diff --git a/api/src/auth/auth.module.ts b/api/src/auth/auth.module.ts
index c30fbb2..3695d3c 100644
--- a/api/src/auth/auth.module.ts
+++ b/api/src/auth/auth.module.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { Module } from "@nestjs/common"
 import { CacheModule } from "@nestjs/cache-manager"
 import { JwtModule } from "@nestjs/jwt"
+import createJwtConfig from "../config/jwt.config"
 import { AuthController } from "./auth.controller"
 import { AuthService } from "./auth.service"
 import { TokenDenylistService } from "./token-denylist.service"
@@ -15,9 +16,8 @@ const JWT_EXPIRES_IN = "15m"
       ttl: 3600,
       max: 1024,
     }),
-    JwtModule.register({
-      secret: process.env.JWT_SECRET ?? "dev-secret-change-me",
-      signOptions: { expiresIn: JWT_EXPIRES_IN },
+    JwtModule.registerAsync({
+      useFactory: () => createJwtConfig(JWT_EXPIRES_IN),
     }),
   ],
   controllers: [AuthController],
diff --git a/api/src/config/env.ts b/api/src/config/env.ts
index 2d9b2fd..339bfa6 100644
--- a/api/src/config/env.ts
+++ b/api/src/config/env.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@ const envSchema = z.object({
   PORT: z.string().default("3001"),
   NODE_ENV: z.enum(["development", "production", "test"]).default("development"),
   DATABASE_URL: z.string().min(1, "DATABASE_URL is required"),
-  JWT_SECRET: z.string().min(1, "JWT_SECRET is required"),
+  // JWT_SECRET is required in production and test, but optional in development
+  JWT_SECRET: z.string().optional(),
   STREAM_API_KEY: z.string().min(1, "STREAM_API_KEY is required"),
 })
 
@@ -19,6 +20,12 @@ export function validateEnv(): Env {
     console.error(`Environment validation failed:\n${errors}`)
     process.exit(1)
   }
+  // Enforce JWT secret presence for non-development environments
+  if (result.data.NODE_ENV !== "development" && !result.data.JWT_SECRET) {
+    console.error("Environment validation failed:\n  - JWT_SECRET: JWT_SECRET is required in non-development environments")
+    process.exit(1)
+  }
+
   return result.data
 }
 
diff --git a/api/src/config/jwt.config.ts b/api/src/config/jwt.config.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a933882
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/src/config/jwt.config.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+import { JwtModuleOptions } from "@nestjs/jwt"
+import { randomBytes } from "crypto"
+import { env } from "./env"
+
+export function createJwtConfig(expiresIn = "1h"): JwtModuleOptions {
+  // Prefer the explicitly set env var, but fall back to validated env if present
+  const secret = process.env.JWT_SECRET ?? env.JWT_SECRET
+
+  if (!secret) {
+    if (env.NODE_ENV === "development") {
+      const generated = randomBytes(32).toString("hex")
+      console.warn(
+        "WARNING: No JWT_SECRET set; generating a random secret for development only. This is INSECURE for production."
+      )
+      console.warn(`Generated development JWT secret: ${generated}`)
+      return { secret: generated, signOptions: { expiresIn } }
+    }
+    throw new Error("JWT_SECRET must be set")
+  }
+
+  return { secret, signOptions: { expiresIn } }
+}
+
+export default createJwtConfig
diff --git a/api/src/gateways/gateways.module.ts b/api/src/gateways/gateways.module.ts
index 8c55062..a9572a0 100644
--- a/api/src/gateways/gateways.module.ts
+++ b/api/src/gateways/gateways.module.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { Module } from "@nestjs/common"
 import { JwtModule } from "@nestjs/jwt"
+import createJwtConfig from "../config/jwt.config"
 import { MetricsModule } from "../metrics/metrics.module"
 import { StreamsGateway } from "./streams.gateway"
 
@@ -13,18 +14,7 @@ import { StreamsGateway } from "./streams.gateway"
   imports: [
     MetricsModule,
     JwtModule.registerAsync({
-      useFactory: () => {
-        const secret = process.env.JWT_SECRET
-        if (!secret && process.env.NODE_ENV === "production") {
-          throw new Error(
-            "JWT_SECRET must be set in production for WebSocket auth",
-          )
-        }
-        return {
-          secret: secret ?? "dev-insecure-secret-change-me",
-          signOptions: { expiresIn: "1h" },
-        }
-      },
+      useFactory: () => createJwtConfig("1h"),
     }),
   ],
   providers: [StreamsGateway],