diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a6e791c7..54eaf201 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -53,9 +53,12 @@ help:
 	@echo ""
 
 # Development environments
+# Use centralized env file from TUI if it exists, otherwise fall back to local .env
+OPENRAG_ENV_FILE := $(shell if [ -f ~/.openrag/tui/.env ]; then echo "--env-file ~/.openrag/tui/.env"; fi)
+
 dev:
 	@echo "🚀 Starting OpenRAG with GPU support..."
-	docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.gpu.yml up -d
+	docker compose $(OPENRAG_ENV_FILE) -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.gpu.yml up -d
 	@echo "✅ Services started!"
 	@echo "   Backend: http://localhost:8000"
 	@echo "   Frontend: http://localhost:3000"
@@ -65,7 +68,7 @@ dev:
 
 dev-cpu:
 	@echo "🚀 Starting OpenRAG with CPU only..."
-	docker compose up -d
+	docker compose $(OPENRAG_ENV_FILE) up -d
 	@echo "✅ Services started!"
 	@echo "   Backend: http://localhost:8000"
 	@echo "   Frontend: http://localhost:3000"
@@ -75,7 +78,7 @@ dev-cpu:
 
 dev-local:
 	@echo "🔧 Starting infrastructure only (for local development)..."
-	docker compose up -d opensearch dashboards langflow
+	docker compose $(OPENRAG_ENV_FILE) up -d opensearch dashboards langflow
 	@echo "✅ Infrastructure started!"
 	@echo "   Langflow: http://localhost:7860"
 	@echo "   OpenSearch: http://localhost:9200"
@@ -85,7 +88,7 @@ dev-local:
 
 infra:
 	@echo "🔧 Starting infrastructure services only..."
-	docker compose up -d opensearch dashboards langflow
+	docker compose $(OPENRAG_ENV_FILE) up -d opensearch dashboards langflow
 	@echo "✅ Infrastructure services started!"
 	@echo "   Langflow: http://localhost:7860"
 	@echo "   OpenSearch: http://localhost:9200"
@@ -93,7 +96,7 @@ infra:
 
 infra-cpu:
 	@echo "🔧 Starting infrastructure services only..."
-	docker compose up -d opensearch dashboards langflow
+	docker compose $(OPENRAG_ENV_FILE) up -d opensearch dashboards langflow
 	@echo "✅ Infrastructure services started!"
 	@echo "   Langflow: http://localhost:7860"
 	@echo "   OpenSearch: http://localhost:9200"
@@ -102,13 +105,13 @@ infra-cpu:
 # Container management
 stop:
 	@echo "🛑 Stopping all containers..."
-	docker compose down
+	docker compose $(OPENRAG_ENV_FILE) down
 
 restart: stop dev
 
 clean: stop
 	@echo "🧹 Cleaning up containers and volumes..."
-	docker compose down -v --remove-orphans
+	docker compose $(OPENRAG_ENV_FILE) down -v --remove-orphans
 	docker system prune -f
 
 # Local development
@@ -153,36 +156,36 @@ build-fe:
 # Logging and debugging
 logs:
 	@echo "📋 Showing all container logs..."
-	docker compose logs -f
+	docker compose $(OPENRAG_ENV_FILE) logs -f
 
 logs-be:
 	@echo "📋 Showing backend logs..."
-	docker compose logs -f openrag-backend
+	docker compose $(OPENRAG_ENV_FILE) logs -f openrag-backend
 
 logs-fe:
 	@echo "📋 Showing frontend logs..."
-	docker compose logs -f openrag-frontend
+	docker compose $(OPENRAG_ENV_FILE) logs -f openrag-frontend
 
 logs-lf:
 	@echo "📋 Showing langflow logs..."
-	docker compose logs -f langflow
+	docker compose $(OPENRAG_ENV_FILE) logs -f langflow
 
 logs-os:
 	@echo "📋 Showing opensearch logs..."
-	docker compose logs -f opensearch
+	docker compose $(OPENRAG_ENV_FILE) logs -f opensearch
 
 # Shell access
 shell-be:
 	@echo "🐚 Opening shell in backend container..."
-	docker compose exec openrag-backend /bin/bash
+	docker compose $(OPENRAG_ENV_FILE) exec openrag-backend /bin/bash
 
 shell-lf:
 	@echo "🐚 Opening shell in langflow container..."
-	docker compose exec langflow /bin/bash
+	docker compose $(OPENRAG_ENV_FILE) exec langflow /bin/bash
 
 shell-os:
 	@echo "🐚 Opening shell in opensearch container..."
-	docker compose exec opensearch /bin/bash
+	docker compose $(OPENRAG_ENV_FILE) exec opensearch /bin/bash
 
 # Testing and quality
 test:
@@ -414,7 +417,7 @@ lint:
 # Service status
 status:
 	@echo "📊 Container status:"
-	@docker compose ps 2>/dev/null || echo "No containers running"
+	@docker compose $(OPENRAG_ENV_FILE) ps 2>/dev/null || echo "No containers running"
 
 health:
 	@echo "🏥 Health check:"