diff --git a/alembic/env.py b/alembic/env.py
index da9a782..d9bc0f3 100644
--- a/alembic/env.py
+++ b/alembic/env.py
@@ -10,7 +10,10 @@ from sqlalchemy import pool
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import async_engine_from_config
 
 # Ensure the backend package is importable
+# When running locally: alembic/ sits beside backend/, so ../backend works
+# When running in Docker: alembic/ is inside /app/ alongside the backend modules
 sys.path.insert(0, os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "..", "backend"))
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), ".."))
 
 from database import Base  # noqa: E402
 import models  # noqa: E402, F401  — registers all tables on Base.metadata