diff --git a/src/main.jsx b/src/main.jsx
index b9a1a6d..882b5c9 100644
--- a/src/main.jsx
+++ b/src/main.jsx
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import './utils/env.js';
+
 import { StrictMode } from 'react'
 import { createRoot } from 'react-dom/client'
 import './index.css'
diff --git a/src/utils/env.js b/src/utils/env.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..333bdb4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/env.js
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+// src/utils/env.js
+// Run early in app startup to validate important env vars (Vite: import.meta.env)
+
+function isValidUrl(s) {
+  try { new URL(s); return true; } catch (e) { return false; }
+}
+
+const checks = [
+  { key: 'VITE_SUPABASE_URL', required: true, isUrl: true },
+  { key: 'VITE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY', required: true },
+  // README mentions MONGODB_URI — keep as recommended (optional for frontend)
+  { key: 'MONGODB_URI', required: false }
+];
+
+const missing = [];
+const invalid = [];
+
+checks.forEach(({ key, required, isUrl }) => {
+  const val = import.meta.env[key];
+  if ((!val || String(val).trim() === '') && required) {
+    missing.push(key);
+  } else if (val && isUrl && !isValidUrl(val)) {
+    invalid.push(key);
+  }
+});
+
+if (missing.length || invalid.length) {
+  const parts = [];
+  if (missing.length) parts.push(`Missing required environment variables: ${missing.join(', ')}`);
+  if (invalid.length) parts.push(`Invalid URL environment variables: ${invalid.join(', ')}`);
+  const message = `MongoBuddy — environment problem:\n\n${parts.join('\n')}\n\nPlease create .env from .env.example and fill values, then restart the dev server.`;
+
+  // Console error
+  // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+  console.error(message);
+
+  // Show big red banner in the page so maintainers / users notice immediately
+  if (typeof document !== 'undefined') {
+    const el = document.createElement('div');
+    el.setAttribute('id', 'env-error-overlay');
+    el.style.position = 'fixed';
+    el.style.top = '0';
+    el.style.left = '0';
+    el.style.right = '0';
+    el.style.background = 'rgba(180,30,30,0.98)';
+    el.style.color = 'white';
+    el.style.zIndex = '999999';
+    el.style.padding = '18px';
+    el.style.fontFamily = 'system-ui, sans-serif';
+    el.style.whiteSpace = 'pre-wrap';
+    el.style.boxShadow = '0 2px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.3)';
+    el.innerText = message;
+    document.body.appendChild(el);
+    // push page content down a bit (so overlay doesn't hide devtools entirely)
+    document.body.style.paddingTop = '110px';
+  }
+
+  // Stop further execution (throw will prevent app mounting)
+  throw new Error(message);
+}
+
+// If everything's fine we export a tiny object (not strictly necessary)
+export default {
+  ok: true,
+  env: {
+    VITE_SUPABASE_URL: import.meta.env.VITE_SUPABASE_URL,
+    VITE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY: import.meta.env.VITE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY,
+    MONGODB_URI: import.meta.env.MONGODB_URI || null
+  }
+};