diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 8f670f42..d7779093 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -47,6 +47,8 @@ COPY --from=builder /app/public ./public
 COPY --from=builder --chown=1001:1001 /app/.next/standalone ./
 COPY --from=builder --chown=1001:1001 /app/.next/static ./.next/static
 
+ENV MONGODB_URI "mongodb+srv://user:JKpFBymv0WLv3STj@encoach.lz18a.mongodb.net/?retryWrites=true&w=majority&appName=EnCoach"
+
 USER nextjs
 
 EXPOSE 3000
diff --git a/src/lib/mongodb.ts b/src/lib/mongodb.ts
index a64ce2ce..4694b23b 100644
--- a/src/lib/mongodb.ts
+++ b/src/lib/mongodb.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 import {MongoClient} from "mongodb";
 
+if (!process.env.MONGODB_URI) {
+	throw new Error('Invalid/Missing environment variable: "MONGODB_URI"');
+}
+
 const uri = process.env.MONGODB_URI || "";
 const options = {};