diff --git a/mesop/env/env.py b/mesop/env/env.py
index 1feb753e..b783179a 100644
--- a/mesop/env/env.py
+++ b/mesop/env/env.py
@@ -1,7 +1,18 @@
 import os
 
+from dotenv import find_dotenv, load_dotenv
+
 from mesop.exceptions import MesopDeveloperException
 
+if os.environ.get("BUILD_WORKSPACE_DIRECTORY"):
+  # If running with Bazel, we look for `mesop/.env` from the root workspace.
+  load_dotenv()
+else:
+  # Try to load .env file for PyPi Mesop build which should be in the user's current
+  # working directory.
+  load_dotenv(find_dotenv(usecwd=True))
+
+
 AI_SERVICE_BASE_URL = os.environ.get(
   "MESOP_AI_SERVICE_BASE_URL", "http://localhost:43234"
 )
diff --git a/mesop/server/config.py b/mesop/server/config.py
index 0026a10e..15ceff98 100644
--- a/mesop/server/config.py
+++ b/mesop/server/config.py
@@ -2,16 +2,10 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Literal
 
-from dotenv import find_dotenv, load_dotenv
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 
-if os.environ.get("BUILD_WORKSPACE_DIRECTORY"):
-  # If running with Bazel, we look for `mesop/.env` from the root workspace.
-  load_dotenv()
-else:
-  # Try to load .env file for PyPi Mesop build which should be in the user's current
-  # working directory.
-  load_dotenv(find_dotenv(usecwd=True))
+# Needed to ensure dotenv is loaded
+import mesop.env.env  # noqa: F401
 
 
 class Config(BaseModel):