pm2 worker fixes

ecosystem.config.cjs

@@ -3,6 +3,18 @@
 // It allows us to define all the settings for our application in one place.
 // The .cjs extension is required because the project's package.json has "type": "module".
 
+// --- Environment Variable Validation ---
+const requiredSecrets = ['DB_HOST', 'JWT_SECRET', 'GEMINI_API_KEY'];
+const missingSecrets = requiredSecrets.filter(key => !process.env[key]);
+
+if (missingSecrets.length > 0) {
+  console.warn('\n[ecosystem.config.cjs] ⚠️  WARNING: The following environment variables are MISSING in the shell:');
+  missingSecrets.forEach(key => console.warn(`   - ${key}`));
+  console.warn('[ecosystem.config.cjs] The application may crash if these are required for startup.\n');
+} else {
+  console.log('[ecosystem.config.cjs] ✅ Critical environment variables are present.');
+}
+
 module.exports = {
   apps: [
     {