diff --git a/app/__init__.py b/app/__init__.py
index 9cbfd5f..07e98e0 100644
--- a/app/__init__.py
+++ b/app/__init__.py
@@ -20,13 +20,14 @@ def create_app(config_name="development"):
         app.config['SECRET_KEY'] = secrets.token_hex(32)
 
     # Initialize extensions
-    from app.core.extensions import db, migrate, login_manager, bcrypt, limiter, csrf
+    from app.core.extensions import db, migrate, login_manager, bcrypt, limiter
+    from app.core.csrf_utils import init_csrf
 
     db.init_app(app)
     migrate.init_app(app, db)
     login_manager.init_app(app)
     bcrypt.init_app(app)
-    csrf.init_app(app)
+    init_csrf(app)
     limiter.init_app(app)
 
     # Initialize login manager
@@ -101,4 +102,21 @@ def create_app(config_name="development"):
     def forbidden(e):
         return render_template("errors/403.html", title="Forbidden"), 403
 
+    # Session configuration
+    app.config['SESSION_TYPE'] = 'filesystem'
+    app.config['SESSION_FILE_DIR'] = os.path.join(os.getcwd(), 'instance/sessions')
+    app.config['SESSION_PERMANENT'] = True
+    app.config['PERMANENT_SESSION_LIFETIME'] = 3600  # 1 hour in seconds
+
+    # Ensure the sessions directory exists
+    os.makedirs(app.config['SESSION_FILE_DIR'], exist_ok=True)
+
+    # Debug CSRF issues
+    @app.after_request
+    def after_request(response):
+        if app.debug:  # Only in development
+            print(f"Session contains CSRF token: {'csrf_token' in session}")
+            print(f"CSRF header name: {app.config.get('WTF_CSRF_HEADERS')}")
+        return response
+
     return app
diff --git a/app/core/csrf_utils.py b/app/core/csrf_utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..edc12b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/core/csrf_utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+from flask_wtf.csrf import CSRFProtect
+
+# Single global instance of CSRFProtect
+csrf = CSRFProtect()
+
+def init_csrf(app):
+    """Initialize CSRF protection with proper configuration"""
+    # Ensure cookies work in Docker environment
+    app.config['WTF_CSRF_ENABLED'] = True
+    app.config['WTF_CSRF_TIME_LIMIT'] = 3600  # 1 hour
+    app.config['SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE'] = False  # Set to True if using HTTPS
+    app.config['SESSION_COOKIE_HTTPONLY'] = True
+    app.config['SESSION_COOKIE_SAMESITE'] = 'Lax'
+    
+    # Initialize CSRF protection
+    csrf.init_app(app) 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/core/extensions.py b/app/core/extensions.py
index 47773bf..d825b3d 100644
--- a/app/core/extensions.py
+++ b/app/core/extensions.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ from flask_login import LoginManager
 from flask_bcrypt import Bcrypt
 from flask_limiter import Limiter
 from flask_limiter.util import get_remote_address
-from flask_wtf.csrf import CSRFProtect
+from app.core.csrf_utils import csrf  # Import from centralized location
 
 # Initialize extensions
 db = SQLAlchemy()
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ login_manager.login_message = "Please log in to access this page."
 login_manager.login_message_category = "info"
 
 bcrypt = Bcrypt()
-csrf = CSRFProtect()
+# csrf is now imported from csrf_utils, not defined here
 limiter = Limiter(
     key_func=get_remote_address, default_limits=["200 per day", "50 per hour"]
 )
diff --git a/app/routes/auth.py b/app/routes/auth.py
index 6fab0a8..1f6d3fb 100644
--- a/app/routes/auth.py
+++ b/app/routes/auth.py
@@ -4,10 +4,9 @@ from werkzeug.security import generate_password_hash, check_password_hash
 from app.core.extensions import db
 from app.core.auth import User
 import re
-from flask_wtf.csrf import CSRFProtect
+from app.core.csrf_utils import csrf  # Import from centralized location
 
 bp = Blueprint("auth", __name__, url_prefix="/auth")
-csrf = CSRFProtect()
 
 
 @bp.route("/login", methods=["GET", "POST"])
diff --git a/app/templates/dashboard/any_form_template.html b/app/templates/dashboard/any_form_template.html
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..68671ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/templates/dashboard/any_form_template.html
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+<form method="POST" action="...">
+  <input type="hidden" name="csrf_token" value="{{ csrf_token() }}" />
+  <!-- Form fields -->
+</form>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/templates/layout.html b/app/templates/layout.html
index 495b688..4fcb611 100644
--- a/app/templates/layout.html
+++ b/app/templates/layout.html
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="{{ url_for('static', filename='css/theme.css') }}">
     <!-- Favicon -->
     <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="{{ url_for('static', filename='img/favicon.png') }}">
+    <meta name="csrf-token" content="{{ csrf_token() }}">
     {% block styles %}{% endblock %}
     <script>
         // Check for saved theme preference or respect OS preference
@@ -602,6 +603,18 @@
             to { opacity: 0; }
         }
     </script>
+    <script>
+        // Add CSRF token to all AJAX requests
+        $(document).ready(function () {
+            $.ajaxSetup({
+                beforeSend: function (xhr, settings) {
+                    if (!/^(GET|HEAD|OPTIONS|TRACE)$/i.test(settings.type) && !this.crossDomain) {
+                        xhr.setRequestHeader("X-CSRFToken", $('meta[name="csrf-token"]').attr('content'));
+                    }
+                }
+            });
+        });
+    </script>
     {% block scripts %}{% endblock %}
 </body>