diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 950812e..7d6cfcf 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -1,6 +1,22 @@
-TRIPLIT_SERVICE_TOKEN="your-triplit-service-token" # given to you on startup, or by running `tsx generate-tokens.ts`
-NUXT_TRIPLIT_ANON_TOKEN="your-anonymous-triplit-token" # also given to you on startup, or by running `tsx generate-tokens.ts`
-BETTER_AUTH_SECRET="super-secret" # openssl rand -base64 32
-TRIPLIT_JWT_SECRET="super-secret"
-EXTERNAL_JWT_SECRET=${BETTER_AUTH_SECRET} # no need to change this
-NUXT_PUBLIC_TRIPLIT_URL="http://localhost:6543" # your triplit server url
+# Database
+POSTGRES_DB=veridian
+POSTGRES_USER=postgres
+POSTGRES_PASSWORD=changeme
+DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:changeme@db:5432/veridian
+
+# Auth
+BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=changeme
+
+# App URL (your domain, used for CORS and auth redirects)
+NUXT_PUBLIC_URL=https://veridian.example.com
+
+# S3-compatible storage (optional, for file uploads)
+S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=
+S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=
+S3_BUCKET_NAME=
+S3_REGION=
+S3_ENDPOINT=
+
+# Auth controls (optional)
+DISABLE_SIGNUP=false
+DISABLE_LOCAL_AUTH=false
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index e6d70a7..0d00403 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -2,14 +2,41 @@ services:
   db:
     image: pgvector/pgvector:pg17
     container_name: veridian-db
+    restart: unless-stopped
     ports:
-      - "5432:5432"
+      - "127.0.0.1:5432:5432"
     environment:
-      POSTGRES_DB: veridian
-      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
-      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
+      POSTGRES_DB: ${POSTGRES_DB:-veridian}
+      POSTGRES_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER:-postgres}
+      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:?Set POSTGRES_PASSWORD in .env}
     volumes:
       - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U ${POSTGRES_USER:-postgres} -d ${POSTGRES_DB:-veridian}"]
+      interval: 5s
+      timeout: 5s
+      retries: 5
+
+  app:
+    build: .
+    container_name: veridian-app
+    restart: unless-stopped
+    ports:
+      - "127.0.0.1:3000:3000"
+    depends_on:
+      db:
+        condition: service_healthy
+    environment:
+      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://${POSTGRES_USER:-postgres}:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}@db:5432/${POSTGRES_DB:-veridian}
+      BETTER_AUTH_SECRET: ${BETTER_AUTH_SECRET:?Set BETTER_AUTH_SECRET in .env}
+      NUXT_PUBLIC_URL: ${NUXT_PUBLIC_URL:?Set NUXT_PUBLIC_URL in .env}
+      S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID:-}
+      S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY:-}
+      S3_BUCKET_NAME: ${S3_BUCKET_NAME:-}
+      S3_REGION: ${S3_REGION:-}
+      S3_ENDPOINT: ${S3_ENDPOINT:-}
+      DISABLE_SIGNUP: ${DISABLE_SIGNUP:-}
+      DISABLE_LOCAL_AUTH: ${DISABLE_LOCAL_AUTH:-}
 
 volumes:
   pgdata: