diff --git a/deploy.sh b/deploy.sh
index 60ded76..7029b8c 100755
--- a/deploy.sh
+++ b/deploy.sh
@@ -113,8 +113,9 @@ HAS_ENV=$(ssh "$USER@$HOST" "[ -f $ENV_FILE ] && echo 'yes' || echo 'no'")
 
 if [ "$HAS_ENV" = "no" ]; then
     echo -e "${YELLOW}Creating new environment file on remote...${NC}"
-    DB_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 32)
-    JWT_SECRET=$(openssl rand -base64 64)
+    # Use hex encoding to avoid special characters that break database URLs
+    DB_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -hex 24)
+    JWT_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 48)
     
     ssh "$USER@$HOST" "cat > $ENV_FILE << EOF
 # Database