diff --git a/app/database.py b/app/database.py
index 3885ffd..d5d3307 100644
--- a/app/database.py
+++ b/app/database.py
@@ -3,16 +3,28 @@ from sqlalchemy import create_engine
 from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker, declarative_base
 import os
 
-# ---- Use environment variables from Coolify ----
-DB_USER = os.getenv("DB_USER")
-DB_PASSWORD = quote_plus(os.getenv("DB_PASSWORD"))
-DB_HOST = os.getenv("DB_HOST") 
+# ---- Environment variables (from Coolify or .env) ----
+DB_USER = os.getenv("DB_USER", "postgres")
+DB_PASSWORD = quote_plus(os.getenv("DB_PASSWORD", ""))
+DB_HOST = os.getenv("DB_HOST", "localhost")
 DB_PORT = os.getenv("DB_PORT", "5432")
 DB_NAME = os.getenv("DB_NAME", "postgres")
 
+# ---- Database URL ----
 DATABASE_URL = f"postgresql+psycopg2://{DB_USER}:{DB_PASSWORD}@{DB_HOST}:{DB_PORT}/{DB_NAME}"
 
 # ---- SQLAlchemy setup ----
-engine = create_engine(DATABASE_URL)
+engine = create_engine(DATABASE_URL, pool_pre_ping=True)
 SessionLocal = sessionmaker(autocommit=False, autoflush=False, bind=engine)
 Base = declarative_base()
+
+# ---- Dependency helper for FastAPI ----
+def get_db():
+    """
+    FastAPI dependency that yields a database session and ensures it's closed after use.
+    """
+    db = SessionLocal()
+    try:
+        yield db
+    finally:
+        db.close()