diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 6769715..ceb0516 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -404,4 +404,13 @@ ASALocalRun/
 # Local History for Visual Studio
 .localhistory/
 
-
+# Environment files
+.env
+*.env.*
+.env.local
+
+# App configuration secrets
+appsettings.Development.json
+appsettings.Staging.json
+appsettings.Production.json
+Secrets.json
diff --git a/CommBank-Server/CommBank.csproj b/CommBank-Server/CommBank.csproj
index 983cc88..95b03df 100644
--- a/CommBank-Server/CommBank.csproj
+++ b/CommBank-Server/CommBank.csproj
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web">
 
   <PropertyGroup>
-    <TargetFramework>net6.0</TargetFramework>
+    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
     <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
     <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
     <RootNamespace>CommBank_Server</RootNamespace>
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@
   </PropertyGroup>
 
   <ItemGroup>
+    <PackageReference Include="DotNetEnv" Version="3.1.1" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.EnvironmentVariables" Version="10.0.2" />
     <PackageReference Include="Swashbuckle.AspNetCore" Version="6.2.3" />
     <PackageReference Include="Newtonsoft.Json" Version="13.0.1" />
     <PackageReference Include="BCrypt.Net-Next" Version="4.0.3" />
diff --git a/CommBank-Server/Models/Goal.cs b/CommBank-Server/Models/Goal.cs
index 77ff1ad..b75e073 100644
--- a/CommBank-Server/Models/Goal.cs
+++ b/CommBank-Server/Models/Goal.cs
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ public class Goal
 
     public string? Name { get; set; }
 
+    public string? Icon { get; set; } // Icon added
+
     public UInt64 TargetAmount { get; set; } = 0;
 
     public DateTime TargetDate { get; set; }
@@ -27,4 +29,5 @@ public class Goal
 
     [BsonRepresentation(BsonType.ObjectId)]
     public string? UserId { get; set; }
+
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/CommBank-Server/Program.cs b/CommBank-Server/Program.cs
index a88e560..819ddda 100644
--- a/CommBank-Server/Program.cs
+++ b/CommBank-Server/Program.cs
@@ -1,19 +1,37 @@
 using CommBank.Models;
 using CommBank.Services;
 using MongoDB.Driver;
+using DotNetEnv;
 
 var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
 
-builder.Services.AddControllers();
+// Load .env file ONCE
+Env.Load();
+
+// Add environment variables to configuration
+builder.Configuration.AddEnvironmentVariables();
 
+builder.Services.AddControllers();
 builder.Services.AddEndpointsApiExplorer();
 builder.Services.AddSwaggerGen();
 
-builder.Configuration.SetBasePath(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()).AddJsonFile("Secrets.json");
+// Optional: Keep Secrets.json for fallback
+builder.Configuration.SetBasePath(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory())
+                     .AddJsonFile("Secrets.json", optional: true);
 
-var mongoClient = new MongoClient(builder.Configuration.GetConnectionString("CommBank"));
-var mongoDatabase = mongoClient.GetDatabase("CommBank");
+// Get connection string (priority: env var -> Secrets.json -> appsettings.json)
+var connectionString = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("MONGODB_URI") 
+    ?? builder.Configuration.GetConnectionString("CommBank");
+
+if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(connectionString))
+{
+    throw new InvalidOperationException("MongoDB connection string is not configured. Set MONGODB_URI environment variable.");
+}
 
+var mongoClient = new MongoClient(connectionString);
+var mongoDatabase = mongoClient.GetDatabase("commbank");  // FIXED: Use actual database name
+
+// Register services
 IAccountsService accountsService = new AccountsService(mongoDatabase);
 IAuthService authService = new AuthService(mongoDatabase);
 IGoalsService goalsService = new GoalsService(mongoDatabase);
@@ -44,10 +62,6 @@
 }
 
 app.UseHttpsRedirection();
-
 app.UseAuthorization();
-
 app.MapControllers();
-
-app.Run();
-
+app.Run();
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/CommBank-Server/Secrets.json b/CommBank-Server/Secrets.json
index 0e5bf94..31dac95 100644
--- a/CommBank-Server/Secrets.json
+++ b/CommBank-Server/Secrets.json
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
   "ConnectionStrings": {
-    "CommBank": "{CONNECTION_STRING}"
+    "Commbank": []
   }
 }
\ No newline at end of file