diff --git a/.env b/.env
deleted file mode 100644
index 94335dc..0000000
--- a/.env
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-# Compose pointer only — NO secrets here.
-# Makes `docker compose up -d --build` read ${FRONTEND_PORT}, ${BACKEND_PORT}, …
-# from backend/.env without typing --env-file every time.
-# All credentials and app config live in backend/.env.
-COMPOSE_ENV_FILES=./backend/.env