diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 1d7210dd..1d0adf59 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 # Basic configuration
 # ------------------------------------------------------------
-MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING=mongodb://host.docker.internal:27017/rowboat
 OPENAI_API_KEY=<OPENAI_API_KEY>
 
 
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 1a196ddf..6e2254a5 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 .DS_Store
 .env
-.vscode/
\ No newline at end of file
+.vscode/
+data/
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c44e852c..f8db38a4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -33,14 +33,6 @@ Before running Rowboat, ensure you have:
 
 2. **OpenAI API Key**
    - Obtain from your OpenAI account.
-
-3. **MongoDB**
-   - macOS (Homebrew)
-     ```bash
-     brew tap mongodb/brew
-     brew install mongodb-community@8.0
-     brew services start mongodb-community@8.0
-     ```
    - Other platforms: Refer to the [MongoDB documentation](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/manual/installation/) for details.
 
 ## Setup Rowboat
@@ -51,17 +43,10 @@ Before running Rowboat, ensure you have:
    cd rowboat
    ```
 
-2. **Environment Configuration**
-   - Copy the `.env.example` file and rename it to `.env`:
-     ```bash
-     cp .env.example .env
-     ```
-   - Open the new .env file and update the OPENAI_API_KEY:
-
-     ```ini
-     # OpenAI Configuration
-     OPENAI_API_KEY=your-openai-api-key
-     ```
+2. **Set OpenAI key**
+   ```bash
+   export OPENAI_API_KEY=your-openai-api-key
+   ```
 
 3. **Start the App**
    ```bash
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 9bd9f45b..ae67db3d 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ services:
       - "3000:3000"
     environment:
       - OPENAI_API_KEY=${OPENAI_API_KEY}
-      - MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING=${MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING}
+      - MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING=mongodb://mongo:27017/rowboat
       - USE_AUTH=${USE_AUTH}
       - AUTH0_SECRET=${AUTH0_SECRET}
       - AUTH0_BASE_URL=${AUTH0_BASE_URL}
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ services:
       - OPENAI_API_KEY=${OPENAI_API_KEY}
       - API_KEY=${AGENTS_API_KEY}
       - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
-      - MONGODB_URI=${MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING}
+      - MONGODB_URI=mongodb://mongo:27017/rowboat
       - QDRANT_URL=${QDRANT_URL}
       - QDRANT_API_KEY=${QDRANT_API_KEY}
     restart: unless-stopped
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ services:
       context: ./apps/simulation_runner
       dockerfile: Dockerfile
     environment:
-      - MONGODB_URI=${MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING}
+      - MONGODB_URI=mongodb://mongo:27017/rowboat
       - ROWBOAT_API_HOST=http://rowboat:3000
       - OPENAI_API_KEY=${OPENAI_API_KEY}
     restart: unless-stopped
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ services:
     profiles: [ "rag_files_worker" ]
     environment:
       - OPENAI_API_KEY=${OPENAI_API_KEY}
-      - MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING=${MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING}
+      - MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING=mongodb://mongo:27017/rowboat
       - GOOGLE_API_KEY=${GOOGLE_API_KEY}
       - AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=${AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID}
       - AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=${AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY}
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ services:
     profiles: [ "rag_urls_worker" ]
     environment:
       - OPENAI_API_KEY=${OPENAI_API_KEY}
-      - MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING=${MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING}
+      - MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING=mongodb://mongo:27017/rowboat
       - FIRECRAWL_API_KEY=${FIRECRAWL_API_KEY}
       - QDRANT_URL=${QDRANT_URL}
       - QDRANT_API_KEY=${QDRANT_API_KEY}
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ services:
     profiles: [ "rag_text_worker" ]
     environment:
       - OPENAI_API_KEY=${OPENAI_API_KEY}
-      - MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING=${MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING}
+      - MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING=mongodb://mongo:27017/rowboat
       - QDRANT_URL=${QDRANT_URL}
       - QDRANT_API_KEY=${QDRANT_API_KEY}
     restart: unless-stopped
@@ -165,6 +165,15 @@ services:
       - ROWBOAT_HOST=http://localhost:3000
     restart: unless-stopped
 
+  mongo:
+    image: mongo:latest
+    ports:
+      - "27017:27017"
+    restart: unless-stopped
+    attach: false
+    volumes:
+      - ./data/mongo:/data/db
+
   redis:
     image: redis:latest
     ports:
@@ -188,5 +197,5 @@ services:
   #   environment:
   #     - ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=${ELEVENLABS_API_KEY}
   #     - ROWBOAT_API_HOST=http://rowboat:3000
-  #     - MONGODB_URI=${MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING}
+  #     - MONGODB_URI=mongodb://mongo:27017/rowboat
   #   restart: unless-stopped