diff --git a/backend/create-db.js b/backend/create-db.js
index 23e3c87..2e6f84c 100644
--- a/backend/create-db.js
+++ b/backend/create-db.js
@@ -1,16 +1,24 @@
 const { Sequelize } = require('sequelize');
+require('dotenv').config();
 
 async function createDatabase() {
   // Connect to default postgres database first
-  const sequelize = new Sequelize('postgres', 'postgres', 'postgres', {
-    host: 'localhost',
-    port: 5432,
+  // Use credentials from .env or defaults
+  const dbUser = process.env.DB_USER || 'postgres';
+  const dbPassword = process.env.DB_PASSWORD || 'postgres';
+  const dbHost = process.env.DB_HOST || 'localhost';
+  const dbPort = process.env.DB_PORT || 5432;
+
+  console.log(`🔌 Connecting to PostgreSQL at ${dbHost}:${dbPort} as user "${dbUser}"...`);
+
+  const sequelize = new Sequelize('postgres', dbUser, dbPassword, {
+    host: dbHost,
+    port: dbPort,
     dialect: 'postgres',
     logging: false
   });
 
   try {
-    console.log('🔌 Connecting to PostgreSQL...');
     await sequelize.authenticate();
     console.log('✅ Connected to PostgreSQL successfully');