diff --git a/examples/aws-companion/package.json b/examples/aws-companion/package.json
index 90ac387f62..d95be1e4ad 100644
--- a/examples/aws-companion/package.json
+++ b/examples/aws-companion/package.json
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
   },
   "private": true,
   "engines": {
-    "node": ">=16.11.0"
+    "node": ">=16.15.0"
   },
   "scripts": {
     "dev": "vite",
diff --git a/examples/aws-companion/server.cjs b/examples/aws-companion/server.cjs
index 4a05a697d8..500f312a94 100644
--- a/examples/aws-companion/server.cjs
+++ b/examples/aws-companion/server.cjs
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ const fs = require('fs')
 const path = require('path')
 const companion = require('@uppy/companion')
 
-require('dotenv').config()
+require('dotenv').config({ path: path.join(__dirname, '..', '..', '.env') })
 const app = require('express')()
 
 const DATA_DIR = path.join(__dirname, 'tmp')