diff --git a/apps/backend/app/s3.py b/apps/backend/app/s3.py
index 1cdcade..fcf9dde 100644
--- a/apps/backend/app/s3.py
+++ b/apps/backend/app/s3.py
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 import os
 import boto3
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+
+load_dotenv()
 
 s3_client = boto3.client(
     "s3",
diff --git a/apps/backend/requirements.txt b/apps/backend/requirements.txt
index 00d27cc..4433699 100644
--- a/apps/backend/requirements.txt
+++ b/apps/backend/requirements.txt
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ opentelemetry-api==1.45.0
 pydantic==2.13.5
 pydantic_core==2.46.5
 python-dateutil==2.9.0.post0
+python-dotenv==1.2.4
 s3transfer==0.19.2
 six==1.17.0
 SQLAlchemy==2.1.3