diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 1c4e411..f0e5c63 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 voices/
 .env
 speech.env
+vars.sh
 config/pre_process_map.yaml
 config/voice_to_speaker.yaml
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index caccbfb..eb514cd 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,10 +1,18 @@
 # Raccoon Mission: OpenedAI Speech Development Makefile
-# Deploy to ai.foxhop.net server with ease
+# Deploy to remote server with ease
+# Configuration is loaded from vars.sh (copy vars.sh.example to vars.sh)
 
-REMOTE_HOST = ai.foxhop.net
-REMOTE_USER = fox
-REMOTE_PATH = ~/openedai-speech-fresh
-CONTAINER_NAME = openedai-speech-fresh-server-1
+# Load configuration from vars.sh if it exists
+ifneq (,$(wildcard vars.sh))
+    include vars.sh
+    export
+endif
+
+# Fallback defaults if vars.sh is not found
+REMOTE_HOST ?= localhost
+REMOTE_USER ?= $(USER)
+REMOTE_PATH ?= ~/openedai-speech-fresh
+CONTAINER_NAME ?= openedai-speech-fresh-server-1
 
 .PHONY: help deploy sync restart logs test clean stop start voices
 
@@ -36,8 +44,8 @@ deploy: sync restart
 	@echo "✅ Deployment complete!"
 
 restart:
-	@echo "🔄 Restarting container on $(REMOTE_HOST)..."
-	ssh $(REMOTE_USER)@$(REMOTE_HOST) "cd $(REMOTE_PATH) && docker compose restart"
+	@echo "🔄 Rebuilding and restarting container on $(REMOTE_HOST)..."
+	ssh $(REMOTE_USER)@$(REMOTE_HOST) "cd $(REMOTE_PATH) && docker compose up -d --build"
 
 stop:
 	@echo "🛑 Stopping container on $(REMOTE_HOST)..."
diff --git a/speech.py b/speech.py
index e412e8b..6092d84 100755
--- a/speech.py
+++ b/speech.py
@@ -223,16 +223,33 @@ async def generate_speech(request: GenerateSpeechRequest):
 
         speaker = voice_map.get('speaker', None)
 
-        tts_args = ["piper", "--model", str(piper_model), "--data-dir", "voices", "--download-dir", "voices", "--output-raw"]
+        # Use absolute path without data-dir when model path is absolute
+        if os.path.isabs(piper_model):
+            tts_args = ["piper", "--model", str(piper_model), "--output-raw"]
+        else:
+            tts_args = ["piper", "--model", str(piper_model), "--data-dir", "voices", "--download-dir", "voices", "--output-raw"]
         if speaker:
             tts_args.extend(["--speaker", str(speaker)])
         if speed != 1.0:
             tts_args.extend(["--length-scale", f"{1.0/speed}"])
 
-        tts_proc = subprocess.Popen(tts_args, stdin=subprocess.PIPE, stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
+        # Debug logging
+        logger.info(f"Piper command: {' '.join(tts_args)}")
+        logger.info(f"Model file exists: {os.path.exists(piper_model)}")
+
+        tts_proc = subprocess.Popen(tts_args, stdin=subprocess.PIPE, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE)
         tts_proc.stdin.write(bytearray(input_text.encode('utf-8')))
         tts_proc.stdin.close()
 
+        # Log any stderr output from Piper
+        if tts_proc.stderr:
+            import threading
+            def log_stderr():
+                stderr_output = tts_proc.stderr.read().decode('utf-8', errors='replace')
+                if stderr_output.strip():
+                    logger.error(f"Piper stderr: {stderr_output}")
+            threading.Thread(target=log_stderr, daemon=True).start()
+
         try:
             with open(f"{piper_model}.json", 'r') as pvc_f:
                 conf = json.load(pvc_f)
diff --git a/vars.sh.example b/vars.sh.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b1ec82d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vars.sh.example
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Copy this file to vars.sh and fill in your values
+# vars.sh is gitignored for security
+
+export REMOTE_HOST="your.server.hostname"
+export REMOTE_USER="your_username"
+export REMOTE_PATH="~/openedai-speech-fresh"
+export CONTAINER_NAME="openedai-speech-fresh-server-1"