diff --git a/pf.sh b/pf.sh
index 746b187..3056c2a 100755
--- a/pf.sh
+++ b/pf.sh
@@ -67,13 +67,33 @@ require_service() {
     service_installed || die "systemd service not installed. Run: ./pf.sh install-service"
 }
 
+# The keys cmd_config manages; anything else in .env is left alone.
+ENV_KEYS=(DB_HOST DB_PORT DB_NAME DB_USER DB_PASSWORD PORT)
+
+env_get() {
+    [[ -f "$ENV_FILE" ]] || return 0
+    grep -E "^$1=" "$ENV_FILE" | tail -1 | cut -d= -f2- | tr -d '"' || true
+}
+
+# psql against the DB_* connection in .env; extra args are passed through.
+run_psql() {
+    PGPASSWORD="${DB_PASSWORD:-}" psql \
+        -h "${DB_HOST:-localhost}" \
+        -p "${DB_PORT:-5432}" \
+        -U "${DB_USER}" \
+        -d "${DB_NAME}" \
+        "$@"
+}
+
 db_ping() {
     load_env
-    local url="${DATABASE_URL:-}"
-    [[ -z "$url" ]] && { warn "DATABASE_URL not set in .env"; return 1; }
+    if [[ -z "${DB_NAME:-}" || -z "${DB_USER:-}" ]]; then
+        warn "DB_NAME / DB_USER not set in .env"
+        return 1
+    fi
     # Use psql if available for a real connectivity check
     if command -v psql &>/dev/null; then
-        psql "$url" -c "SELECT 1" &>/dev/null && return 0 || return 1
+        run_psql -tAc "SELECT 1" &>/dev/null && return 0 || return 1
     else
         warn "psql not in PATH — skipping live DB check"
         return 0
@@ -168,8 +188,7 @@ cmd_logs() {
 
 cmd_db_setup() {
     require_env; load_env
-    local url="${DATABASE_URL:-}"
-    [[ -z "$url" ]] && die "DATABASE_URL not set in .env"
+    [[ -n "${DB_NAME:-}" && -n "${DB_USER:-}" ]] || die "DB_NAME / DB_USER not set in .env — run: ./pf.sh config"
     command -v psql &>/dev/null || die "psql not found — install postgresql-client"
 
     echo
@@ -178,7 +197,7 @@ cmd_db_setup() {
     read -rp "  Continue? [y/N] " confirm
     [[ "$confirm" =~ ^[Yy]$ ]] || { echo "Aborted."; return; }
 
-    psql "$url" -f "${APP_DIR}/setup_sql/01_schema.sql"
+    run_psql -v ON_ERROR_STOP=1 -f "${APP_DIR}/setup_sql/01_schema.sql"
     success "Schema applied."
 }
 
@@ -188,38 +207,62 @@ cmd_config() {
     echo "  File: $ENV_FILE"
     echo
 
-    local current_url=""
-    local current_port=""
-    local current_user=""
+    local cur_host cur_port cur_name cur_user cur_pass cur_app_port
+    cur_host=$(env_get DB_HOST)
+    cur_port=$(env_get DB_PORT)
+    cur_name=$(env_get DB_NAME)
+    cur_user=$(env_get DB_USER)
+    cur_pass=$(env_get DB_PASSWORD)
+    cur_app_port=$(env_get PORT)
 
-    if [[ -f "$ENV_FILE" ]]; then
-        current_url=$(grep -E '^DATABASE_URL=' "$ENV_FILE" | cut -d= -f2- | tr -d '"' || true)
-        current_port=$(grep -E '^PORT=' "$ENV_FILE" | cut -d= -f2- | tr -d '"' || true)
-        current_user=$(grep -E '^PF_USER=' "$ENV_FILE" | cut -d= -f2- | tr -d '"' || true)
+    local input
+    read -rp "  DB_HOST [${cur_host:-localhost}]: " input
+    local host="${input:-${cur_host:-localhost}}"
+
+    read -rp "  DB_PORT [${cur_port:-5432}]: " input
+    local port="${input:-${cur_port:-5432}}"
+
+    read -rp "  DB_NAME [${cur_name:-not set}]: " input
+    local name="${input:-$cur_name}"
+    [[ -z "$name" ]] && die "DB_NAME is required."
+
+    read -rp "  DB_USER [${cur_user:-$USER}]: " input
+    local user="${input:-${cur_user:-$USER}}"
+
+    if [[ -n "$cur_pass" ]]; then
+        read -rsp "  DB_PASSWORD [keep existing]: " input; echo
+    else
+        read -rsp "  DB_PASSWORD: " input; echo
     fi
+    local pass="${input:-$cur_pass}"
 
-    read -rp "  DATABASE_URL [${current_url:-not set}]: " input_url
-    local url="${input_url:-$current_url}"
-    [[ -z "$url" ]] && die "DATABASE_URL is required."
+    read -rp "  PORT (app) [${cur_app_port:-3010}]: " input
+    local app_port="${input:-${cur_app_port:-3010}}"
 
-    read -rp "  PORT [${current_port:-3010}]: " input_port
-    local port="${input_port:-${current_port:-3010}}"
-
-    read -rp "  PF_USER [${current_user:-$USER}]: " input_user
-    local pf_user="${input_user:-${current_user:-$USER}}"
-
-    cat > "$ENV_FILE" <<EOF
-DATABASE_URL=${url}
-PORT=${port}
-PF_USER=${pf_user}
+    # Rewrite the managed keys, carrying over any other lines already in .env.
+    local tmp
+    tmp=$(mktemp)
+    cat > "$tmp" <<EOF
+DB_HOST=${host}
+DB_PORT=${port}
+DB_NAME=${name}
+DB_USER=${user}
+DB_PASSWORD=${pass}
+PORT=${app_port}
 EOF
+    if [[ -f "$ENV_FILE" ]]; then
+        local managed
+        managed=$(IFS='|'; echo "${ENV_KEYS[*]}")
+        grep -vE "^(${managed})=" "$ENV_FILE" | grep -vE '^[[:space:]]*$' >> "$tmp" || true
+    fi
+    mv "$tmp" "$ENV_FILE"
     chmod 600 "$ENV_FILE"
     success ".env written."
 
     if db_ping; then
         success "Database connection verified."
     else
-        warn "Could not reach the database — double-check DATABASE_URL."
+        warn "Could not reach the database — double-check the DB_* settings."
     fi
 }
 
@@ -303,7 +346,7 @@ interactive_menu() {
         echo "  5) status          service + DB + git info"
         echo "  6) logs            tail journald logs"
         echo "  7) db-setup        apply setup_sql/01_schema.sql"
-        echo "  8) config          set DATABASE_URL / PORT / PF_USER"
+        echo "  8) config          set DB connection + app PORT"
         echo "  9) install-service create systemd unit file"
         echo " 10) uninstall-service remove systemd unit file"
         echo "  q) quit"