diff --git a/start.sh b/start.sh
index e6d9283..5d676bb 100644
--- a/start.sh
+++ b/start.sh
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 set -e
 
-# Source environment variables
-source /app/.env
+# Source environment variables (if the file exists)
+[ -f /app/.env ] && source /app/.env || echo "No .env file found, using default environment variables"
 
 # Set constants
 ES_HOME=/usr/share/elasticsearch