diff --git a/backend/helm/cloudhost-app/templates/_helpers.tpl b/backend/helm/cloudhost-app/templates/_helpers.tpl
index 8c1b0a8..bbc0a57 100644
--- a/backend/helm/cloudhost-app/templates/_helpers.tpl
+++ b/backend/helm/cloudhost-app/templates/_helpers.tpl
@@ -90,6 +90,25 @@ PostgreSQL PGDATA path — must be a subdirectory of the mount to avoid "initdb:
 /var/lib/postgresql/data/pgdata
 {{- end }}
 
+{{- define "cloudhost-app.laravelDbConnection" -}}
+{{- if eq .Values.database.type "postgresql" }}pgsql{{- else if eq .Values.database.type "mongodb" }}mongodb{{- else }}mysql{{- end }}
+{{- end }}
+
+{{/*
+Laravel-specific DB env vars (DB_CONNECTION, DB_DATABASE, DB_USERNAME)
+*/}}
+{{- define "cloudhost-app.laravelDbEnv" -}}
+            - name: DB_CONNECTION
+              value: {{ include "cloudhost-app.laravelDbConnection" . | quote }}
+            - name: DB_DATABASE
+              value: {{ include "cloudhost-app.dbName" . }}
+            - name: DB_USERNAME
+              valueFrom:
+                secretKeyRef:
+                  name: {{ include "cloudhost-app.name" . }}-db-secret
+                  key: username
+{{- end }}
+
 {{/*
 App storage mount path based on runtime
 */}}
diff --git a/backend/helm/cloudhost-app/templates/deployment.yaml b/backend/helm/cloudhost-app/templates/deployment.yaml
index 07adfd3..ce09c78 100644
--- a/backend/helm/cloudhost-app/templates/deployment.yaml
+++ b/backend/helm/cloudhost-app/templates/deployment.yaml
@@ -54,13 +54,7 @@ spec:
             - name: DATABASE_URL
               value: "postgresql://$(DB_USER):$(DB_PASSWORD)@{{ include "cloudhost-app.dbDeploymentName" . }}:5432/{{ include "cloudhost-app.dbName" . }}"
             {{- if or (eq .Values.app.runtime "laravel") (eq .Values.app.runtime "php") }}
-            - name: DB_DATABASE
-              value: {{ include "cloudhost-app.dbName" . }}
-            - name: DB_USERNAME
-              valueFrom:
-                secretKeyRef:
-                  name: {{ $name }}-db-secret
-                  key: username
+{{ include "cloudhost-app.laravelDbEnv" . }}
             {{- end }}
             {{- end }}
             {{- if and .Values.database.enabled (eq .Values.database.type "mysql") }}
@@ -83,13 +77,7 @@ spec:
             - name: DATABASE_URL
               value: "mysql://$(DB_USER):$(DB_PASSWORD)@{{ include "cloudhost-app.dbDeploymentName" . }}:3306/{{ include "cloudhost-app.dbName" . }}"
             {{- if or (eq .Values.app.runtime "laravel") (eq .Values.app.runtime "php") }}
-            - name: DB_DATABASE
-              value: {{ include "cloudhost-app.dbName" . }}
-            - name: DB_USERNAME
-              valueFrom:
-                secretKeyRef:
-                  name: {{ $name }}-db-secret
-                  key: username
+{{ include "cloudhost-app.laravelDbEnv" . }}
             {{- end }}
             {{- end }}
             {{- if and .Values.database.enabled (eq .Values.database.type "mariadb") }}
@@ -112,13 +100,7 @@ spec:
             - name: DATABASE_URL
               value: "mysql://$(DB_USER):$(DB_PASSWORD)@{{ include "cloudhost-app.dbDeploymentName" . }}:3306/{{ include "cloudhost-app.dbName" . }}"
             {{- if or (eq .Values.app.runtime "laravel") (eq .Values.app.runtime "php") }}
-            - name: DB_DATABASE
-              value: {{ include "cloudhost-app.dbName" . }}
-            - name: DB_USERNAME
-              valueFrom:
-                secretKeyRef:
-                  name: {{ $name }}-db-secret
-                  key: username
+{{ include "cloudhost-app.laravelDbEnv" . }}
             {{- end }}
             {{- end }}
             {{- if and .Values.database.enabled (eq .Values.database.type "mongodb") }}
@@ -143,13 +125,7 @@ spec:
             - name: DATABASE_URL
               value: "mongodb://$(DB_USER):$(DB_PASSWORD)@{{ include "cloudhost-app.dbDeploymentName" . }}:27017/{{ include "cloudhost-app.dbName" . }}?authSource=admin"
             {{- if or (eq .Values.app.runtime "laravel") (eq .Values.app.runtime "php") }}
-            - name: DB_DATABASE
-              value: {{ include "cloudhost-app.dbName" . }}
-            - name: DB_USERNAME
-              valueFrom:
-                secretKeyRef:
-                  name: {{ $name }}-db-secret
-                  key: username
+{{ include "cloudhost-app.laravelDbEnv" . }}
             {{- end }}
             {{- end }}
             {{- /* Redis connection env vars */}}
diff --git a/backend/src/build/build.service.ts b/backend/src/build/build.service.ts
index 6defbb5..3f80516 100644
--- a/backend/src/build/build.service.ts
+++ b/backend/src/build/build.service.ts
@@ -1009,7 +1009,7 @@ RUN composer dump-autoload --optimize --no-dev
 # --- Production stage ---
 FROM php:${phpVersion}-fpm-alpine
 
-RUN apk add --no-cache nginx supervisor curl \\
+RUN apk add --no-cache nginx supervisor curl openssl \\
     && docker-php-ext-install pdo pdo_mysql opcache \\
     && docker-php-ext-install pdo_pgsql 2>/dev/null || true
 
@@ -1063,14 +1063,20 @@ RUN [ -f docker/supervisord.conf ] && cp docker/supervisord.conf /etc/supervisor
 # Ensure storage and cache directories exist and are writable
 RUN mkdir -p storage/logs storage/framework/cache storage/framework/sessions storage/framework/views bootstrap/cache \\
     && chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/storage /var/www/html/bootstrap/cache
-RUN php artisan config:cache && php artisan route:cache && php artisan view:cache || true
-RUN php artisan storage:link || true
 
 RUN echo '#!/bin/sh' > /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh && \\
     echo 'set -e' >> /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh && \\
     echo 'cd /var/www/html' >> /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh && \\
-    echo 'mkdir -p storage/logs storage/framework/cache storage/framework/sessions storage/framework/views' >> /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh && \\
-    echo 'chown -R www-data:www-data storage' >> /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh && \\
+    echo 'mkdir -p storage/logs storage/framework/cache storage/framework/sessions storage/framework/views storage/app/public bootstrap/cache' >> /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh && \\
+    echo 'chown -R www-data:www-data storage bootstrap/cache' >> /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh && \\
+    echo 'if [ -z "$APP_KEY" ] || [ "$APP_KEY" = "null" ]; then export APP_KEY="base64:$(openssl rand -base64 32)"; fi' >> /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh && \\
+    echo 'php artisan config:clear || true' >> /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh && \\
+    echo 'php artisan cache:clear || true' >> /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh && \\
+    echo 'php artisan migrate --force --no-interaction || true' >> /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh && \\
+    echo 'php artisan storage:link || true' >> /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh && \\
+    echo 'php artisan config:cache || true' >> /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh && \\
+    echo 'php artisan route:cache || true' >> /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh && \\
+    echo 'php artisan view:cache || true' >> /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh && \\
     echo 'exec /usr/bin/supervisord -c /etc/supervisord.conf' >> /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh && \\
     chmod +x /usr/local/bin/cloudhost-laravel-entrypoint.sh
 
diff --git a/backend/src/kubernetes/kubernetes.service.ts b/backend/src/kubernetes/kubernetes.service.ts
index d8bc312..9bdfb2f 100644
--- a/backend/src/kubernetes/kubernetes.service.ts
+++ b/backend/src/kubernetes/kubernetes.service.ts
@@ -435,7 +435,14 @@ export class KubernetesService implements OnModuleInit {
       (ctx.runtime === AppRuntime.LARAVEL || ctx.runtime === AppRuntime.PHP) &&
       ctx.databaseType !== DatabaseType.NONE
     ) {
+      const dbConnection =
+        ctx.databaseType === DatabaseType.POSTGRESQL
+          ? 'pgsql'
+          : ctx.databaseType === DatabaseType.MONGODB
+            ? 'mongodb'
+            : 'mysql';
       extraEnv.push(
+        { name: 'DB_CONNECTION', value: dbConnection },
         { name: 'DB_DATABASE', value: ctx.appName.replace(/-/g, '_') },
         { name: 'DB_USERNAME', valueFrom: { secretKeyRef: { name: `${ctx.appName}-db-secret`, key: 'username' } } },
       );