diff --git a/DEPLOY.md b/DEPLOY.md
index ae5a8d6..971a1a9 100644
--- a/DEPLOY.md
+++ b/DEPLOY.md
@@ -69,7 +69,11 @@ MAXMIND_LICENSE_KEY=
 3. Download the database:
 
 ```bash
+php artisan config:clear
 php artisan link:geoip-update
+php artisan config:cache
 ```
 
+On the server, edit **`/var/www/ladill-link/shared/.env`** (not a release copy). After deploy, `current/.env` symlinks to that file. If you add env vars while config is cached, run `config:clear` before `link:geoip-update` or Laravel will not see the new values.
+
 The file is stored at `storage/app/geoip/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb` by default. The command is scheduled weekly via the app scheduler — ensure cron runs `php artisan schedule:run` for link.ladill.com.
diff --git a/app/Console/Commands/UpdateGeoIpDatabaseCommand.php b/app/Console/Commands/UpdateGeoIpDatabaseCommand.php
index 62a8f20..c113e19 100644
--- a/app/Console/Commands/UpdateGeoIpDatabaseCommand.php
+++ b/app/Console/Commands/UpdateGeoIpDatabaseCommand.php
@@ -15,11 +15,26 @@ class UpdateGeoIpDatabaseCommand extends Command
 
     public function handle(): int
     {
-        $accountId = (string) config('link.maxmind_account_id', '');
-        $licenseKey = (string) config('link.maxmind_license_key', '');
+        $accountId = trim((string) config('link.maxmind_account_id', ''));
+        $licenseKey = trim((string) config('link.maxmind_license_key', ''));
 
         if ($accountId === '' || $licenseKey === '') {
-            $this->error('Set MAXMIND_ACCOUNT_ID and MAXMIND_LICENSE_KEY in .env before updating GeoIP data.');
+            $envPath = realpath(base_path('.env')) ?: base_path('.env');
+            $configCached = is_file(base_path('bootstrap/cache/config.php'));
+
+            $this->error('Set MAXMIND_ACCOUNT_ID and MAXMIND_LICENSE_KEY before updating GeoIP data.');
+            $this->line('');
+            $this->line('Production uses the shared env file (current/.env is usually a symlink):');
+            $this->line('  '.$envPath);
+            $this->line('');
+            $this->line('Add both variables there, then refresh config:');
+            $this->line('  php artisan config:clear');
+            $this->line('  php artisan link:geoip-update');
+            $this->line('  php artisan config:cache');
+
+            if ($configCached) {
+                $this->warn('Config is cached — Laravel will ignore new .env values until you run config:clear.');
+            }
 
             return self::FAILURE;
         }
diff --git a/deploy/deploy.sh b/deploy/deploy.sh
index 61386df..2a807bf 100755
--- a/deploy/deploy.sh
+++ b/deploy/deploy.sh
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ tar -xzf "$RELEASE_ARCHIVE" -C "$NEW_RELEASE"
 chmod -R u+rwX "$NEW_RELEASE" 2>/dev/null || true
 
 log "Linking shared paths"
-mkdir -p "$SHARED_DIR/storage/"{app/public,app/private,framework/{cache/data,sessions,testing,views},logs}
+mkdir -p "$SHARED_DIR/storage/"{app/public,app/private,app/geoip,framework/{cache/data,sessions,testing,views},logs}
 mkdir -p "$SHARED_DIR/bootstrap-cache"
 normalize_shared_permissions