diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
index 3364a18..d59c719 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -58,13 +58,8 @@ jobs:
               backend:
                 image: harbor.galpodlipnik.com/chat-app/backend:latest
                 restart: always
-                # Instead of env_file, define the environment variables directly
-                environment:
-                  - NODE_ENV=production
-                  - PORT=3000
-                  - CORS_ORIGIN=http://localhost:5173
-                  - DATABASE_URL=${DATABASE_URL}
-                  - JWT_SECRET=${JWT_SECRET}
+                env_file:
+                  - .env
                 networks:
                   - chat-network
 
@@ -73,9 +68,6 @@ jobs:
                 restart: always
                 ports:
                   - "5173:80"
-                depends_on:
-                  backend:
-                    condition: service_healthy
                 networks:
                   - chat-network
 
@@ -113,15 +105,15 @@ jobs:
           script: |
             cd ~/services/chat-app
             
-            # Copy environment file
-            echo "${{ secrets.ENV_CONTENT }}" > .env
+            # Create a complete .env file with all required variables
+            cat > .env << EOL
+            PORT=3000
+            DATABASE_URL=${{ secrets.DATABASE_URL }}
+            JWT_SECRET=${{ secrets.JWT_SECRET }}
+            EOL
             
             # Login to Harbor registry
             echo "${{ secrets.HARBOR_PASSWORD }}" | docker login harbor.galpodlipnik.com -u "${{ secrets.HARBOR_USERNAME }}" --password-stdin
-
-            # Create .env file for docker-compose
-            echo "DATABASE_URL=${{ secrets.DATABASE_URL }}" > .env
-            echo "JWT_SECRET=${{ secrets.JWT_SECRET }}" >> .env
             
             # Pull latest images and deploy
             docker compose pull