diff --git a/backend/start.sh b/backend/start.sh
index bc57b2bb03..31e87c9557 100755
--- a/backend/start.sh
+++ b/backend/start.sh
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ else
 fi
 
 # Run uvicorn
-exec "$PYTHON_CMD" -m uvicorn open_webui.main:app \
+WEBUI_SECRET_KEY="$WEBUI_SECRET_KEY" exec "$PYTHON_CMD" -m uvicorn open_webui.main:app \
     --host "$HOST" \
     --port "$PORT" \
     --forwarded-allow-ips '*' \