diff --git a/.env b/.env
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a6f559f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+ZMQ_CONNECTION_STRING=tcp://analytics:8002
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 1dde626..eb9742b 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ services:
     build: server
     environment:
       HASTIC_API_KEY: ${HASTIC_API_KEY}
-      ZMQ_CONNECTION_STRING: tcp://analytics:8002
+      ZMQ_CONNECTION_STRING: ${ZMQ_CONNECTION_STRING}
     ports:
       - 8000:8000
     volumes: