env-var-naming-drift-causes-silent-dev-defaults

docker-compose.prod.yml and k8s manifests used env var names the app never reads (e.g., DATABASE_URL, RDASH_SESSION_SECRET) while the app reads RDASH_-prefixed names. The container boots successfully but silently uses dev defaults for all misconfigured vars — no error, no warning. Always grep the app’s settings model to confirm exact env var names before writing compose/k8s env blocks.