diff --git a/charts/pixelfed/Chart.yaml b/charts/pixelfed/Chart.yaml
index 840151f..7cccd03 100644
--- a/charts/pixelfed/Chart.yaml
+++ b/charts/pixelfed/Chart.yaml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ type: application
 # This is the chart version. This version number should be incremented each time you make changes
 # to the chart and its templates, including the app version.
 # Versions are expected to follow Semantic Versioning (https://semver.org/)
-version: 0.6.0
+version: 0.7.0
 
 # This is the version number of the application being deployed.
 # renovate:image=ghcr.io/mattlqx/docker-pixelfed
diff --git a/charts/pixelfed/README.md b/charts/pixelfed/README.md
index 5389b43..b7d04b9 100644
--- a/charts/pixelfed/README.md
+++ b/charts/pixelfed/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # pixelfed
 
-![Version: 0.6.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/Version-0.6.0-informational?style=flat-square) ![Type: application](https://img.shields.io/badge/Type-application-informational?style=flat-square) ![AppVersion: v0.12.3-nginx](https://img.shields.io/badge/AppVersion-v0.12.3--nginx-informational?style=flat-square)
+![Version: 0.7.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/Version-0.7.0-informational?style=flat-square) ![Type: application](https://img.shields.io/badge/Type-application-informational?style=flat-square) ![AppVersion: v0.12.3-nginx](https://img.shields.io/badge/AppVersion-v0.12.3--nginx-informational?style=flat-square)
 
 A Helm chart for deploying Pixelfed on Kubernetes
 
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ A Helm chart for deploying Pixelfed on Kubernetes
 | autoscaling.maxReplicas | int | `100` |  |
 | autoscaling.minReplicas | int | `1` |  |
 | autoscaling.targetCPUUtilizationPercentage | int | `80` |  |
-| externalDatabase.connection | string | `"pgsql"` | options: sqlite mysql pgsql sqlsrv |
 | externalDatabase.database | string | `"pixelfed"` |  |
 | externalDatabase.enabled | bool | `false` | enable using an external mysql or postgresql cluster |
 | externalDatabase.existingSecret | string | `""` | get database credentials from an existing Kubernetes Secret |
@@ -77,7 +76,8 @@ A Helm chart for deploying Pixelfed on Kubernetes
 | pixelfed.app.name | string | `"Pixelfed"` | The name of your server/instance |
 | pixelfed.app.url | string | `"https://localhost"` | change this to the domain of your pixelfed instance |
 | pixelfed.atom_feeds | string | `"true"` | https://docs.pixelfed.org/technical-documentation/config/#atom_feeds |
-| pixelfed.db_apply_new_migrations_automatically | bool | `false` |  |
+| pixelfed.db.apply_new_migrations_automatically | bool | `false` |  |
+| pixelfed.db.connection | string | `"pgsql"` | options: sqlite mysql pgsql sqlsrv |
 | pixelfed.enable_config_cache | bool | `true` | Enable the config cache to allow you to manage settings via the admin dashboard |
 | pixelfed.enforce_email_verification | bool | `true` | Enforce email verification |
 | pixelfed.exp_emc | bool | `true` | Experimental Configuration |
@@ -192,4 +192,4 @@ A Helm chart for deploying Pixelfed on Kubernetes
 | volumes | list | `[]` | Additional volumes on the output Deployment definition. |
 
 ----------------------------------------------
-Autogenerated from chart metadata using [helm-docs v1.14.2](https://github.com/norwoodj/helm-docs/releases/v1.14.2)
\ No newline at end of file
+Autogenerated from chart metadata using [helm-docs v1.11.0](https://github.com/norwoodj/helm-docs/releases/v1.11.0)
diff --git a/charts/pixelfed/templates/configmap-env.yaml b/charts/pixelfed/templates/configmap-env.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..91dca77
--- /dev/null
+++ b/charts/pixelfed/templates/configmap-env.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+---
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ConfigMap
+metadata:
+  name: {{ include "pixelfed.fullname" . }}-env
+data:
+  # app data
+  APP_NAME: {{ .Values.pixelfed.app.name }}
+  APP_ENV: {{ .Values.pixelfed.app.env }}
+  APP_PORT: {{ .Values.service.targetPort | quote}}
+  APP_URL: {{ .Values.pixelfed.app.url }}
+  APP_LOCALE: {{ .Values.pixelfed.app.locale }}
+  {{- with .Values.pixelfed.app.domain }}
+  APP_DOMAIN: {{ . }}
+  {{- end }}
+
+  # registration related
+  OPEN_REGISTRATION: {{ .Values.pixelfed.open_registration | quote }}
+  ENFORCE_EMAIL_VERIFICATION: {{ .Values.pixelfed.enforce_email_verification | quote }}
+  IMAGE_QUALITY: {{ .Values.pixelfed.image_quality | quote }}
+  ACCOUNT_DELETION: {{ .Values.pixelfed.account_deletion | quote }}
+  OAUTH_ENABLED: {{ .Values.pixelfed.oauth_enabled | quote }}
+
+  # limits
+  MIN_PASSWORD_LENGTH: {{ .Values.pixelfed.min_password_length | quote }}
+  MAX_ACCOUNT_SIZE: {{ .Values.pixelfed.max_account_size | quote }}
+  MAX_PHOTO_SIZE: {{ .Values.pixelfed.max_photo_size | quote }}
+  MAX_AVATAR_SIZE: {{ .Values.pixelfed.max_avatar_size | quote }}
+  MAX_CAPTION_LENGTH: {{ .Values.pixelfed.max_caption_length | quote }}
+  MAX_BIO_LENGTH: {{ .Values.pixelfed.max_bio_length | quote }}
+  MAX_NAME_LENGTH: {{ .Values.pixelfed.max_name_length | quote }}
+  MAX_ALBUM_LENGTH: {{ .Values.pixelfed.max_album_length | quote }}
+  FORCE_HTTPS_URLS: {{ .Values.pixelfed.force_https_urls | quote }}
+  STORIES_ENABLED: {{ .Values.pixelfed.stories_enabled | quote }}
+  ENABLE_CONFIG_CACHE: {{ .Values.pixelfed.enable_config_cache | quote }}
+
+  # instance config
+  INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.description | quote }}
+  INSTANCE_CONTACT_FORM: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.contact_form | quote }}
+  INSTANCE_DISCOVER_PUBLIC: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.discover_public | quote }}
+  INSTANCE_PUBLIC_HASHTAGS: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.public_hashtags | quote }}
+  {{- with .Values.pixelfed.instance.contact_email }}
+  INSTANCE_CONTACT_EMAIL: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.contact_email }}
+  {{- end }}
+  INSTANCE_PROFILE_EMBEDS: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.profile_embeds | quote }}
+  INSTANCE_POST_EMBEDS: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.post_embeds | quote }}
+  INSTANCE_REPORTS_EMAIL_ENABLED: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.reports.email_enabled | quote }}
+  {{- with .Values.pixelfed.instance.reports.email_addresses }}
+  INSTANCE_REPORTS_EMAIL_ADDRESSES: {{ join "," . }}
+  {{- end }}
+  INSTANCE_REPORTS_EMAIL_AUTOSPAM: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.reports.email_autospam | quote }}
+  INSTANCE_LANDING_SHOW_DIRECTORY: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.landing.show_directory | quote }}
+  INSTANCE_LANDING_SHOW_EXPLORE: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.landing.show_explore | quote }}
+  INSTANCE_CUR_REG: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.cur_reg | quote }}
+  INSTANCE_SHOW_PEERS: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.show_peers | quote }}
+
+  # public feed
+  PF_HIDE_NSFW_ON_PUBLIC_FEEDS: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.hide_nsfw_on_public_feeds | quote }}
+  PF_LOCAL_AVATAR_TO_CLOUD: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.local_avatar_to_cloud | quote }}
+  PF_ADMIN_INVITES_ENABLED: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.admin_invites_enabled | quote }}
+  PF_MAX_USER_BLOCKS: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.max_user_blocks | quote }}
+  PF_MAX_USER_MUTES: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.max_user_mutes | quote }}
+  PF_MAX_DOMAIN_BLOCKS: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.max_domain_blocks | quote }}
+  PF_ENABLE_CLOUD: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.enable_cloud | quote }}
+  PF_MAX_USERS: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.max_users | quote }}
+  PF_ENFORCE_MAX_USERS: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.enforce_max_users | quote }}
+  PF_OPTIMIZE_IMAGES: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.optimize_images | quote }}
+  PF_OPTIMIZE_VIDEOS: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.optimize_videos | quote }}
+  PF_MAX_COLLECTION_LENGTH: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.max_collection_length | quote }}
+
+  # Laravel Configuration
+  SESSION_DRIVER: "database"
+  CACHE_DRIVER: "redis"
+  QUEUE_DRIVER: "redis"
+  BROADCAST_DRIVER: "log"
+  LOG_CHANNEL: {{ .Values.pixelfed.laravel.log_channel }}
+  HORIZON_PREFIX: "horizon-"
+
+  # activity pub
+  ACTIVITY_PUB: {{ .Values.pixelfed.activity_pub.enabled | quote }}
+  AP_REMOTE_FOLLOW: {{ .Values.pixelfed.activity_pub.remote_follow | quote }}
+  AP_SHAREDINBOX: {{ .Values.pixelfed.activity_pub.sharedinbox | quote }}
+  AP_INBOX: {{ .Values.pixelfed.activity_pub.inbox | quote }}
+  AP_OUTBOX: {{ .Values.pixelfed.activity_pub.outbox | quote }}
+
+  # mail
+  MAIL_DRIVER: "{{ .Values.pixelfed.mail.driver }}"
+  MAIL_ENCRYPTION: "{{ .Values.pixelfed.mail.encryption }}"
+
+  # database configuration
+  DB_CONNECTION: {{ .Values.pixelfed.db.connection }}
+  DB_APPLY_NEW_MIGRATIONS_AUTOMATICALLY: "{{ .Values.pixelfed.db.apply_new_migrations_automatically }}"
diff --git a/charts/pixelfed/templates/deployment.yaml b/charts/pixelfed/templates/deployment.yaml
index 0656378..edd8ffa 100644
--- a/charts/pixelfed/templates/deployment.yaml
+++ b/charts/pixelfed/templates/deployment.yaml
@@ -40,145 +40,10 @@ spec:
             - name: http
               containerPort: {{ .Values.service.targetPort }}
               protocol: TCP
+          envFrom:
+            - configMapRef:
+                name: {{ include "pixelfed.fullname" . }}-env
           env:
-            # app data
-            - name: APP_NAME
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.app.name }}
-            - name: APP_ENV
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.app.env }}
-            - name: APP_PORT
-              value: {{ .Values.service.targetPort | quote}}
-            - name: APP_URL
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.app.url }}
-            - name: APP_LOCALE
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.app.locale }}
-            {{- with .Values.pixelfed.app.domain }}
-            - name: APP_DOMAIN
-              value: {{ . }}
-            {{- end }}
-
-            # registration related
-            - name: OPEN_REGISTRATION
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.open_registration | quote }}
-            - name: ENFORCE_EMAIL_VERIFICATION
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.enforce_email_verification | quote }}
-            - name: IMAGE_QUALITY
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.image_quality | quote }}
-            - name: ACCOUNT_DELETION
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.account_deletion | quote }}
-            - name: OAUTH_ENABLED
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.oauth_enabled | quote }}
-
-            # limits
-            - name: MIN_PASSWORD_LENGTH
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.min_password_length | quote }}
-            - name: MAX_ACCOUNT_SIZE
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.max_account_size | quote }}
-            - name: MAX_PHOTO_SIZE
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.max_photo_size | quote }}
-            - name: MAX_AVATAR_SIZE
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.max_avatar_size | quote }}
-            - name: MAX_CAPTION_LENGTH
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.max_caption_length | quote }}
-            - name: MAX_BIO_LENGTH
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.max_bio_length | quote }}
-            - name: MAX_NAME_LENGTH
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.max_name_length | quote }}
-            - name: MAX_ALBUM_LENGTH
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.max_album_length | quote }}
-            - name: FORCE_HTTPS_URLS
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.force_https_urls | quote }}
-            - name: STORIES_ENABLED
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.stories_enabled | quote }}
-            - name: ENABLE_CONFIG_CACHE
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.enable_config_cache | quote }}
-
-            # instance config
-            - name: INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.description | quote }}
-            - name: INSTANCE_CONTACT_FORM
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.contact_form | quote }}
-            - name: INSTANCE_DISCOVER_PUBLIC
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.discover_public | quote }}
-            - name: INSTANCE_PUBLIC_HASHTAGS
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.public_hashtags | quote }}
-            {{- with .Values.pixelfed.instance.contact_email }}
-            - name: INSTANCE_CONTACT_EMAIL
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.contact_email }}
-            {{- end }}
-            - name: INSTANCE_PROFILE_EMBEDS
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.profile_embeds | quote }}
-            - name: INSTANCE_POST_EMBEDS
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.post_embeds | quote }}
-            - name: INSTANCE_REPORTS_EMAIL_ENABLED
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.reports.email_enabled | quote }}
-            {{- with .Values.pixelfed.instance.reports.email_addresses }}
-            - name: INSTANCE_REPORTS_EMAIL_ADDRESSES
-              value: {{ join "," . }}
-            {{- end }}
-            - name: INSTANCE_REPORTS_EMAIL_AUTOSPAM
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.reports.email_autospam | quote }}
-            - name: INSTANCE_LANDING_SHOW_DIRECTORY
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.landing.show_directory | quote }}
-            - name: INSTANCE_LANDING_SHOW_EXPLORE
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.landing.show_explore | quote }}
-            - name: INSTANCE_CUR_REG
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.cur_reg | quote }}
-            - name: INSTANCE_SHOW_PEERS
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.instance.show_peers | quote }}
-
-            # public feed
-            - name: PF_HIDE_NSFW_ON_PUBLIC_FEEDS
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.hide_nsfw_on_public_feeds | quote }}
-            - name: PF_LOCAL_AVATAR_TO_CLOUD
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.local_avatar_to_cloud | quote }}
-            - name: PF_ADMIN_INVITES_ENABLED
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.admin_invites_enabled | quote }}
-            - name: PF_MAX_USER_BLOCKS
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.max_user_blocks | quote }}
-            - name: PF_MAX_USER_MUTES
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.max_user_mutes | quote }}
-            - name: PF_MAX_DOMAIN_BLOCKS
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.max_domain_blocks | quote }}
-            - name: PF_ENABLE_CLOUD
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.enable_cloud | quote }}
-            - name: PF_MAX_USERS
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.max_users | quote }}
-            - name: PF_ENFORCE_MAX_USERS
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.enforce_max_users | quote }}
-            - name: PF_OPTIMIZE_IMAGES
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.optimize_images | quote }}
-            - name: PF_OPTIMIZE_VIDEOS
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.optimize_videos | quote }}
-            - name: PF_MAX_COLLECTION_LENGTH
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.pf.max_collection_length | quote }}
-
-            # Laravel Configuration
-            - name: SESSION_DRIVER
-              value: "database"
-            - name: CACHE_DRIVER
-              value: "redis"
-            - name: QUEUE_DRIVER
-              value: "redis"
-            - name: BROADCAST_DRIVER
-              value: "log"
-            - name: LOG_CHANNEL
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.laravel.log_channel }}
-            - name: HORIZON_PREFIX
-              value: "horizon-"
-
-            # activity pub
-            - name: ACTIVITY_PUB
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.activity_pub.enabled | quote }}
-            - name: AP_REMOTE_FOLLOW
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.activity_pub.remote_follow | quote }}
-            - name: AP_SHAREDINBOX
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.activity_pub.sharedinbox | quote }}
-            - name: AP_INBOX
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.activity_pub.inbox | quote }}
-            - name: AP_OUTBOX
-              value: {{ .Values.pixelfed.activity_pub.outbox | quote }}
-
             # redis
             - name: REDIS_HOST
               {{- if .Values.externalValkey.existingSecret }}
@@ -217,8 +82,6 @@ spec:
                   {{- end }}
 
             # mail
-            - name: MAIL_DRIVER
-              value: "{{ .Values.pixelfed.mail.driver }}"
             - name: MAIL_HOST
               valueFrom:
                 secretKeyRef:
@@ -263,12 +126,8 @@ spec:
                   name: pixelfed-mail
                   key: password
                   {{- end }}
-            - name: MAIL_ENCRYPTION
-              value: "{{ .Values.pixelfed.mail.encryption }}"
 
             # database configuration
-            - name: DB_CONNECTION
-              value: {{ .Values.externalDatabase.connection }}
             - name: DB_HOST
               {{- if and .Values.externalDatabase.enabled .Values.externalDatabase.existingSecret }}
               valueFrom:
@@ -332,8 +191,6 @@ spec:
               {{- else }}
               value: {{ .Values.postgresql.primary.service.ports.postgresql | quote }}
               {{- end }}
-            - name: DB_APPLY_NEW_MIGRATIONS_AUTOMATICALLY
-              value: "{{ .Values.pixelfed.db_apply_new_migrations_automatically }}"
 
           {{- with .Values.livenessProbe }}
           livenessProbe:
diff --git a/charts/pixelfed/values.yaml b/charts/pixelfed/values.yaml
index 48d0c36..b7b06cf 100644
--- a/charts/pixelfed/values.yaml
+++ b/charts/pixelfed/values.yaml
@@ -132,8 +132,6 @@ affinity: {}
 externalDatabase:
   # -- enable using an external mysql or postgresql cluster
   enabled: false
-  # -- options: sqlite mysql pgsql sqlsrv
-  connection: pgsql
   host: ""
   port: 3306
   database: pixelfed
@@ -241,8 +239,11 @@ postgresql:
     storageClass: ""
 
 pixelfed:
-  # -- Automatically run [artisan migrate --force] if new migrations are detected.
-  db_apply_new_migrations_automatically: false
+  db:
+    # -- options: sqlite mysql pgsql sqlsrv
+    connection: pgsql
+    # -- Automatically run [artisan migrate --force] if new migrations are detected.
+    apply_new_migrations_automatically: false
 
   # -- timezone for docker container
   timezone: "europe/amsterdam"