diff --git a/server/Procfile b/server/Procfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5d978b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/Procfile
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+# Instruct Render to start the server from the src entrypoint
+web: node src/index.js
diff --git a/server/public/index.html b/server/public/index.html
index ad1ea1b..8e75325 100644
--- a/server/public/index.html
+++ b/server/public/index.html
@@ -11,3 +11,4 @@ <h1>Welcome to Shield X</h1>
     <script type="module" src="/src/main.jsx"></script>
   </body>
 </html>
+
diff --git a/server/routes/auth.js b/server/routes/auth.js
index 7506e55..bf86787 100644
--- a/server/routes/auth.js
+++ b/server/routes/auth.js
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import jwt from 'jsonwebtoken';
 import User from '../models/UserR.js';
 import authMiddleware from '../middleware/authMiddleware.js';
 
-
 const router = express.Router();
 
 // Register
diff --git a/server/src/index.js b/server/src/index.js
index 23f1981..f30a2bf 100644
--- a/server/src/index.js
+++ b/server/src/index.js
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import connectDB from '../config/db.js';
 import authRoutes from '../routes/auth.js';
 import path from 'path';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
+import axios from 'axios';
 
 dotenv.config();
 connectDB();
@@ -19,7 +20,9 @@ const PORT = process.env.PORT || 5000;
 app.use(express.json({ limit: '10mb' }));
 app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: true, limit: '10mb' }));
 // Allow cross-origin requests during development (Vite runs on :5174)
-app.use(cors());
+app.use(cors({
+  origin: "*"
+}));
 // serve public from project root (/server/public)
 app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, '..', 'public')));
 app.use('/api', authRoutes);
@@ -28,6 +31,12 @@ app.get('/', (req, res) => {
   res.sendFile(path.join(__dirname, '..', 'public', 'index.html'));
 });
 
+// Create an axios instance usable from the server. Use the Vite-style env name
+// if present on the server, otherwise fall back to localhost.
+const API = axios.create({
+  baseURL: process.env.VITE_API_URL || "http://localhost:5000"
+});
+
 app.listen(PORT, () => {
   console.log(`Server running on http://localhost:${PORT}`);
 });