diff --git a/backend/auth.py b/backend/auth.py
index e4f9c82..e32b27f 100644
--- a/backend/auth.py
+++ b/backend/auth.py
@@ -2,9 +2,13 @@ from database import execute, fetch_one
 import bcrypt
 from jose import jwt, JWTError
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta
-from fastapi import Header, HTTPException   
+from fastapi import Header, HTTPException
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+import os   
 
-SECRET_KEY = ""
+load_dotenv()
+
+SECRET_KEY = os.getenv("SECRET_KEY")
 ALGORITHM = "HS256"