diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
deleted file mode 100644
index 20173e4..0000000
--- a/.env.example
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-# Required for file uploads
-CLIENT_KEY=your-secret-key-here
-
-# Optional configurations
-UPLOAD_FOLDER=tmp/uploads
-DEBUG=False
-MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH=16777216  # 16MB in bytes
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 8e32e75..4214b49 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -38,3 +38,6 @@ wheels/
 *.swo
 .DS_Store
 
+# Certificates
+cert.pem
+key.pem
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index c0979e4..d898067 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,13 +1,8 @@
-FROM python:3.13-slim
+FROM python:3.12-slim
 WORKDIR /app
 COPY ./src /app
 COPY requirements.txt /app/requirements.txt
 RUN pip install -r /app/requirements.txt
 EXPOSE 7777
-
-# The actual values should be provided when running the container
-ENV CLIENT_KEY=default-secret-key \
-    UPLOAD_FOLDER=tmp/uploads \
-    DEBUG=False
-
-CMD ["gunicorn", "wsgi:app", "--bind", "0.0.0.0:7777"]
\ No newline at end of file
+#CMD ["gunicorn", "wsgi:app", "--bind", "0.0.0.0:7777"]
+CMD ["python", "start.py"]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2874cc3..a49a0b3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -33,10 +33,10 @@ source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
 pip install -r requirements.txt
 ```
 
-4. Set up environment variables:
-   - Copy `.env.example` to `.env`
-   - Set your `CLIENT_KEY` in the `.env` file
-   - Adjust other settings as needed
+4. Set environment variables (optional):
+```bash
+export CLIENT_KEY=your-secret-key  # If not set, defaults to default-secret-key
+```
 
 5. Run the server:
 ```bash
@@ -120,22 +120,14 @@ Delete a file using its code.
 All configuration is handled through environment variables:
 
 ### Required Settings
-- `CLIENT_KEY`: API key for file uploads (required for production)
+None - all settings have defaults for easy testing
 
 ### Optional Settings
+- `CLIENT_KEY`: API key for file uploads (default: default-secret-key)
 - `UPLOAD_FOLDER`: Upload directory path (default: tmp/uploads)
 - `MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH`: Maximum file size (default: 16MB)
 - `DEBUG`: Enable debug mode (default: False)
 
-### Environment File
-The application supports `.env` file for configuration:
-```env
-CLIENT_KEY=your-secret-key-here
-UPLOAD_FOLDER=tmp/uploads
-DEBUG=False
-MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH=16777216
-```
-
 ## Contributing
 1. Fork the repository
 2. Create a feature branch
@@ -144,7 +136,7 @@ MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH=16777216
 5. Create a Pull Request
 
 ## Security Best Practices
-- Always change the default client key
+- Set a strong CLIENT_KEY in production
 - Use HTTPS in production
 - Regularly monitor disk usage
 - Set appropriate file size limits
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 726f4ec..1d85079 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ itsdangerous==2.2.0
 Jinja2==3.1.4
 MarkupSafe==3.0.0
 packaging==24.1
-python-dotenv==1.0.1
 requests==2.32.3
 urllib3==2.2.3
 Werkzeug==3.0.4
diff --git a/src/app.py b/src/app.py
index 290e0b4..ac75600 100644
--- a/src/app.py
+++ b/src/app.py
@@ -1,41 +1,14 @@
 import os
-import uuid
 from functools import wraps
 from flask import Flask, request, jsonify, send_from_directory
 from werkzeug.utils import secure_filename
-import requests
-from dotenv import load_dotenv
 import utils.mLogger as log
 from controllers.file_controller import upload_file, download_file, delete_file
 from views import views
 
-# Get the project root directory (one level up from src)
-project_root = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
-env_path = os.path.join(project_root, '.env')
-
-# Load environment variables with explicit path
-load_dotenv(dotenv_path=env_path)
-
-# Debug log for environment loading
-log.i(f"Loading .env from: {env_path}")
-log.i(f"File exists: {os.path.exists(env_path)}")
-
 app = Flask(__name__)
 app.config['UPLOAD_FOLDER'] = 'tmp/uploads'
-app.config['CLIENT_KEY'] = os.getenv('CLIENT_KEY', 'default-secret-key')
-
-# Log the loaded client key (masked)
-if app.config['CLIENT_KEY']:
-    masked_key = app.config['CLIENT_KEY'][:4] + '*' * (len(app.config['CLIENT_KEY']) - 4)
-    log.i(f"Loaded client key: {masked_key}")
-else:
-    log.w("No client key configured, using default")
-
-# Log all environment variables (masked)
-for key, value in os.environ.items():
-    if 'KEY' in key or 'SECRET' in key.upper():
-        masked = value[:4] + '*' * (len(value) - 4) if value else None
-        log.i(f"Env: {key}={masked}")
+app.config['CLIENT_KEY'] = os.environ.get('CLIENT_KEY', 'default-secret-key')
 
 if not os.path.exists(app.config['UPLOAD_FOLDER']):
     os.makedirs(app.config['UPLOAD_FOLDER'])
diff --git a/src/start.py b/src/start.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..41ecff8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/start.py
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+import os
+import subprocess
+
+cert = os.getenv("SSL_CERT", "cert.pem")
+key = os.getenv("SSL_KEY", "key.pem")
+
+use_ssl = os.path.exists(cert) and os.path.exists(key)
+
+base_cmd = [
+    "gunicorn", "wsgi:app", "--bind", "0.0.0.0:7777"
+]
+
+if use_ssl:
+    print("🟢 Starting with HTTPS")
+    base_cmd += ["--certfile", cert, "--keyfile", key]
+else:
+    print("🟡 Starting with HTTP (no certs found)")
+
+subprocess.run(base_cmd)