diff --git a/backend/.env b/backend/.env
deleted file mode 100644
index 9624cc077..000000000
--- a/backend/.env
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://binayakb1604:sfnkgYCZXLJ1lXSk@cluster0.wzmqjc0.mongodb.net/
-PORT=8080
-JWT_SECRET=RjFSmUXkC/N/icMei94QhPeJtV6voBu5fZQzrzKcEhY=
diff --git a/frontend/.env b/frontend/.env
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..677dcb560
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/.env
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+NEXT_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL=https://stackit-etwq.onrender.com
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/Home.jsx b/frontend/src/components/Home.jsx
index a0230f793..a274ef6bd 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/Home.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/Home.jsx
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
 import { Link, useSearchParams, useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom';
 import axios from 'axios';
 import './Questions.css';
+import api from '../index';
 
 const Questions = () => {
   const [questions, setQuestions] = useState([]);
@@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ const Questions = () => {
           url += `&search=${encodeURIComponent(search)}`;
         }
 
-        const res = await axios.get(url);
+        const res = await api.get(url);
         
         if (res.data.success) {
           setQuestions(res.data.questions);
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/Profile.jsx b/frontend/src/components/Profile.jsx
index 839549dbd..cc482022f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/Profile.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/Profile.jsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
 import { useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom';
 import axios from 'axios';
+import api from '../index';
 
 const Profile = () => {
   const navigate = useNavigate();
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ const Profile = () => {
           }
         };
 
-        const res = await axios.get('/api/auth/me', config);
+        const res = await api.get('/auth/me', config);
         
         if (res.data.success) {
           setUser(res.data.user);
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/QuestionDetail.jsx b/frontend/src/components/QuestionDetail.jsx
index 1cead92ec..ddc0f9752 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/QuestionDetail.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/QuestionDetail.jsx
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import ReactQuill from 'react-quill';
 import 'react-quill/dist/quill.snow.css';
 import { Paper, Card, Box, Typography, Button, Chip, Alert, Divider } from '@mui/material';
 import { styled } from '@mui/material/styles';
+import api from '../index';
 
 const QuestionDetail = () => {
   const { id } = useParams();
@@ -31,7 +32,7 @@ const QuestionDetail = () => {
       setLoading(true);
       setError('');
       try {
-        const res = await axios.get(`/api/questions/${id}`);
+        const res = await api.get(`/questions/${id}`);
         if (res.data.success) {
           setQuestion(res.data.question);
         } else {
@@ -63,11 +64,11 @@ const QuestionDetail = () => {
         }
       };
       const body = JSON.stringify({ description: answerText });
-      const res = await axios.post(`/api/answers/${id}`, body, config);
+      const res = await api.post(`/answers/${id}`, body, config);
       if (res.data.success) {
         setAnswerText('');
         // Refresh question to show new answer
-        const updated = await axios.get(`/api/questions/${id}`);
+        const updated = await api.get(`/questions/${id}`);
         setQuestion(updated.data.question);
       }
     } catch (err) {
@@ -92,7 +93,7 @@ const QuestionDetail = () => {
         }
       };
       const body = { type };
-      const res = await axios.post(`/api/answers/${answerId}/vote`, body, config);
+      const res = await api.post(`/answers/${answerId}/vote`, body, config);
       if (res.data.success !== false) {
         // Update the answer's vote count in local state instantly
         setQuestion(prev => {
@@ -136,7 +137,7 @@ const QuestionDetail = () => {
         }
       };
       const body = JSON.stringify({ text });
-      const res = await axios.post(`/api/answers/${answerId}/comments`, body, config);
+      const res = await api.post(`/answers/${answerId}/comments`, body, config);
       if (res.data.success) {
         setQuestion(prev => {
           if (!prev) return prev;
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/SignIn.js b/frontend/src/components/SignIn.js
index 55ef48ef6..8447ac6d9 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/SignIn.js
+++ b/frontend/src/components/SignIn.js
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import {
 } from '@mui/material';
 import { Link, useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom';
 import axios from 'axios';
+import api from '../index';
 
 const SignIn = () => {
   const navigate = useNavigate();
@@ -29,7 +30,7 @@ const SignIn = () => {
 
     try {
       const config = { headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' } };
-      const res = await axios.post('/api/auth/login', JSON.stringify(formData), config);
+      const res = await api.post('/auth/login', JSON.stringify(formData), config);
 
       if (res.data.success) {
         localStorage.setItem('token', res.data.token);
diff --git a/frontend/src/index.js b/frontend/src/index.js
index 7a40b297c..1ead2e773 100644
--- a/frontend/src/index.js
+++ b/frontend/src/index.js
@@ -1,6 +1,13 @@
 import React from 'react';
 import ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
 import App from './App';
+import axios from 'axios';
+
+const api = axios.create({
+  baseURL: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL,
+});
+
+export default api;
 
 const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('root'));
 root.render(