diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 4117b9e..2365998 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ RUN pip install --upgrade pip && \
 # Copy the rest of the application
 COPY . .
 
+# Create the instance directory for SQLite
+RUN mkdir -p instance && \
+  chmod 777 instance
+
 # Create a non-root user to run the app
 RUN useradd -m appuser && \
   chown -R appuser:appuser /app
@@ -27,7 +31,9 @@ USER appuser
 
 # Set environment variables
 ENV PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1 \
-  PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
+  PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1 \
+  SECRET_KEY="" \
+  FLASK_APP=wsgi.py
 
 # Run gunicorn
-CMD ["gunicorn", "--bind", "0.0.0.0:8000", "--workers", "4", "wsgi:app"]
+CMD ["gunicorn", "--bind", "0.0.0.0:8000", "--timeout", "120", "--workers", "4", "wsgi:app"]
diff --git a/app/__init__.py b/app/__init__.py
index 6456156..9cbfd5f 100644
--- a/app/__init__.py
+++ b/app/__init__.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
-from flask import Flask, g, redirect, url_for, render_template
+from flask import Flask, g, redirect, url_for, render_template, session
 import datetime
 import os
+import secrets
 
 
 def create_app(config_name="development"):
@@ -14,6 +15,10 @@ def create_app(config_name="development"):
     else:
         app.config.from_object("config.DevelopmentConfig")
 
+    # Ensure SECRET_KEY is set
+    if not app.config.get('SECRET_KEY'):
+        app.config['SECRET_KEY'] = secrets.token_hex(32)
+
     # Initialize extensions
     from app.core.extensions import db, migrate, login_manager, bcrypt, limiter, csrf
 
@@ -44,7 +49,7 @@ def create_app(config_name="development"):
     # Register the markdown filter directly
     app.jinja_env.filters['markdown'] = markdown_filter
 
-    # Create database tables without seeding any data
+    # Create database tables
     with app.app_context():
         try:
             db.create_all()
@@ -78,6 +83,11 @@ def create_app(config_name="development"):
 
     app.register_blueprint(static_bp)
 
+    # Add session handling
+    @app.before_request
+    def make_session_permanent():
+        session.permanent = True
+
     # Add error handlers
     @app.errorhandler(404)
     def page_not_found(e):
diff --git a/compose.yml b/compose.yml
index 8441da6..444892f 100644
--- a/compose.yml
+++ b/compose.yml
@@ -12,4 +12,5 @@ services:
       - ./instance:/app/instance # Persist SQLite database
     environment:
       - FLASK_ENV=${FLASK_ENV:-production}
+      - SECRET_KEY=${SECRET_KEY:-} # Will be generated if empty
     restart: unless-stopped
diff --git a/config.py b/config.py
index 924b427..8542d80 100644
--- a/config.py
+++ b/config.py
@@ -1,13 +1,19 @@
 import os
+import secrets
 
 
 class Config:
     """Base config."""
 
-    SECRET_KEY = os.environ.get("SECRET_KEY", "dev-key-placeholder")
+    SECRET_KEY = os.environ.get('SECRET_KEY') or secrets.token_hex(32)
+    SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI = os.environ.get('DATABASE_URL') or 'sqlite:///instance/app.db'
     SQLALCHEMY_TRACK_MODIFICATIONS = False
     WTF_CSRF_ENABLED = True
-    SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE = False  # Set to True in production with HTTPS
+    WTF_CSRF_SECRET_KEY = os.environ.get('CSRF_SECRET_KEY') or secrets.token_hex(32)
+    SESSION_TYPE = 'filesystem'
+    SESSION_PERMANENT = False
+    PERMANENT_SESSION_LIFETIME = 3600  # 1 hour
+    REMEMBER_COOKIE_DURATION = 2592000  # 30 days
 
 
 class DevelopmentConfig(Config):
diff --git a/wsgi.py b/wsgi.py
index e4ee86e..7c48ac6 100644
--- a/wsgi.py
+++ b/wsgi.py
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@ import os
 import secrets
 from app import create_app
 
+# Generate a secret key if not provided
+if not os.environ.get("SECRET_KEY"):
+    os.environ["SECRET_KEY"] = secrets.token_hex(32)
+
 # Get Flask environment
 flask_env = os.environ.get("FLASK_ENV", "production")