diff --git a/deploy.sh b/deploy.sh
index e3632c7..e0373ad 100755
--- a/deploy.sh
+++ b/deploy.sh
@@ -43,11 +43,20 @@ if [ -z "$FRONTEND_DEPLOY_DIR" ]; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
-# Export variables for docker compose
-export COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME="${COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME:-modcomms}"
-export BACKEND_PORT="${BACKEND_PORT:-8000}"
+# Set defaults for docker compose variables
+COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME="${COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME:-modcomms}"
+BACKEND_PORT="${BACKEND_PORT:-8000}"
 echo "  Environment: ${COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME} (port ${BACKEND_PORT})"
 
+# Create .env file for docker compose (so manual docker compose commands work)
+cat > .env << EOF
+# Auto-generated by deploy.sh - do not edit manually
+# Edit .env.deploy instead and re-run deploy.sh
+COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME=${COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME}
+BACKEND_PORT=${BACKEND_PORT}
+EOF
+echo "  ✓ .env created for docker compose"
+
 # --- Check backend/.env exists (required for GEMINI_API_KEY) ---
 if [ ! -f backend/.env ]; then
     if [ -f backend/.env.example ]; then