diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/build.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/build.yaml
index f92a3d5..d1daaac 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/build.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/build.yaml
@@ -135,11 +135,13 @@ jobs:
               cd chore
             fi
 
-            export SECRET_KEY="${{ secrets.SECRET_KEY }}"
-            export REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRY_DAYS="1"
+            # Write .env file — docker-compose automatically reads this
+            cat > .env << EOF
+            SECRET_KEY=${{ secrets.SECRET_KEY }}
+            REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRY_DAYS=1
+            EOF
 
-            echo "SECRET_KEY is set: $([ -n "$SECRET_KEY" ] && echo YES || echo NO)"
-            echo "REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRY_DAYS: $REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRY_DAYS"
+            echo "SECRET_KEY is set: $(grep -q 'SECRET_KEY=' .env && echo YES || echo NO)"
 
             echo "Bringing down previous test environment..."
             docker-compose -f docker-compose.test.yml down --volumes --remove-orphans || true
@@ -149,4 +151,4 @@ jobs:
 
             echo "Verifying container received env vars..."
             sleep 3
-            docker exec chores-test-app-backend env | grep -E "SECRET_KEY|REFRESH_TOKEN" | sed 's/SECRET_KEY=.*/SECRET_KEY=***REDACTED***/'
+            docker exec chores-test-app-backend_1 env | grep -E "SECRET_KEY|REFRESH_TOKEN" | sed 's/SECRET_KEY=.*/SECRET_KEY=***REDACTED***/'
diff --git a/docker-compose.test.yml b/docker-compose.test.yml
index 301d0c3..67b6c19 100644
--- a/docker-compose.test.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.test.yml
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ services:
     environment:
       - FLASK_ENV=development
       - FRONTEND_URL=https://devserver.lan:446 # Add this for test env
+      - SECRET_KEY=${SECRET_KEY}
+      - REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRY_DAYS=${REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRY_DAYS}
     # Add volumes, networks, etc., as needed
 
   chores-test-app-frontend: # Test frontend service name