diff --git a/deploy.sh b/deploy.sh
index 5cf43bc..0188beb 100755
--- a/deploy.sh
+++ b/deploy.sh
@@ -52,8 +52,8 @@ check_env() {
 validate_env() {
     log_info "Validating environment configuration..."
     
-    # Source the .env file
-    export $(grep -v '^#' .env | xargs)
+    # Source the .env file (filter out comments and handle inline comments)
+    export $(grep -v '^#' .env | grep -v '^$' | sed 's/#.*$//' | sed 's/[[:space:]]*$//' | xargs)
     
     # Check required variables
     if [ -z "$ALPACA_API_KEY" ] || [ "$ALPACA_API_KEY" = "your_paper_api_key_here" ]; then