silently ignored
-    // when no .env exists (the common case for installed users).
-    let _ = dotenvy::dotenv();
+    load_dotenv();
 
     let cli = commands::Cli::parse();
     match cli.run() {
@@ -27,3 +25,34 @@ fn main() -> ExitCode {
         }
     }
 }
+
+/// Walk from cwd up to the filesystem root looking for the first `.env` and
+/// load it. Process env vars still win over `.env` because dotenvy's default
+/// is non-overriding. Silently ignored when no `.env` exists anywhere on the
+/// path (the common case for installed users).
+///
+/// Why upward search and not just `dotenvy::dotenv()`: developers run
+/// `mirrorstack` from many places inside their workspace — meta-repo root,
+/// a module subdirectory, a scaffold target. The cwd-only behavior surprised
+/// users by silently missing the workspace `.env` that lived one or two
+/// dirs up.
+fn load_dotenv() {
+    if let Some(path) = find_dotenv_upward() {
+        let _ = dotenvy::from_path(&path);
+    }
+}
+
+fn find_dotenv_upward() -> Option<PathBuf> {
+    let cwd = std::env::current_dir().ok()?;
+    let mut dir: &Path = cwd.as_path();
+    loop {
+        let candidate = dir.join(".env");
+        if candidate.is_file() {
+            return Some(candidate);
+        }
+        match dir.parent() {
+            Some(parent) => dir = parent,
+            None => return None,
+        }
+    }
+}