diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index cf6de00..9b90221 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@agentailor/create-mcp-server",
-  "version": "0.4.0",
+  "version": "0.4.1",
   "description": "Create a new MCP (Model Context Protocol) server project",
   "type": "module",
   "bin": {
diff --git a/src/templates/common/package.json.ts b/src/templates/common/package.json.ts
index 1185c18..2bfe150 100644
--- a/src/templates/common/package.json.ts
+++ b/src/templates/common/package.json.ts
@@ -13,14 +13,17 @@ export function getPackageJsonTemplate(
   const commonDevDependencies = {
     typescript: '^5.9.3',
     '@modelcontextprotocol/inspector': '^0.18.0',
+    '@types/node': '^25.0.3',
   };
   const zodDependency = { zod: '^4.3.5' };
+  const dotEnvDependency = { dotenv: '^17.2.3' };
 
   if (framework === 'fastmcp') {
     // FastMCP dependencies - simpler setup
     dependencies = {
       fastmcp: '^3.26.8',
       ...zodDependency,
+      ...dotEnvDependency,
     };
 
     devDependencies = {
@@ -32,16 +35,15 @@ export function getPackageJsonTemplate(
       '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk': '^1.25.1',
       express: '^5.2.1',
       ...zodDependency,
+      ...dotEnvDependency,
     };
 
     if (withOAuth) {
-      dependencies['dotenv'] = '^17.2.3';
       dependencies['jose'] = '^6.1.3';
     }
 
     devDependencies = {
       '@types/express': '^5.0.6',
-      '@types/node': '^25.0.3',
       ...commonDevDependencies,
     };
   }
diff --git a/src/templates/common/templates.test.ts b/src/templates/common/templates.test.ts
index 18c32c8..0fd9d8c 100644
--- a/src/templates/common/templates.test.ts
+++ b/src/templates/common/templates.test.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,12 @@ describe('common templates', () => {
       expect(pkg.dependencies['express']).toBeDefined();
     });
 
+    it('should include dotenv for SDK', () => {
+      const template = getPackageJsonTemplate(projectName);
+      const pkg = JSON.parse(template);
+      expect(pkg.dependencies['dotenv']).toBeDefined();
+    });
+
     it('should use FastMCP package when framework is fastmcp', () => {
       const template = getPackageJsonTemplate(projectName, { framework: 'fastmcp' });
       const pkg = JSON.parse(template);
@@ -29,10 +35,15 @@ describe('common templates', () => {
       expect(pkg.dependencies['express']).toBeUndefined();
     });
 
-    it('should include OAuth dependencies when withOAuth is true for SDK', () => {
-      const template = getPackageJsonTemplate(projectName, { framework: 'sdk', withOAuth: true });
+    it('should include dotenv for FastMCP', () => {
+      const template = getPackageJsonTemplate(projectName, { framework: 'fastmcp' });
       const pkg = JSON.parse(template);
       expect(pkg.dependencies['dotenv']).toBeDefined();
+    });
+
+    it('should include jose dependency when withOAuth is true for SDK', () => {
+      const template = getPackageJsonTemplate(projectName, { framework: 'sdk', withOAuth: true });
+      const pkg = JSON.parse(template);
       expect(pkg.dependencies['jose']).toBeDefined();
     });
 
diff --git a/src/templates/fastmcp/index.ts b/src/templates/fastmcp/index.ts
index aaeeb4e..1d3bc60 100644
--- a/src/templates/fastmcp/index.ts
+++ b/src/templates/fastmcp/index.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@ export function getIndexTemplate(options?: FastMCPTemplateOptions): string {
 
   const statelessConfig = stateless ? '\n    stateless: true,' : '';
 
-  return `import { server } from './server.js';
+  return `
+  import 'dotenv/config';
+  import { server } from './server.js';
 
 const PORT = Number(process.env.PORT) || 3000;
 
diff --git a/src/templates/sdk/stateful/index.ts b/src/templates/sdk/stateful/index.ts
index 058e50c..94ddee3 100644
--- a/src/templates/sdk/stateful/index.ts
+++ b/src/templates/sdk/stateful/index.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@ export function getIndexTemplate(options?: SdkTemplateOptions): string {
   const withOAuth = options?.withOAuth ?? false;
 
   const imports = withOAuth
-    ? `import { type Request, type Response } from 'express';
+    ? `import 'dotenv/config'; 
+    import { type Request, type Response } from 'express';
 import { randomUUID } from 'node:crypto';
 import { createMcpExpressApp } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/express.js';
 import { StreamableHTTPServerTransport } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/streamableHttp.js';
diff --git a/src/templates/sdk/stateless/index.ts b/src/templates/sdk/stateless/index.ts
index 537b727..b470567 100644
--- a/src/templates/sdk/stateless/index.ts
+++ b/src/templates/sdk/stateless/index.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@ import type { SdkTemplateOptions } from '../../common/types.js';
 // Options parameter added for type consistency with stateful template (OAuth not supported in stateless)
 // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unused-vars
 export function getIndexTemplate(options?: SdkTemplateOptions): string {
-  return `import { type Request, type Response } from 'express';
+  return `import 'dotenv/config';
+  import { type Request, type Response } from 'express';
 import { createMcpExpressApp } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/express.js';
 import { StreamableHTTPServerTransport } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/streamableHttp.js';
 import { getServer } from './server.js';