diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 70543b1..9fc81fb 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@
         "@redis/client": "5.1.0",
         "body-parser": "2.3.0",
         "discord.js": "14.27.0",
-        "dotenv": "16.5.0",
         "express": "5.1.0",
         "express-session": "1.19.0",
         "markdown-it": "15.0.0",
@@ -1894,17 +1893,6 @@
         "url": "https://github.com/discordjs/discord.js?sponsor"
       }
     },
-    "node_modules/dotenv": {
-      "version": "16.5.0",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/dotenv/-/dotenv-16.5.0.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-m/C+AwOAr9/W1UOIZUo232ejMNnJAJtYQjUbHoNTBNTJSvqzzDh7vnrei3o3r3m9blf6ZoDkvcw0VmozNRFJxg==",
-      "engines": {
-        "node": ">=12"
-      },
-      "funding": {
-        "url": "https://dotenvx.com"
-      }
-    },
     "node_modules/dunder-proto": {
       "version": "1.0.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/dunder-proto/-/dunder-proto-1.0.1.tgz",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index e19d30a..667d088 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
     "@redis/client": "5.1.0",
     "body-parser": "2.3.0",
     "discord.js": "14.27.0",
-    "dotenv": "16.5.0",
     "express": "5.1.0",
     "express-session": "1.19.0",
     "markdown-it": "15.0.0",
@@ -27,14 +26,14 @@
     "sqlite3": "6.0.1"
   },
   "scripts": {
-    "dev": "tsx watch --enable-source-maps src/index.ts",
-    "start": "node dist/index.js",
+    "dev": "tsx watch --enable-source-maps --env-file=.env src/index.ts",
+    "start": "node --env-file=.env dist/index.js",
     "lint": "npx eslint .",
     "typecheck": "npx tsc --noEmit",
     "build": "npm run clean && node scripts/build.js && npm run copyfiles",
     "clean": "rimraf dist",
     "copyfiles": "copyfiles -u 1 \"./src/**/*.html\" ./dist",
-    "encrypt": "node ./scripts/encrypt-data.js",
-    "add-author-hash": "node ./scripts/add-author-id-hash.js"
+    "encrypt": "node --env-file=.env ./scripts/encrypt-data.js",
+    "add-author-hash": "node --env-file=.env ./scripts/add-author-id-hash.js"
   }
 }
diff --git a/scripts/add-author-id-hash.js b/scripts/add-author-id-hash.js
index 1fb619e..aafee8f 100644
--- a/scripts/add-author-id-hash.js
+++ b/scripts/add-author-id-hash.js
@@ -1,10 +1,7 @@
 import crypto from 'crypto';
-import dotenv from 'dotenv';
 import { open } from 'sqlite';
 import sqlite3 from 'sqlite3';
 
-dotenv.config();
-
 async function main() {
   Encrypter.initialize(process.env.DATABASE_SECRET);
 
diff --git a/scripts/encrypt-data.js b/scripts/encrypt-data.js
index 91ae802..8f13725 100644
--- a/scripts/encrypt-data.js
+++ b/scripts/encrypt-data.js
@@ -1,10 +1,7 @@
 import crypto from 'crypto';
-import dotenv from 'dotenv';
 import { open } from 'sqlite';
 import sqlite3 from 'sqlite3';
 
-dotenv.config();
-
 async function main() {
   Encrypter.initialize(process.env.DATABASE_SECRET);
 
diff --git a/src/config.ts b/src/config.ts
index 670b7b9..1cc22ec 100644
--- a/src/config.ts
+++ b/src/config.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,3 @@
-import dotenv from 'dotenv';
-
-dotenv.config();
-
 const { DISCORD_TOKEN, DISCORD_CLIENT_ID, DISCORD_CLIENT_SECRET, DISCORD_GUILD_ID, RELEASE_SECRET, DATABASE_SECRET, LINK_SECRET, E621_BASE_URL, E926_BASE_URL, PRIVACY_POLICY_URL, GIT_REPO_BASE_URL, REDIS_URL, PORT, DEBUG } = process.env;
 
 export const config = {