diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 062e2c3..8e06e55 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,16 +1,19 @@
 # Build stage
 FROM python:3.9 AS builder
 
+ARG SECRET_KEY
+
 # Set environment variables
 ENV PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE 1
 ENV PYTHONUNBUFFERED 1
+ENV SECRET_KEY ${SECRET_KEY}
+
+# Validate SECRET_KEY
+RUN [ -z "${SECRET_KEY}" ] && echo "ERROR: SECRET_KEY environment variable is not set or empty" && exit 1 || true
 
 # Set the working directory in the container
 WORKDIR /app
 
-# Debug envs
-RUN env
-
 # Install system dependencies, including gettext
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
     gettext \