diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 506676d..9202b13 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -4,12 +4,20 @@ services:
     ports:
       - "8000:8000"
     env_file:
-      # Absolute path, deliberately outside this repo checkout: the stack
-      # manager re-clones this directory fresh on every deploy, which would
-      # silently wipe a .env (or bind-mounted data) placed inside it.
-      - /Users/davidlawler/docker/power-compare-data/.env
+      # `docker compose` here runs *inside* the stack manager's own
+      # container (Docker-outside-of-Docker via the mounted host socket),
+      # so this path is resolved against ITS filesystem, not the host's --
+      # it must live under the stack manager's own data mount, in a
+      # directory outside the git checkout that gets wiped/re-cloned each
+      # deploy. On this host that's /Users/davidlawler/docker/dockhand,
+      # bind-mounted into the stack manager container as /app/data.
+      - /app/data/power-compare-persistent/.env
     environment:
       - DB_PATH=/data/power_compare.db
     volumes:
+      # Bind-mount SOURCE paths, by contrast, are resolved by the real
+      # Docker daemon against the actual host filesystem (the daemon isn't
+      # inside the stack manager's container) -- so this one stays a real
+      # host path, not an /app/data/... one.
       - /Users/davidlawler/docker/power-compare-data/data:/data
     restart: unless-stopped