diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 6053472..30fea78 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "click>=8.1.0",
     "pydantic>=2.0.0",
     "pydantic-settings>=2.0.0",
+    "python-dotenv>=1.0.0",
     "sqlalchemy>=2.0.0",
     "alembic>=1.12.0",
     "fastapi>=0.100.0",
diff --git a/src/meshcore_hub/__main__.py b/src/meshcore_hub/__main__.py
index 979eba1..7e1de6a 100644
--- a/src/meshcore_hub/__main__.py
+++ b/src/meshcore_hub/__main__.py
@@ -1,11 +1,15 @@
 """MeshCore Hub CLI entry point."""
 
 import click
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
 
 from meshcore_hub import __version__
 from meshcore_hub.common.config import LogLevel
 from meshcore_hub.common.logging import configure_logging
 
+# Load .env file early so Click's envvar parameter picks up values
+load_dotenv()
+
 
 @click.group()
 @click.version_option(version=__version__, prog_name="meshcore-hub")