diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f6cc248..7b87565 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
 .env
+**/.env
+!**/.env.example
+!**/example.env
 # Logs
 logs
 *.log
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 231fe1c..67c7fde 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -150,15 +150,19 @@ The entire STAC Atlas system can be started with a single command:
 git clone https://github.com/your-org/stac-atlas.git
 cd stac-atlas
 
-# Create environment files (see Environment Configuration section)
-cp db/example.env db/.env
-cp api/.env.example api/.env
+# Create shared credentials once (injected into db, api, crawler)
+cp example.env .env
+# Edit .env — set passwords here only
+
+# Optional component settings (no DB passwords needed for full stack)
 cp crawler/.env.example crawler/.env
+cp api/.env.example api/.env
 
 # Start all services
-docker-compose up --build
+docker compose up --build -d
 ```
 
+
 This starts:
 - **Database** on port 5432
 - **API** on port 3000
@@ -378,47 +382,28 @@ When running with Docker Compose, all services communicate over the `stac_net` i
 
 ## Environment Configuration
 
-Each component requires its own environment configuration. Template files are provided:
+### Full stack (recommended)
 
-### Database (.env)
+Create **one** root `.env` from `example.env`. Passwords and DB name/user are injected into `db`, `api` and `crawler` by the root `docker-compose.yml` — you do not repeat them elsewhere.
 
 ```env
-POSTGRES_DB=stac_db
-POSTGRES_USER=postgres
-POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your_secure_password
+POSTGRES_DB=example
+POSTGRES_USER=example
+POSTGRES_PASSWORD=example
 DB_PORT=5432
-STAC_API_PASSWORD=api_password
-STAC_CRAWLER_PASSWORD=crawler_password
+STAC_API_PASSWORD=example
+STAC_CRAWLER_PASSWORD=example
 ```
 
-### API (.env)
+Optional component files (no shared secrets):
 
-```env
-PORT=3000
-NODE_ENV=production
-DATABASE_URL=postgresql://stac_api:api_password@db:5432/stac_db
-# Or individual variables:
-# DB_HOST=localhost
-# DB_PORT=5432
-# DB_NAME=stac_db
-# DB_USER=stac_api
-# DB_PASSWORD=api_password
-```
+- `crawler/.env` — crawl settings only (`CRAWL_*`, `MAX_*`, …)
+- `api/.env` — API settings only (CORS, pool, logging, …)
+- `ui/.env` — `VITE_API_BASE_URL`
 
-### Crawler (.env)
+### Standalone components
 
-```env
-PGHOST=localhost
-PGPORT=5432
-PGUSER=stac_crawler
-PGPASSWORD=crawler_password
-PGDATABASE=stac_db
-
-CRAWL_MODE=both
-MAX_CATALOGS=0
-MAX_APIS=0
-CRAWL_DAYS_INTERVAL=7
-```
+When running a component alone, use that component’s example file (including DB connection settings). For the database alone: `db/example.env`.
 
 ### UI (.env)
 
diff --git a/api/.env.example b/api/.env.example
index 219f246..e83b7fb 100644
--- a/api/.env.example
+++ b/api/.env.example
@@ -1,19 +1,19 @@
-# Server Configuration
+# Copy to api/.env:  cp .env.example .env
+#
+# Full-stack deploy: DB credentials come from the root .env via docker-compose.
+# You do NOT need to set DB_* / DATABASE_URL here for `docker compose up` from root.
+#
+# Standalone API only — uncomment and fill in:
+# DB_HOST=example
+# DB_PORT=5432
+# DB_NAME=example
+# DB_USER=example
+# DB_PASSWORD=example
+# DATABASE_URL=postgresql://example:example@example:5432/example
+
 PORT=3000
 NODE_ENV=development
 
-
-# Database Configuration (Debian Server)
-# Option 1: Use DATABASE_URL (PostgreSQL connection string)
-# The api-user is stac_api (read-only)
-DATABASE_URL=postgresql://stac_api:[PASSWORD]@atlas.stacindex.org:5430/stac_db
-
-# Option 2: Use individual variables (currently active)
-DB_HOST=atlas.stacindex.org
-DB_PORT=5430 # 5432 for production
-DB_NAME=stac_db
-DB_USER=stac_api
-DB_PASSWORD= # Add stac_api password here (api_password)
 DB_SSL=false
 
 # Connection Pool Configuration
@@ -21,29 +21,29 @@ DB_POOL_MAX=20
 DB_POOL_MIN=2
 DB_IDLE_TIMEOUT=30000
 DB_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT=10000
-
 # CORS Configuration
+
 CORS_ORIGIN=*
+# Logging Configuration
 CORS_CREDENTIALS=false
+# API Configuration
 
-# Logging Configuration
 LOG_LEVEL=debug
 
-# API Configuration
-API_TITLE=STAC Atlas
-API_DESCRIPTION=A centralized platform for managing, indexing, and providing STAC Collection metadata
-API_VERSION=1.0.0
-
 # Request Size Limits
 # MAX_URL_LENGTH: Maximum URL length including query parameters (default: 1MB)
 # MAX_HEADER_SIZE: Maximum total size of all HTTP headers (default: 100KB)
 # MAX_BODY_SIZE: Maximum request body size for POST/PUT (default: 10MB)
+# Rate Limiting Configuration
+# Set to "true" to disable rate limiting (useful for load testing)
+# WARNING: Never disable rate limiting in production!
 # Formats: "100KB", "1MB", "10MB", etc.
+API_TITLE=STAC Atlas
+API_DESCRIPTION=A centralized platform for managing, indexing, and providing STAC Collection metadata
+API_VERSION=1.0.0
+
 MAX_URL_LENGTH=1MB
 MAX_HEADER_SIZE=100KB
 MAX_BODY_SIZE=10MB
 
-# Rate Limiting Configuration
-# Set to "true" to disable rate limiting (useful for load testing)
-# WARNING: Never disable rate limiting in production!
 DISABLE_RATE_LIMIT=false
diff --git a/api/docker-compose.yml b/api/docker-compose.yml
index cc9b9bb..b2a93e8 100644
--- a/api/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/api/docker-compose.yml
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ services:
     volumes:
       - .:/app
       - /app/node_modules
-    env_file: .env
+    env_file:
+      - path: .env
+        required: false
     environment:
       - PORT=3000
diff --git a/crawler/.env.example b/crawler/.env.example
index 917fa2f..83da2ff 100644
--- a/crawler/.env.example
+++ b/crawler/.env.example
@@ -1,16 +1,15 @@
-# STAC Crawler Configuration
-# Copy this file to .env and adjust values as needed
-
-# URI of the Postgres/PostGis Host
-PGHOST=example_db_URL
-# Postgres/PostGis Port
-PGPORT=5432
-# Postgres/PostGis user
-PGUSER=example_user
-# Postgres/PostGis password
-PGPASSWORD=example_password
-# Postgres/PostGis databse
-PGDATABASE=example_db
+# STAC Crawler — crawl settings only.
+# Copy:  cp .env.example .env
+#
+# Full-stack deploy: DB credentials come from the root .env via docker-compose.
+# You do NOT need PG* here for `docker compose up` from root.
+#
+# Standalone crawler only — uncomment and fill in:
+# PGHOST=example
+# PGPORT=5432
+# PGUSER=example
+# PGPASSWORD=example
+# PGDATABASE=example
 
 # For single Crawler run:
 # 'catalogs', 'apis', or 'both'
diff --git a/crawler/docker-compose.yml b/crawler/docker-compose.yml
index f154ad5..3bce849 100644
--- a/crawler/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/crawler/docker-compose.yml
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ services:
       dockerfile: Dockerfile
     container_name: stac-crawler
     # restart: unless-stopped
+    env_file:
+      - path: .env
+        required: false
     environment:
       - NODE_ENV=production
     networks:
@@ -12,4 +15,4 @@ services:
 
 networks:
   stac-network:
-    external: true
+    driver: bridge
diff --git a/db/docker-compose.yml b/db/docker-compose.yml
index 76599c7..6692b51 100644
--- a/db/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/db/docker-compose.yml
@@ -3,27 +3,19 @@ services:
     image: postgis/postgis:16-3.4
     container_name: stac_db
     restart: always
+    # Values come from env_file (.env next to this file for standalone,
+    # or root .env when started via the root docker-compose.yml).
     env_file:
       - .env
-
-    environment:
-      # Admin user (required for initial database setup)
-      POSTGRES_DB: ${POSTGRES_DB}
-      POSTGRES_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER}
-      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
-      # Application user passwords
-      STAC_API_PASSWORD: ${STAC_API_PASSWORD}
-      STAC_CRAWLER_PASSWORD: ${STAC_CRAWLER_PASSWORD}
-
     ports:
-      - "${DB_PORT}:5432"
-
+      - "${DB_PORT:-5432}:5432"
     volumes:
       - stac_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
       - ./init:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d
     networks: [stac-network]
     healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U ${POSTGRES_USER} -d ${POSTGRES_DB}"]
+      # Use container env at runtime ($$), not compose-time interpolation.
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U $$POSTGRES_USER -d $$POSTGRES_DB"]
       interval: 5s
       timeout: 5s
       retries: 10
@@ -34,5 +26,4 @@ volumes:
 
 networks:
   stac-network:
-    name: stac-network
     driver: bridge
diff --git a/db/example.env b/db/example.env
index ad3b4b9..cb812a4 100644
--- a/db/example.env
+++ b/db/example.env
@@ -1,15 +1,14 @@
-# PostgreSQL Database Configuration
-# Admin user with superuser privileges (required for initial setup)
-POSTGRES_DB= # stac_db is the database we are running on
-POSTGRES_USER= # add postgres_user here (admin user)
-POSTGRES_PASSWORD= # add postgres_password here (admin password)
+# Only needed when running the database alone:
+#   cd db && cp example.env .env && docker compose up -d
+#
+# Full-stack deploy uses the root example.env / .env instead
+# (credentials are injected by the root docker-compose.yml).
 
-# Database Port (host:container)
-DB_PORT= # 5432 / 5433 (at the moment both are available)
+POSTGRES_DB=example
+POSTGRES_USER=example
+POSTGRES_PASSWORD=example
 
-# Application Users (created via init scripts)
-# stac_api: read-only access for API
-STAC_API_PASSWORD= # Password for api user (read-only); add api_password here
+DB_PORT=5432
 
-# stac_crawler: full read-write access for crawler
-STAC_CRAWLER_PASSWORD= # Password for crawler user (read-write); add crawler_password here
+STAC_API_PASSWORD=example #read-only access for api
+STAC_CRAWLER_PASSWORD=example #read-write access for crawler
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index c627670..c30769b 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
-# This docker-compose file orchestrates the startup of the entire STAC-Atlas project.
-# It includes the docker-compose configurations from the individual components.
+# Orchestrates the full STAC-Atlas stack.
+# Single source for DB credentials: project-root .env (see example.env)
+#   cp example.env .env
+#   docker compose up --build -d
 
 networks:
   stac-network:
-    name: stac-network
-    external: true
+    driver: bridge
 
 volumes:
   stac_data:
@@ -14,6 +15,15 @@ services:
     extends:
       file: db/docker-compose.yml
       service: database
+    # Use root .env only — no need to duplicate credentials in db/.env
+    env_file:
+      - .env
+    environment:
+      POSTGRES_DB: ${POSTGRES_DB}
+      POSTGRES_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER}
+      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
+      STAC_API_PASSWORD: ${STAC_API_PASSWORD}
+      STAC_CRAWLER_PASSWORD: ${STAC_CRAWLER_PASSWORD}
     networks: [stac-network]
 
   crawler:
@@ -21,15 +31,34 @@ services:
       file: crawler/docker-compose.yml
       service: crawler
     networks: [stac-network]
+    # DB connection comes from root .env; crawler/.env is only crawl settings
+    environment:
+      NODE_ENV: production
+      PGHOST: stac_db
+      PGPORT: "5432"
+      PGUSER: stac_crawler
+      PGPASSWORD: ${STAC_CRAWLER_PASSWORD}
+      PGDATABASE: ${POSTGRES_DB}
     depends_on:
       db:
         condition: service_healthy
+
   api:
     extends:
       file: api/docker-compose.yml
       service: api
     networks: [stac-network]
+    # DB connection comes from root .env; api/.env is only API settings
+    environment:
+      DB_HOST: stac_db
+      DB_PORT: "5432"
+      DB_NAME: ${POSTGRES_DB}
+      DB_USER: stac_api
+      DB_PASSWORD: ${STAC_API_PASSWORD}
+      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://stac_api:${STAC_API_PASSWORD}@stac_db:5432/${POSTGRES_DB}
     depends_on:
+      db:
+        condition: service_healthy
       crawler:
         condition: service_started
 
@@ -40,4 +69,4 @@ services:
     networks: [stac-network]
     depends_on:
       api:
-        condition: service_started
\ No newline at end of file
+        condition: service_started
diff --git a/example.env b/example.env
index aa98c66..775f504 100644
--- a/example.env
+++ b/example.env
@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
 # PostgreSQL Database Configuration
 # Admin user with superuser privileges (required for initial setup)
-POSTGRES_DB= # stac_db is the database we are running on
-POSTGRES_USER= # add postgres_user here (admin user)
-POSTGRES_PASSWORD= # add postgres_password here (admin password)
+POSTGRES_DB=example # stac_db is the database we are running on
+POSTGRES_USER=example # add postgres_user here (admin user)
+POSTGRES_PASSWORD=example # add postgres_password here (admin password)
 
 # Database Port (host:container)
-DB_PORT= # 5432
+DB_PORT=5432 # 5432
 # Application Users (created via init scripts)
 # stac_api: read-only access for API
-STAC_API_PASSWORD= # Password for api user (read-only); add api_password here
+STAC_API_PASSWORD=example # Password for api user (read-only); add api_password here
 
 # stac_crawler: full read-write access for crawler
-STAC_CRAWLER_PASSWORD= # Password for crawler user (read-write); add crawler_password here
\ No newline at end of file
+STAC_CRAWLER_PASSWORD=example # Password for crawler user (read-write); add crawler_password here
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ui/src/i18n/de.ts b/ui/src/i18n/de.ts
index 953dc0d..4c12c47 100644
--- a/ui/src/i18n/de.ts
+++ b/ui/src/i18n/de.ts
@@ -142,6 +142,7 @@ export default {
     // Items
     loadingItems: 'Elemente werden von der Quelle geladen...',
     noItems: 'Keine Elemente verfügbar',
+    noItemsOnPage: 'Keine Elemente auf dieser Seite.',
     
     // Coordinates
     coordinateLabels: {
diff --git a/ui/src/i18n/en.ts b/ui/src/i18n/en.ts
index ab0d801..508de13 100644
--- a/ui/src/i18n/en.ts
+++ b/ui/src/i18n/en.ts
@@ -142,6 +142,7 @@ export default {
     // Items
     loadingItems: 'Loading items from source...',
     noItems: 'No items available',
+    noItemsOnPage: 'No items on this page.',
     
     // Coordinates
     coordinateLabels: {