diff --git a/ai/config.php b/ai/config.php
index c890698..614207c 100644
--- a/ai/config.php
+++ b/ai/config.php
@@ -2,41 +2,11 @@
 // OpenAI proxy configuration (workspace scope).
 // Reads values from environment variables or executor/.env.
 
+require_once __DIR__ . '/../includes/dotenv.php';
+
 $projectUuid = getenv('PROJECT_UUID');
 $projectId   = getenv('PROJECT_ID');
 
-if (
-    ($projectUuid === false || $projectUuid === null || $projectUuid === '') ||
-    ($projectId === false || $projectId === null || $projectId === '')
-) {
-    $envPath = realpath(__DIR__ . '/../../.env'); // executor/.env
-    if ($envPath && is_readable($envPath)) {
-        $lines = @file($envPath, FILE_IGNORE_NEW_LINES | FILE_SKIP_EMPTY_LINES) ?: [];
-        foreach ($lines as $line) {
-            $line = trim($line);
-            if ($line === '' || $line[0] === '#') {
-                continue;
-            }
-            if (!str_contains($line, '=')) {
-                continue;
-            }
-            [$key, $value] = array_map('trim', explode('=', $line, 2));
-            if ($key === '') {
-                continue;
-            }
-            $value = trim($value, "\"' ");
-            if (getenv($key) === false || getenv($key) === '') {
-                putenv("{$key}={$value}");
-            }
-        }
-        $projectUuid = getenv('PROJECT_UUID');
-        $projectId   = getenv('PROJECT_ID');
-    }
-}
-
-$projectUuid = ($projectUuid === false) ? null : $projectUuid;
-$projectId   = ($projectId === false) ? null : $projectId;
-
 $baseUrl       = 'https://flatlogic.com';
 $responsesPath = $projectId ? "/projects/{$projectId}/ai-request" : null;
 
@@ -49,4 +19,4 @@ return [
     'default_model'  => 'gpt-5-mini',
     'timeout'        => 30,
     'verify_tls'     => true,
-];
+];
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/db/config.php b/db/config.php
index c74b43b..8a9af69 100644
--- a/db/config.php
+++ b/db/config.php
@@ -1,18 +1,23 @@
 <?php
 // Generated by setup_mariadb_project.sh — edit as needed.
+require_once __DIR__ . '/../includes/dotenv.php';
 
-define('DB_HOST', '127.0.0.1');
-define('DB_NAME', 'app_38384');
-define('DB_USER', 'app_38384');
-define('DB_PASS', '5561099f-23a3-43d8-b1a2-54739c50721b');
+define('DB_HOST', getenv('DB_HOST') ?: '127.0.0.1');
+define('DB_NAME', getenv('DB_NAME') ?: 'app_38384');
+define('DB_USER', getenv('DB_USER') ?: 'app_38384');
+define('DB_PASS', getenv('DB_PASS') ?: '5561099f-23a3-43d8-b1a2-54739c50721b');
 
 function db() {
   static $pdo;
   if (!$pdo) {
-    $pdo = new PDO('mysql:host='.DB_HOST.';dbname='.DB_NAME.';charset=utf8mb4', DB_USER, DB_PASS, [
-      PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE => PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION,
-      PDO::ATTR_DEFAULT_FETCH_MODE => PDO::FETCH_ASSOC,
-    ]);
+    try {
+      $pdo = new PDO('mysql:host='.DB_HOST.';dbname='.DB_NAME.';charset=utf8mb4', DB_USER, DB_PASS, [
+        PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE => PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION,
+        PDO::ATTR_DEFAULT_FETCH_MODE => PDO::FETCH_ASSOC,
+      ]);
+    } catch (PDOException $e) {
+      die("Database Connection Error: " . $e->getMessage());
+    }
   }
   return $pdo;
 }
diff --git a/includes/dotenv.php b/includes/dotenv.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b1af16a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/includes/dotenv.php
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * Global .env loader for the Flatlogic LAMP VM.
+ * Loads environment variables from the parent directory's .env file.
+ */
+
+function load_dotenv(): void {
+    static $loaded = false;
+    if ($loaded) return;
+
+    $envPath = realpath(__DIR__ . '/../../.env'); // executor/.env
+    if ($envPath && is_readable($envPath)) {
+        $lines = @file($envPath, FILE_IGNORE_NEW_LINES | FILE_SKIP_EMPTY_LINES);
+        if ($lines !== false) {
+            foreach ($lines as $line) {
+                $line = trim($line);
+                if ($line === '' || $line[0] === '#') continue;
+                if (!str_contains($line, '=')) continue;
+
+                [$k, $v] = array_map('trim', explode('=', $line, 2));
+                if ($k === '') continue;
+
+                // Strip potential surrounding quotes
+                $v = trim($v, "' ");
+
+                // Set env if not already set or if empty
+                if (getenv($k) === false || getenv($k) === '') {
+                    putenv("{$k}={$v}");
+                    $_ENV[$k] = $v;
+                    $_SERVER[$k] = $v;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        $loaded = true;
+    }
+}
+
+// Auto-load on include
+load_dotenv();
+
diff --git a/includes/lang.php b/includes/lang.php
index baa365f..818505e 100644
--- a/includes/lang.php
+++ b/includes/lang.php
@@ -4,34 +4,9 @@ if (session_status() === PHP_SESSION_NONE) {
 }
 
 /**
- * Load environment variables from the root .env file (if present)
+ * Global .env loader
  */
-function load_dotenv_lang(): void {
-    static $loaded = false;
-    if ($loaded) return;
-    $envPath = realpath(__DIR__ . '/../../.env'); // executor/.env
-    if ($envPath && is_readable($envPath)) {
-        $lines = @file($envPath, FILE_IGNORE_NEW_LINES | FILE_SKIP_EMPTY_LINES);
-        if ($lines !== false) {
-            foreach ($lines as $line) {
-                $line = trim($line);
-                if ($line === '' || $line[0] === '#') continue;
-                if (!str_contains($line, '=')) continue;
-                [$k, $v] = array_map('trim', explode('=', $line, 2));
-                if ($k === '') continue;
-                $v = trim($v, "' ");
-                if (getenv($k) === false || getenv($k) === '') {
-                    putenv("{$k}={$v}");
-                    $_ENV[$k] = $v;
-                    $_SERVER[$k] = $v;
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        $loaded = true;
-    }
-}
-
-load_dotenv_lang();
+require_once __DIR__ . '/dotenv.php';
 
 $lang = $_SESSION['lang'] ?? 'en';
 if (isset($_GET['lang'])) {
diff --git a/mail/config.php b/mail/config.php
index 626cca1..eb87527 100644
--- a/mail/config.php
+++ b/mail/config.php
@@ -2,43 +2,13 @@
 // Mail configuration sourced from environment variables.
 // No secrets are stored here; the file just maps env -> config array for MailService.
 
+require_once __DIR__ . '/../includes/dotenv.php';
+
 function env_val(string $key, $default = null) {
     $v = getenv($key);
     return ($v === false || $v === null || $v === '') ? $default : $v;
 }
 
-// Fallback: if critical vars are missing from process env, try to parse executor/.env
-// This helps in web/Apache contexts where .env is not exported.
-// Supports simple KEY=VALUE lines; ignores quotes and comments.
-function load_dotenv_if_needed(array $keys): void {
-    $missing = array_filter($keys, fn($k) => getenv($k) === false || getenv($k) === '');
-    if (empty($missing)) return;
-    static $loaded = false;
-    if ($loaded) return;
-    $envPath = realpath(__DIR__ . '/../../.env'); // executor/.env
-    if ($envPath && is_readable($envPath)) {
-        $lines = @file($envPath, FILE_IGNORE_NEW_LINES | FILE_SKIP_EMPTY_LINES) ?: [];
-        foreach ($lines as $line) {
-            if ($line[0] === '#' || trim($line) === '') continue;
-            if (!str_contains($line, '=')) continue;
-            [$k, $v] = array_map('trim', explode('=', $line, 2));
-            // Strip potential surrounding quotes
-            $v = trim($v, "\"' ");
-            // Do not override existing env
-            if ($k !== '' && (getenv($k) === false || getenv($k) === '')) {
-                putenv("{$k}={$v}");
-            }
-        }
-        $loaded = true;
-    }
-}
-
-load_dotenv_if_needed([
-    'MAIL_TRANSPORT','SMTP_HOST','SMTP_PORT','SMTP_SECURE','SMTP_USER','SMTP_PASS',
-    'MAIL_FROM','MAIL_FROM_NAME','MAIL_REPLY_TO','MAIL_TO',
-    'DKIM_DOMAIN','DKIM_SELECTOR','DKIM_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH'
-]);
-
 $transport   = env_val('MAIL_TRANSPORT', 'smtp');
 $smtp_host   = env_val('SMTP_HOST');
 $smtp_port   = (int) env_val('SMTP_PORT', 587);
@@ -73,4 +43,4 @@ return [
     'dkim_domain'           => $dkim_domain,
     'dkim_selector'         => $dkim_selector,
     'dkim_private_key_path' => $dkim_private_key_path,
-];
+];
\ No newline at end of file