diff --git a/prestart.sh b/prestart.sh
index 1cca4bb..1e993fa 100644
--- a/prestart.sh
+++ b/prestart.sh
@@ -100,6 +100,9 @@ asyncio.run(set_password())
 "
 fi
 
+echo "[prestart] Seeding admin user if not exists..."
+python3 /app/scripts/seed_admin.py || echo "[prestart] WARNING: Admin seed failed (may already exist)"
+
 echo "[prestart] Starting uvicorn on 0.0.0.0:8000 (workers=1)..."
 exec uvicorn app.main:app \
     --host 0.0.0.0 \
diff --git a/scripts/seed_admin.py b/scripts/seed_admin.py
index c4220c1..20a8654 100644
--- a/scripts/seed_admin.py
+++ b/scripts/seed_admin.py
@@ -69,12 +69,12 @@ async def seed():
             print(f"Admin role exists: {role.id}")
 
         # Check if admin user exists
-        result = await db.execute(select(User).where(User.email == "admin@media-on.de"))
+        result = await db.execute(select(User).where(User.email == os.environ.get("ADMIN_EMAIL", "admin@media-on.de")))
         user = result.scalar_one_or_none()
 
         if user is None:
             user = User(
-                email="admin@media-on.de",
+                email=os.environ.get("ADMIN_EMAIL", "admin@media-on.de"),
                 name="Administrator",
                 password_hash=hash_password(os.environ.get("ADMIN_PASSWORD", "Admin123!")),
                 is_active=True,