diff --git a/middleman-cli/bin/middleman b/middleman-cli/bin/middleman
index b5d1921d..46fa5889 100755
--- a/middleman-cli/bin/middleman
+++ b/middleman-cli/bin/middleman
@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@ end
 require "middleman-core/load_paths"
 Middleman.setup_load_paths
 
+require 'dotenv'
+::Dotenv.load
+
 require 'middleman-core'
 require 'middleman-core/logger'
 
@@ -46,6 +49,8 @@ end
 
 ::Middleman::Logger.singleton(3)
 ::Middleman::Cli.config = ::Middleman::Application.new do
+  #
+  config[:environment] = (ENV['MM_ENV'] || ENV['RACK_ENV'] || 'development').to_sym
   config[:mode] = :config
   config[:exit_before_ready] = true
   config[:watcher_disable] = true
diff --git a/middleman-cli/lib/middleman-cli/build.rb b/middleman-cli/lib/middleman-cli/build.rb
index 7d5dd3af..df871ce2 100644
--- a/middleman-cli/lib/middleman-cli/build.rb
+++ b/middleman-cli/lib/middleman-cli/build.rb
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ module Middleman::Cli
 
     class_option :environment,
                  aliases: '-e',
-                 default: :production
+                 default: ENV['MM_ENV'] || ENV['RACK_ENV'] || :production
     class_option :clean,
                  type: :boolean,
                  default: true,
diff --git a/middleman-core/middleman-core.gemspec b/middleman-core/middleman-core.gemspec
index d8f25c64..f5509c72 100644
--- a/middleman-core/middleman-core.gemspec
+++ b/middleman-core/middleman-core.gemspec
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
   s.add_dependency('fast_blank')
   s.add_dependency('parallel')
   s.add_dependency('servolux')
+  s.add_dependency('dotenv')
 
   # Helpers
   s.add_dependency('activesupport', ['~> 4.2'])