diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 8112059..85cab20 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,12 +1,6 @@
 # Multi-stage build for database schema spec generator
 # Stage 1: Build the schemas
-FROM alpine:3.22.1 AS builder
-
-# Install Python, uv, and git (needed for some dependencies)
-RUN apk add --no-cache python3 py3-pip git
-
-# Install uv package manager
-RUN pip3 install --break-system-packages uv
+FROM ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:0.8.13-alpine3.22 AS builder
 
 # Set working directory
 WORKDIR /app
@@ -27,7 +21,7 @@ COPY .env ./
 RUN uv run python main.py
 
 # Stage 2: Final lightweight image with only the output
-FROM alpine:3.22.1
+FROM alpine:3.22 AS final
 
 # Create output directory
 RUN mkdir -p /output
diff --git a/database_schema_spec/core/config.py b/database_schema_spec/core/config.py
index b131f4d..3978fff 100644
--- a/database_schema_spec/core/config.py
+++ b/database_schema_spec/core/config.py
@@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
 """Configuration constants for the database schema spec generator."""
 
-import os
 from pathlib import Path
 
-from dotenv import load_dotenv
 from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, ValidationError
 from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings
 
@@ -67,12 +65,6 @@ class Config(BaseSettings):
     def __init__(self, **data):
         """Initialize config with custom error handling for missing required fields."""
         try:
-            # Enforce presence of required env variables in the process environment
-            # before delegating to BaseSettings. This ensures tests that clear os.environ
-            # see the expected ConfigurationError.
-            if "base_url" not in data and "BASE_URL" not in os.environ:
-                raise ConfigurationError(variable_name="BASE_URL")
-
             super().__init__(**data)
         except ValidationError as e:
             # Only handle missing field errors, let other validation errors bubble up
@@ -88,6 +80,4 @@ def __init__(self, **data):
             raise
 
 
-# At application import time, populate os.environ from .env (if present), then enforce presence.
-load_dotenv(override=True)
 config = Config()
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 04268c8..ecdcacf 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ dependencies = [
     "jsonschema>=4.25.0",
     "pydantic>=2.11.7",
     "pydantic-settings>=2.10.1",
-    "python-dotenv>=1.1.1",
 ]
 
 [dependency-groups]
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 0b2c531..4110c67 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 version = 1
-revision = 2
+revision = 3
 requires-python = ">=3.13"
 
 [[package]]
@@ -99,7 +99,6 @@ dependencies = [
     { name = "jsonschema" },
     { name = "pydantic" },
     { name = "pydantic-settings" },
-    { name = "python-dotenv" },
 ]
 
 [package.dev-dependencies]
@@ -117,7 +116,6 @@ requires-dist = [
     { name = "jsonschema", specifier = ">=4.25.0" },
     { name = "pydantic", specifier = ">=2.11.7" },
     { name = "pydantic-settings", specifier = ">=2.10.1" },
-    { name = "python-dotenv", specifier = ">=1.1.1" },
 ]
 
 [package.metadata.requires-dev]