diff --git a/utils/env.ts b/utils/env.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4fe93df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/utils/env.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+// Environment utility to safely access environment variables
+// Compatible with both Vite (browser) and Node.js (Jest/server)
+
+export interface EnvConfig {
+  VITE_COUCHDB_URL?: string;
+  VITE_COUCHDB_USERNAME?: string;
+  VITE_COUCHDB_PASSWORD?: string;
+  VITE_MAILGUN_API_KEY?: string;
+  VITE_MAILGUN_DOMAIN?: string;
+  VITE_MAILGUN_BASE_URL?: string;
+  VITE_MAILGUN_FROM_NAME?: string;
+  VITE_MAILGUN_FROM_EMAIL?: string;
+  NODE_ENV?: string;
+  COUCHDB_URL?: string;
+  [key: string]: string | undefined;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Safely get environment variables from various sources
+ * Works in both browser (Vite) and Node.js (Jest/server) environments
+ */
+export function getEnv(): EnvConfig {
+  let env: EnvConfig = {};
+
+  // Try to get from import.meta.env (Vite/browser)
+  try {
+    if (typeof globalThis !== 'undefined' && 'import' in globalThis) {
+      const importMeta = (
+        globalThis as { import?: { meta?: { env?: Record<string, string> } } }
+      ).import?.meta;
+      if (importMeta?.env) {
+        env = { ...env, ...importMeta.env };
+      }
+    }
+  } catch (_e) {
+    // Ignore errors accessing import.meta
+  }
+
+  // Try to get from process.env (Node.js)
+  try {
+    if (typeof process !== 'undefined' && process.env) {
+      env = { ...env, ...process.env };
+    }
+  } catch (_e) {
+    // Ignore errors accessing process.env
+  }
+
+  return env;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Get a specific environment variable with optional fallback
+ */
+export function getEnvVar(key: string, fallback?: string): string | undefined {
+  const env = getEnv();
+  return env[key] || fallback;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Check if we're running in a browser environment
+ */
+export function isBrowser(): boolean {
+  return typeof window !== 'undefined';
+}
+
+/**
+ * Check if we're running in a Node.js environment
+ */
+export function isNode(): boolean {
+  return typeof process !== 'undefined' && Boolean(process.versions?.node);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Check if we're running in a test environment
+ */
+export function isTest(): boolean {
+  const env = getEnv();
+
+  // Check for Jest environment
+  if (
+    typeof global !== 'undefined' &&
+    'expect' in global &&
+    'describe' in global
+  ) {
+    return true;
+  }
+
+  // Check for Node.js test environment variables
+  if (typeof process !== 'undefined' && process.env) {
+    if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'test' || process.env.JEST_WORKER_ID) {
+      return true;
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Check environment variables
+  return env.NODE_ENV === 'test';
+}
+
+/**
+ * Check if we're running in production
+ */
+export function isProduction(): boolean {
+  const env = getEnv();
+  return (
+    env.NODE_ENV === 'production' ||
+    (typeof process !== 'undefined' && process.env?.NODE_ENV === 'production')
+  );
+}