diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 49d0c0c..de2f05b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -71,4 +71,14 @@ dev-full:
 
 dev-full-down:
 	@echo "Stopping backend (Docker Compose)..."
-	docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml down
\ No newline at end of file
+	docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml down
+
+# ==== Packaging ====
+.PHONY: package clean-dist
+
+package:
+	python -c "import os; os.environ['APP_ENV'] = 'prod'; import PyInstaller.__main__; PyInstaller.__main__.run(['--onefile', '--windowed', '--name', 'StudyForge', 'main.py'])"
+
+
+clean-dist:
+	python -c "import shutil, os; [shutil.rmtree(d, ignore_errors=True) for d in ['build', 'dist']]; [os.remove(f) for f in ['StudyForge.spec'] if os.path.exists(f)]"
diff --git a/backend/config.py b/backend/config.py
index f12339f..b066e8e 100644
--- a/backend/config.py
+++ b/backend/config.py
@@ -1,9 +1,15 @@
 import os
-from dotenv import load_dotenv
+import sys
 
-load_dotenv()
 
-ENV = os.getenv("APP_ENV", "dev")  # default to dev if not set
+def is_frozen():
+    return getattr(sys, 'frozen', False)
+
+
+# Default to prod if frozen (i.e. built with PyInstaller)
+ENV = os.getenv("APP_ENV", "dev")
+if is_frozen() and ENV == "dev":
+    ENV = "prod"
 
 if ENV == "prod":
     API_BASE_URL = "https://studyforge-api.onrender.com"