diff --git a/packages/bookwyrm/nixos-module.nix b/packages/bookwyrm/nixos-module.nix
index 4b97889..eeb6edf 100644
--- a/packages/bookwyrm/nixos-module.nix
+++ b/packages/bookwyrm/nixos-module.nix
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ with pkgs . kernelmaft ;
 					[Service]
 
 					# 'initdb' fails harmlessly if it has been run on the database before
+					ExecStartPre=${coreutils-full}/bin/ln -sf ${bookwyrm}/var/lib/bookwyrm/.env /etc/bookwyrm/config.env
 					ExecStartPre=${coreutils-full}/bin/ln -sf ${bookwyrm}/var/lib/bookwyrm/VERSION /var/lib/bookwyrm/
 					ExecStartPre=${bookwyrm}/bin/bookwyrm-env ${python311}/bin/python ${bookwyrm}/lib/python3.11/manage.py migrate
 					ExecStartPre=-${bookwyrm}/bin/bookwyrm-env ${python311}/bin/python ${bookwyrm}/lib/python3.11/manage.py initdb
diff --git a/packages/bookwyrm/package.nix b/packages/bookwyrm/package.nix
index 913c9bb..3504cfe 100644
--- a/packages/bookwyrm/package.nix
+++ b/packages/bookwyrm/package.nix
@@ -173,16 +173,6 @@ mkDerivation {
 
 			export DEBUG=false
 
-			export DOMAIN="\$( cat /etc/bookwyrm/domain )"
-
-			export EMAIL=""
-			export EMAIL_HOST=""
-			export EMAIL_HOST_USER=""
-			export EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD=""
-
-			# The escape here is required in order to retrieve the key file contents at runtime
-			export SECRET_KEY="\$( cat /etc/bookwyrm/secret-key )"
-
 			exec \$@
 		EOF