diff --git a/deploy.sh b/deploy.sh
index 046b37e..637b201 100755
--- a/deploy.sh
+++ b/deploy.sh
@@ -66,9 +66,21 @@ warn()    { echo -e "${YELLOW}[WARN]${NC}  $*"; }
 error()   { echo -e "${RED}[ERROR]${NC} $*" >&2; }
 header()  { echo ""; echo -e "${BOLD}${CYAN}========================================${NC}"; echo -e "${BOLD}${CYAN}  $*${NC}"; echo -e "${BOLD}${CYAN}========================================${NC}"; }
 
+# ---- Auto-detect env file if not overridden by --env ----
+# Prefer .env.docker (local dev), fall back to .env (production)
+if [ ! -f "$ENV_FILE" ]; then
+    if [ -f ".env" ]; then
+        ENV_FILE=".env"
+    fi
+fi
+
 # Run docker compose with the right file and env
 dc() {
-    docker compose -f "$COMPOSE_FILE" --env-file "$ENV_FILE" "$@"
+    if [ -f "$ENV_FILE" ]; then
+        docker compose -f "$COMPOSE_FILE" --env-file "$ENV_FILE" "$@"
+    else
+        docker compose -f "$COMPOSE_FILE" "$@"
+    fi
 }
 
 # ---- Parse Arguments ----
@@ -401,7 +413,8 @@ cmd_shell() {
 cmd_migrate() {
     header "Running Database Migrations"
     info "Running alembic upgrade head..."
-    dc exec backend alembic upgrade head
+    # Run directly inside the backend container — no env file needed
+    docker compose -f "$COMPOSE_FILE" exec backend alembic upgrade head
     success "Migrations complete"
 }