diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index d237f31..656a734 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ services:
     environment:
       STORAGE_DIR: /data/documents
       MEILISEARCH_HOST: http://meilisearch:7700
-      MEILISEARCH_API_KEY: ${MEILISEARCH_API_KEY:-}
+      MEILISEARCH_API_KEY: ${MEILISEARCH_API_KEY:-dochub-search-key-2026}
       MEILISEARCH_INDEX: ${MEILISEARCH_INDEX:-documents}
       CORS_ORIGINS: ${CORS_ORIGINS:-http://localhost:8080}
     volumes:
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ services:
   meilisearch:
     image: getmeili/meilisearch:v1.10
     environment:
-      MEILI_MASTER_KEY: ${MEILISEARCH_API_KEY:-}
+      MEILI_MASTER_KEY: ${MEILISEARCH_API_KEY:-dochub-search-key-2026}
       MEILI_NO_ANALYTICS: "true"
     volumes:
       - meilisearch-data:/meili_data