diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 290e087..b92af17 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -1,15 +1,57 @@
 # Core Code API Configuration
+# Copy to .env and fill in real values
 
-# Application settings
+# =============================================================================
+# Application
+# =============================================================================
 APP_NAME="Core Code API"
 DEBUG=false
+LOG_LEVEL=INFO
 
-# Server settings
+# =============================================================================
+# Server
+# =============================================================================
 HOST=0.0.0.0
 PORT=8083
 
-# CORS settings (default allows all origins for internal use)
+# CORS (default allows all origins for internal use)
 # CORS_ORIGINS=["http://192.168.86.149:82"]
 
-# Logging
-LOG_LEVEL=INFO
\ No newline at end of file
+# =============================================================================
+# Infrastructure Services
+# =============================================================================
+
+# Portainer API (required for container/stack management)
+PORTAINER_URL=http://portainer:9000
+PORTAINER_API_KEY=ptr_your-api-key-here
+
+# Nginx Proxy Manager API
+NPM_URL=http://npm:81
+NPM_EMAIL=admin@example.com
+NPM_PASSWORD=your-npm-password
+
+# =============================================================================
+# Home Automation
+# =============================================================================
+
+# Home Assistant API
+HOMEASSISTANT_URL=http://homeassistant:8123
+HOMEASSISTANT_TOKEN=your-long-lived-access-token
+
+# =============================================================================
+# AI Services
+# =============================================================================
+
+# Ollama API
+OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://ollama:11434
+
+# SearXNG (self-hosted search)
+SEARXNG_URL=http://searxng:8080
+
+# =============================================================================
+# Vector Database
+# =============================================================================
+
+# Qdrant
+QDRANT_HOST=qdrant
+QDRANT_PORT=6333
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/config.py b/src/config.py
index 59e3884..b210374 100644
--- a/src/config.py
+++ b/src/config.py
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 """
 Global configuration for Core Code API
+
+All configuration is loaded from environment variables or .env file.
+See .env.example for available settings.
 """
 import tomllib
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -20,29 +23,6 @@ def _get_version_from_pyproject() -> str:
 
 __version__ = _get_version_from_pyproject()
 
-# Import infrastructure credentials from gitignored module
-try:
-    from src.credentials import (
-        PORTAINER_URL, PORTAINER_API_KEY,
-        NPM_URL, NPM_EMAIL, NPM_PASSWORD,
-        BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY,
-        GOOGLE_SEARCH_API_KEY, GOOGLE_SEARCH_ENGINE_ID,
-        HOMEASSISTANT_URL, HOMEASSISTANT_TOKEN
-    )
-except ImportError:
-    # Fallback to empty strings if credentials.py doesn't exist
-    # (e.g., fresh clone before credentials setup)
-    PORTAINER_URL = "http://localhost:8001"
-    PORTAINER_API_KEY = ""
-    NPM_URL = "http://localhost:81"
-    NPM_EMAIL = ""
-    NPM_PASSWORD = ""
-    BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY = ""
-    GOOGLE_SEARCH_API_KEY = ""
-    GOOGLE_SEARCH_ENGINE_ID = ""
-    HOMEASSISTANT_URL = "http://localhost:8123"
-    HOMEASSISTANT_TOKEN = ""
-
 
 class Settings(BaseSettings):
     """Global application settings"""
@@ -109,25 +89,21 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     embedding_batch_size: int = 32
 
     # Search Configuration
-    search_provider: str = "google"  # Options: google, brave, searxng, duckduckgo
-    searxng_url: str = "http://searxng:8080"  # For future self-hosted SearxNG
+    search_provider: str = "searxng"
+    searxng_url: str = "http://searxng:8080"
 
-    # Search API Keys (from credentials.py)
-    brave_search_api_key: str = BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY  # https://brave.com/search/api/
-    google_search_api_key: str = GOOGLE_SEARCH_API_KEY  # https://console.cloud.google.com/
-    google_search_engine_id: str = GOOGLE_SEARCH_ENGINE_ID  # Custom Search Engine ID
+    # Infrastructure Management (Portainer)
+    portainer_url: str = "http://portainer:9000"
+    portainer_api_key: str = ""
 
-    # Infrastructure Management (from credentials.py)
-    portainer_url: str = PORTAINER_URL
-    portainer_api_key: str = PORTAINER_API_KEY
-
-    npm_url: str = NPM_URL
-    npm_email: str = NPM_EMAIL
-    npm_password: str = NPM_PASSWORD
+    # Infrastructure Management (Nginx Proxy Manager)
+    npm_url: str = "http://npm:81"
+    npm_email: str = ""
+    npm_password: str = ""
 
     # Home Assistant Configuration
-    homeassistant_url: str = HOMEASSISTANT_URL
-    homeassistant_token: str = HOMEASSISTANT_TOKEN
+    homeassistant_url: str = "http://homeassistant:8123"
+    homeassistant_token: str = ""
     homeassistant_timeout: int = 30
 
     # Core-AI Service (AI performance metrics)
@@ -163,6 +139,7 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     class Config:
         env_file = ".env"
         case_sensitive = False
+        extra = "ignore"  # Ignore extra env vars not defined in Settings
 
 
 @lru_cache()
diff --git a/src/credentials.example.py b/src/credentials.example.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 62b4915..0000000
--- a/src/credentials.example.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-"""
-Infrastructure Credentials Template
-
-INSTRUCTIONS:
-1. Copy this file to credentials.py
-2. Fill in your actual credentials
-3. DO NOT commit credentials.py to version control (it's in .gitignore)
-
-This file should be committed to the repository as a template.
-"""
-
-# Portainer Configuration
-PORTAINER_URL = "http://localhost:8001"
-PORTAINER_API_KEY = "ptr_your_api_token_here"  # Create in Portainer UI: User menu → My account → Access tokens
-
-# Nginx Proxy Manager Configuration
-NPM_URL = "http://localhost:81"
-NPM_EMAIL = "admin@example.com"
-NPM_PASSWORD = "your_password_here"
-
-# Home Assistant Configuration
-HOMEASSISTANT_URL = "http://192.168.86.149:8123"  # Or http://home-assistant:8123 in Docker
-HOMEASSISTANT_TOKEN = "your_long_lived_access_token_here"  # Create in HA: Profile → Long-Lived Access Tokens