diff --git a/.env.development b/.env.development
index 93c0ab9..c8cf21c 100644
--- a/.env.development
+++ b/.env.development
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ MONGODB_URL=mongodb://localhost:27017
 MONGODB_DATABASE=momentry_dev
 
 # Redis (already isolated via prefix)
-REDIS_URL=redis://:accusys@localhost:6379
-REDIS_PASSWORD=accusys
+REDIS_URL=redis://127.0.0.1:6379
+# REDIS_PASSWORD not set - Redis has no password configured
 
 # Qdrant Vector Database - Collection isolation
 QDRANT_URL=http://localhost:6333
@@ -37,8 +37,8 @@ MOMENTRY_BACKUP_DIR=/Users/accusys/momentry/backup/momentry_dev
 MOMENTRY_SFTP_ROOT=/Users/accusys/momentry/var/sftpgo/data/demo/
 
 # Python (for processing scripts)
-MOMENTRY_PYTHON_PATH=/opt/homebrew/bin/python3.11
-MOMENTRY_SCRIPTS_DIR=/Users/accusys/momentry_core_0.1/scripts
+MOMENTRY_PYTHON_PATH=/Users/accusys/momentry_core/venv/bin/python
+MOMENTRY_SCRIPTS_DIR=/Users/accusys/momentry_core/scripts
 
 # Logging
 RUST_LOG=debug
diff --git a/src/api/server.rs b/src/api/server.rs
index dd08fd1..7497bf5 100644
--- a/src/api/server.rs
+++ b/src/api/server.rs
@@ -34,9 +34,14 @@ pub async fn start_server(host: &str, port: u16) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
 
     let embedder = std::sync::Arc::new(Embedder::new("nomic-embed-text-v2-moe:latest".to_string()));
 
-    // MongoDB is ONLY a cache layer — if unavailable, the server continues
-    // with Redis cache alone. This keeps both 3002 and 3003 bootable
-    // without requiring MongoDB to be installed or running.
+    // ── ⚠️ WARNING: DO NOT move MongoCache::init() back to critical path ──
+    //
+    // MongoDB is ONLY a cache layer — if unavailable, the server MUST still
+    // start with Redis cache alone. This keeps 3002 bootable on machines
+    // without MongoDB installed. If you add a new dependency here, ask:
+    //   "Can this service degrade gracefully if the dependant is missing?"
+    //
+    // See also: MongoCache::disabled() in mongo_cache.rs
     let mongo_cache = match timeout(Duration::from_secs(5), MongoCache::init()).await {
         Ok(Ok(cache)) => cache,
         Ok(Err(e)) => {
diff --git a/src/core/config.rs b/src/core/config.rs
index 545f58c..140b48b 100644
--- a/src/core/config.rs
+++ b/src/core/config.rs
@@ -132,19 +132,6 @@ pub static SYSTEM_TIMEZONE: Lazy<String> = Lazy::new(|| {
 pub static MONGODB_DATABASE: Lazy<String> =
     Lazy::new(|| env::var("MONGODB_DATABASE").unwrap_or_else(|_| "momentry".to_string()));
 
-pub static EMBED_URL: Lazy<String> =
-    Lazy::new(|| env::var("MOMENTRY_EMBED_URL").unwrap_or_else(|_| "http://localhost:11436".to_string()));
-
-pub static OLLAMA_URL: Lazy<String> =
-    Lazy::new(|| env::var("MOMENTRY_OLLAMA_URL").unwrap_or_else(|_| "http://localhost:11434".to_string()));
-
-/// LLM health endpoint derived from CHAT_URL.
-/// e.g. "http://127.0.0.1:8082/v1/chat/completions" → "http://127.0.0.1:8082/health"
-pub static LLM_HEALTH_URL: Lazy<String> = Lazy::new(|| {
-    let chat = llm::CHAT_URL.clone();
-    chat.trim_end_matches("/v1/chat/completions").to_string() + "/health"
-});
-
 pub static QDRANT_COLLECTION: Lazy<String> =
     Lazy::new(|| env::var("QDRANT_COLLECTION").unwrap_or_else(|_| "momentry_rule1".to_string()));