diff --git a/config/runtime.exs b/config/runtime.exs
index 97334c303b..db8e1c0abc 100644
--- a/config/runtime.exs
+++ b/config/runtime.exs
@@ -101,14 +101,22 @@ end
 config :teslamate,
   default_geofence: System.get_env("DEFAULT_GEOFENCE")
 
+case System.get_env("DATABASE_SOCKET_DIR") do
+  nil ->
+    config :teslamate, TeslaMate.Repo,
+      username: Util.fetch_env!("DATABASE_USER", all: "postgres"),
+      password: Util.fetch_env!("DATABASE_PASS", all: "postgres"),
+      hostname: Util.fetch_env!("DATABASE_HOST", all: "localhost"),
+      port: System.get_env("DATABASE_PORT", "5432")
+
+  socket_dir ->
+    config :teslamate, TeslaMate.Repo, socket_dir: socket_dir
+end
+
 config :teslamate, TeslaMate.Repo,
-  username: Util.fetch_env!("DATABASE_USER", all: "postgres"),
-  password: Util.fetch_env!("DATABASE_PASS", all: "postgres"),
-  database: Util.fetch_env!("DATABASE_NAME", dev: "teslamate_dev", test: "teslamate_test"),
-  hostname: Util.fetch_env!("DATABASE_HOST", all: "localhost"),
-  port: System.get_env("DATABASE_PORT", "5432"),
   pool_size: System.get_env("DATABASE_POOL_SIZE", "10") |> String.to_integer(),
-  timeout: System.get_env("DATABASE_TIMEOUT", "60000") |> String.to_integer()
+  timeout: System.get_env("DATABASE_TIMEOUT", "60000") |> String.to_integer(),
+  database: Util.fetch_env!("DATABASE_NAME", dev: "teslamate_dev", test: "teslamate_test")
 
 case System.get_env("DATABASE_SSL") do
   "true" ->
diff --git a/website/docs/configuration/environment_variables.md b/website/docs/configuration/environment_variables.md
index 75765353e7..7a21e97920 100644
--- a/website/docs/configuration/environment_variables.md
+++ b/website/docs/configuration/environment_variables.md
@@ -9,11 +9,12 @@ TeslaMate accepts the following environment variables for runtime configuration:
 | Variable Name                          | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | Default Value                                                                           |
 | -------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
 | **ENCRYPTION_KEY**                     | A key used to encrypt the Tesla API tokens (**required**)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |                                                                                         |
-| **DATABASE_USER**                      | Username (**required**)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |                                                                                         |
-| **DATABASE_PASS**                      | User password (**required**)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |                                                                                         |
-| **DATABASE_NAME**                      | The database to connect to (**required**)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |                                                                                         |
-| **DATABASE_HOST**                      | Hostname of the database server (**required**)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |                                                                                         |
+| **DATABASE_USER**                      | Username                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |                                                                                         |
+| **DATABASE_PASS**                      | User password                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                         |
+| **DATABASE_NAME**                      | The database to connect to                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |                                                                                         |
+| **DATABASE_HOST**                      | Hostname of the database server                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |                                                                                         |
 | **DATABASE_PORT**                      | Port of the database server                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | 5432                                                                                    |
+| **DATABASE_SOCKET_DIR**                | Local path containing unix socket for database if that connection mechanic is preferred. Provide one of DATABASE*SOCKET_DIR and DATABASE*(USER\|PASS\|HOST\|PORT)                                                                                                                                                |                                                                                         |
 | **DATABASE_POOL_SIZE**                 | Size of the database connection pool                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             | 10                                                                                      |
 | **DATABASE_TIMEOUT**                   | The time in milliseconds to wait for database query calls to finish                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | 60000                                                                                   |
 | **DATABASE_SSL**                       | Set to `true` if SSL should be enabled or `noverify` if certificate verification should not be performed.                                                                                                                                                                                                        | false                                                                                   |