diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 34eec7e..a30b05e 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+# Flask app location (required for database migrations)
+FLASK_APP=backend.app:create_app
+
 # Authelia OIDC Configuration
 # REQUIRED: Set these values to match your Authelia instance
 
diff --git a/.env.production.example b/.env.production.example
index 5bcecd4..8a0c015 100644
--- a/.env.production.example
+++ b/.env.production.example
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 # Production Environment Variables
 # Copy this file to .env.production and fill in the values
 
+# Flask app location
+FLASK_APP=backend.app:create_app
+
 # Backend port (defaults to 5001 if not set)
 PORT=5001
 
diff --git a/docker-compose.production.yml b/docker-compose.production.yml
index 38d4f29..8e64ba8 100644
--- a/docker-compose.production.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.production.yml
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ services:
     ports:
       - "${PORT:-5001}:5001"
     environment:
+      - FLASK_APP=backend.app:create_app
       - FLASK_ENV=production
       - PORT=5001
       - DATABASE_URI=sqlite:////app/backend/instance/trivia.db
@@ -27,11 +28,11 @@ services:
       - CELERY_BROKER_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
       - CELERY_RESULT_BACKEND=redis://redis:6379/0
       # OIDC/Authelia configuration
-      - OIDC_ISSUER=${OIDC_ISSUER}
+      - OIDC_ISSUER=${OIDC_ISSUER:-}
       - OIDC_CLIENT_ID=${OIDC_CLIENT_ID:-trivia-app}
-      - OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET=${OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET}
-      - OIDC_REDIRECT_URI=${OIDC_REDIRECT_URI}
-      - FRONTEND_URL=${FRONTEND_URL}
+      - OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET=${OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET:-}
+      - OIDC_REDIRECT_URI=${OIDC_REDIRECT_URI:-}
+      - FRONTEND_URL=${FRONTEND_URL:-}
       - SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE=${SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE:-true}
     volumes:
       # Persist database
@@ -59,6 +60,7 @@ services:
     command: uv run celery -A backend.celery_app worker --loglevel=info
     restart: unless-stopped
     environment:
+      - FLASK_APP=backend.app:create_app
       - FLASK_ENV=production
       - CELERY_BROKER_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
       - CELERY_RESULT_BACKEND=redis://redis:6379/0
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index effd527..7f7a092 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ services:
     ports:
       - "5001:5001"
     environment:
+      - FLASK_APP=backend.app:create_app
       - FLASK_ENV=development
       - PORT=5001
       - DATABASE_URI=sqlite:////app/backend/instance/trivia.db
@@ -60,6 +61,7 @@ services:
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.backend
     command: uv run celery -A backend.celery_app worker --loglevel=info
     environment:
+      - FLASK_APP=backend.app:create_app
       - FLASK_ENV=development
       - CELERY_BROKER_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
       - CELERY_RESULT_BACKEND=redis://redis:6379/0