diff --git a/backend/core/settings.py b/backend/core/settings.py
index 1627100..96d6999 100644
--- a/backend/core/settings.py
+++ b/backend/core/settings.py
@@ -101,11 +101,12 @@ WSGI_APPLICATION = "core.wsgi.application"
 DATABASES = {
     "default": {
         "ENGINE": "django.db.backends.postgresql",
-        "NAME": "archivist",
-        "USER": "archivist",
-        "PASSWORD": "password",
-        "HOST": "localhost",  # or the service name in your docker-compose.yml
-        "PORT": "5432",
+        "NAME": os.environ.get("DB_NAME", "archivist"),
+        "USER": os.environ.get("DB_USER", "archivist"),
+        "PASSWORD": os.environ.get("DB_PASSWORD", "password"),
+        # or the service name in your docker-compose.
+        "HOST": os.environ.get("DB_HOST", "localhost"),
+        "PORT": os.environ.get("DB_PORT", "5432"),
     }
     # "default": {
     #    "ENGINE": "django.db.backends.sqlite3",