diff --git a/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator/.gitignore b/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2eea525
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+.env
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator.csproj b/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator.csproj
index 44c0150..bcf19fb 100644
--- a/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator.csproj
+++ b/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator.csproj
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
   </PropertyGroup>
 
   <ItemGroup>
+    <PackageReference Include="DotNetEnv" Version="3.0.0" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore" Version="8.0.1" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Tools" Version="8.0.1">
       <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
diff --git a/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator/Program.cs b/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator/Program.cs
index 0c4a572..c08b2a9 100644
--- a/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator/Program.cs
+++ b/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator/Program.cs
@@ -3,6 +3,13 @@ using Minecraft_Realms_Emulator.Data;
 using Minecraft_Realms_Emulator.Helpers;
 
 var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
+DotNetEnv.Env.Load();
+
+if (Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("CONNECTION_STRING") == null)
+{
+    Console.WriteLine("CONNECTION_STRING environment variable missing");
+    return;
+}
 
 // Add services to the container.
 
@@ -13,7 +20,7 @@ builder.Services.AddSwaggerGen();
 
 builder.Services.AddDbContext<DataContext>(options =>
 {
-    options.UseNpgsql(builder.Configuration.GetConnectionString("DefaultConnection"));
+    options.UseNpgsql(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("CONNECTION_STRING"));
 });
 
 var app = builder.Build();
diff --git a/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator/appsettings.json b/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator/appsettings.json
index 3ce2bc0..23160a4 100644
--- a/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator/appsettings.json
+++ b/Minecraft-Realms-Emulator/appsettings.json
@@ -1,7 +1,4 @@
 {
-    "ConnectionStrings": {
-        "DefaultConnection": "User Id=postgres.aquqykciubzfolgrftwa;Password=z6hmYsiCl0f7HzUr;Server=aws-0-us-west-1.pooler.supabase.com;Port=5432;Database=postgres"
-    },
     "Logging": {
         "LogLevel": {
             "Default": "Information",