diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 43e9f98..f955a4e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ Fill in your environment variables in the `.env` file:
 
 ```env
 # Database
-DATABASE_URL="postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/your_database_name"
+POSTGRES_URL="postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/your_database_name"
 
 # Authentication - Better Auth
 BETTER_AUTH_SECRET="your-random-32-character-secret-key-here"
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ Your application will be available at [http://localhost:3000](http://localhost:3
 2. Navigate to the **Storage** tab
 3. Click **Create** → **Postgres**
 4. Choose your database name and region
-5. Copy the `DATABASE_URL` from the `.env.local` tab
+5. Copy the `POSTGRES_URL` from the `.env.local` tab
 6. Add it to your `.env` file
 
 ### Google OAuth Credentials
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ npm run db:reset     # Reset database (drop all tables)
 
 Ensure these are set in your production environment:
 
-- `DATABASE_URL` - Production PostgreSQL connection string
+- `POSTGRES_URL` - Production PostgreSQL connection string
 - `BETTER_AUTH_SECRET` - Secure random 32+ character string
 - `GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID` - Google OAuth Client ID
 - `GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET` - Google OAuth Client Secret
diff --git a/drizzle.config.ts b/drizzle.config.ts
index 338dc5a..490ea9e 100644
--- a/drizzle.config.ts
+++ b/drizzle.config.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
-import type { Config } from "drizzle-kit"
+import type { Config } from "drizzle-kit";
 
 export default {
   dialect: "postgresql",
   schema: "./src/lib/schema.ts",
   out: "./drizzle",
   dbCredentials: {
-    url: process.env.DATABASE_URL!,
+    url: process.env.POSTGRES_URL!,
   },
-} satisfies Config
\ No newline at end of file
+} satisfies Config;
diff --git a/env.example b/env.example
index 0593f95..27baba2 100644
--- a/env.example
+++ b/env.example
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 # Database
-DATABASE_URL=
+POSTGRES_URL=
 
 # Authentication - Better Auth
-BETTER_AUTH_SECRET="yourauthsecretgoeshere"
+# Generate key using https://www.better-auth.com/docs/installation
+BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=qtD4Ssa0t5jY7ewALgai97sKhAtn7Ysc
 
 # Google OAuth (Get from Google Cloud Console)
 GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=
diff --git a/src/app/api/diagnostics/route.ts b/src/app/api/diagnostics/route.ts
index 0dbe60e..eb3b579 100644
--- a/src/app/api/diagnostics/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/diagnostics/route.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ type StatusLevel = "ok" | "warn" | "error";
 interface DiagnosticsResponse {
   timestamp: string;
   env: {
-    DATABASE_URL: boolean;
+    POSTGRES_URL: boolean;
     BETTER_AUTH_SECRET: boolean;
     GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID: boolean;
     GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET: boolean;
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ interface DiagnosticsResponse {
 
 export async function GET(req: Request) {
   const env = {
-    DATABASE_URL: Boolean(process.env.DATABASE_URL),
+    POSTGRES_URL: Boolean(process.env.POSTGRES_URL),
     BETTER_AUTH_SECRET: Boolean(process.env.BETTER_AUTH_SECRET),
     GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID: Boolean(process.env.GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID),
     GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET: Boolean(process.env.GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET),
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ export async function GET(req: Request) {
   let dbConnected = false;
   let schemaApplied = false;
   let dbError: string | undefined;
-  if (env.DATABASE_URL) {
+  if (env.POSTGRES_URL) {
     try {
       const [{ db }, { sql }, schema] = await Promise.all([
         import("@/lib/db"),
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ export async function GET(req: Request) {
   } else {
     dbConnected = false;
     schemaApplied = false;
-    dbError = "DATABASE_URL is not set";
+    dbError = "POSTGRES_URL is not set";
   }
 
   // Auth route check: we consider the route responding if it returns any HTTP response
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ export async function GET(req: Request) {
   const aiConfigured = env.OPENAI_API_KEY; // We avoid live-calling the AI provider here
 
   const overallStatus: StatusLevel = (() => {
-    if (!env.DATABASE_URL || !dbConnected || !schemaApplied) return "error";
+    if (!env.POSTGRES_URL || !dbConnected || !schemaApplied) return "error";
     if (!authConfigured) return "error";
     // AI is optional; warn if not configured
     if (!aiConfigured) return "warn";
diff --git a/src/app/page.tsx b/src/app/page.tsx
index 33197bf..ec8a339 100644
--- a/src/app/page.tsx
+++ b/src/app/page.tsx
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ export default function Home() {
                   configure:
                 </p>
                 <ul className="text-sm text-muted-foreground space-y-1 list-disc list-inside">
-                  <li>DATABASE_URL (PostgreSQL connection string)</li>
+                  <li>POSTGRES_URL (PostgreSQL connection string)</li>
                   <li>GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID (OAuth credentials)</li>
                   <li>GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET (OAuth credentials)</li>
                   <li>OPENAI_API_KEY (for AI functionality)</li>
@@ -86,22 +86,16 @@ export default function Home() {
               <div className="p-4 border rounded-lg">
                 <h4 className="font-medium mb-2">3. Try the features</h4>
                 <div className="space-y-2">
-                  {(loading || !isAuthReady) ? (
-                    <Button 
-                      size="sm" 
-                      className="w-full glow" 
-                      disabled={true}
-                    >
+                  {loading || !isAuthReady ? (
+                    <Button size="sm" className="w-full glow" disabled={true}>
                       View Dashboard
                     </Button>
                   ) : (
                     <Button asChild size="sm" className="w-full glow">
-                      <Link href="/dashboard">
-                        View Dashboard
-                      </Link>
+                      <Link href="/dashboard">View Dashboard</Link>
                     </Button>
                   )}
-                  {(loading || !isAiReady) ? (
+                  {loading || !isAiReady ? (
                     <Button
                       variant="outline"
                       size="sm"
@@ -117,9 +111,7 @@ export default function Home() {
                       size="sm"
                       className="w-full"
                     >
-                      <Link href="/chat">
-                        Try AI Chat
-                      </Link>
+                      <Link href="/chat">Try AI Chat</Link>
                     </Button>
                   )}
                 </div>
@@ -139,20 +131,18 @@ export default function Home() {
 
       <footer className="border-t py-8 text-center text-sm text-muted-foreground">
         <div className="container mx-auto px-4">
-          <p className="mb-2">
-            Boilerplate template by Leon van Zyl
-          </p>
+          <p className="mb-2">Boilerplate template by Leon van Zyl</p>
           <p>
             Visit{" "}
-            <a 
-              href="https://youtube.com/@leonvanzyl" 
-              target="_blank" 
+            <a
+              href="https://youtube.com/@leonvanzyl"
+              target="_blank"
               rel="noopener noreferrer"
               className="text-primary hover:underline"
             >
               @leonvanzyl on YouTube
-            </a>
-            {" "}for tutorials on using this template
+            </a>{" "}
+            for tutorials on using this template
           </p>
         </div>
       </footer>
diff --git a/src/components/setup-checklist.tsx b/src/components/setup-checklist.tsx
index edd7acc..6c89c68 100644
--- a/src/components/setup-checklist.tsx
+++ b/src/components/setup-checklist.tsx
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
 type DiagnosticsResponse = {
   timestamp: string;
   env: {
-    DATABASE_URL: boolean;
+    POSTGRES_URL: boolean;
     BETTER_AUTH_SECRET: boolean;
     GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID: boolean;
     GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET: boolean;
@@ -69,12 +69,12 @@ export function SetupChecklist() {
       key: "env",
       label: "Environment variables",
       ok:
-        !!data?.env.DATABASE_URL &&
+        !!data?.env.POSTGRES_URL &&
         !!data?.env.BETTER_AUTH_SECRET &&
         !!data?.env.GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID &&
         !!data?.env.GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET,
       detail:
-        "Requires DATABASE_URL, BETTER_AUTH_SECRET, GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID, GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET",
+        "Requires POSTGRES_URL, BETTER_AUTH_SECRET, GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID, GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET",
     },
     {
       key: "db",
diff --git a/src/hooks/use-diagnostics.ts b/src/hooks/use-diagnostics.ts
index 606b34b..172fcc7 100644
--- a/src/hooks/use-diagnostics.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/use-diagnostics.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
 type DiagnosticsResponse = {
   timestamp: string;
   env: {
-    DATABASE_URL: boolean;
+    POSTGRES_URL: boolean;
     BETTER_AUTH_SECRET: boolean;
     GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID: boolean;
     GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET: boolean;
@@ -51,7 +51,10 @@ export function useDiagnostics() {
     fetchDiagnostics();
   }, []);
 
-  const isAuthReady = data?.auth.configured && data?.database.connected && data?.database.schemaApplied;
+  const isAuthReady =
+    data?.auth.configured &&
+    data?.database.connected &&
+    data?.database.schemaApplied;
   const isAiReady = data?.ai.configured;
 
   return {
@@ -62,4 +65,4 @@ export function useDiagnostics() {
     isAuthReady: Boolean(isAuthReady),
     isAiReady: Boolean(isAiReady),
   };
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/db.ts b/src/lib/db.ts
index 5e1d49e..32336fe 100644
--- a/src/lib/db.ts
+++ b/src/lib/db.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
-import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/postgres-js"
-import postgres from "postgres"
-import * as schema from "./schema"
+import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/postgres-js";
+import postgres from "postgres";
+import * as schema from "./schema";
 
-const connectionString = process.env.DATABASE_URL as string
+const connectionString = process.env.POSTGRES_URL as string;
 
 if (!connectionString) {
-  throw new Error("DATABASE_URL environment variable is not set")
+  throw new Error("POSTGRES_URL environment variable is not set");
 }
 
-const client = postgres(connectionString)
-export const db = drizzle(client, { schema })
\ No newline at end of file
+const client = postgres(connectionString);
+export const db = drizzle(client, { schema });