diff --git a/python/valuecell/agents/sec_agent.py b/python/valuecell/agents/sec_agent.py
index 485d1088f..bbc21e122 100644
--- a/python/valuecell/agents/sec_agent.py
+++ b/python/valuecell/agents/sec_agent.py
@@ -344,7 +344,9 @@ async def _process_financial_data_query(
             Please ensure the analysis is objective and professional, based on actual data, avoiding excessive speculation.
             """
 
-            response_stream: Iterator[RunResponseEvent] = self.analysis_agent.run(
+            response_stream: Iterator[
+                RunResponseEvent
+            ] = await self.analysis_agent.arun(
                 analysis_prompt, stream=True, stream_intermediate_steps=True
             )
             for event in response_stream:
@@ -440,7 +442,9 @@ async def _process_fund_holdings_query(
             Please ensure the analysis is objective and professional, based on actual data, avoiding excessive speculation.
             """
 
-            response_stream: Iterator[RunResponseEvent] = self.analysis_agent.run(
+            response_stream: Iterator[
+                RunResponseEvent
+            ] = await self.analysis_agent.arun(
                 analysis_prompt, stream=True, stream_intermediate_steps=True
             )
             for event in response_stream:
diff --git a/python/valuecell/server/config/settings.py b/python/valuecell/server/config/settings.py
index 329bd92ca..092db7d9c 100644
--- a/python/valuecell/server/config/settings.py
+++ b/python/valuecell/server/config/settings.py
@@ -5,6 +5,23 @@
 from functools import lru_cache
 
 
+def _get_project_root() -> str:
+    """Get project root directory path.
+
+    Layout assumption: this file is at repo_root/python/valuecell/server/config/settings.py
+    We walk up 4 levels to reach repo_root.
+    """
+    here = os.path.dirname(__file__)
+    repo_root = os.path.abspath(os.path.join(here, "..", "..", "..", ".."))
+    return repo_root
+
+
+def _default_db_path() -> str:
+    """Get default database path in project root."""
+    repo_root = _get_project_root()
+    return f"sqlite:///{os.path.join(repo_root, 'valuecell.db')}"
+
+
 class Settings:
     """Server configuration settings."""
 
@@ -16,7 +33,7 @@ def __init__(self):
         self.APP_ENVIRONMENT = os.getenv("APP_ENVIRONMENT", "development")
 
         # API Configuration
-        self.API_HOST = os.getenv("API_HOST", "localhost")
+        self.API_HOST = os.getenv("API_HOST", "0.0.0.0")
         self.API_PORT = int(os.getenv("API_PORT", "8000"))
         self.API_DEBUG = os.getenv("API_DEBUG", "false").lower() == "true"
 
@@ -25,23 +42,7 @@ def __init__(self):
         self.CORS_ORIGINS = cors_origins.split(",") if cors_origins != "*" else ["*"]
 
         # Database Configuration
-        self.DATABASE_URL = os.getenv(
-            "DATABASE_URL", "sqlite:///valuecell/server/db/valuecell.db"
-        )
-        self.DB_ECHO = os.getenv("DB_ECHO", "false").lower() == "true"
-
-        # Redis Configuration
-        self.REDIS_URL = os.getenv("REDIS_URL", "redis://localhost:6379")
-
-        # Security Configuration
-        self.SECRET_KEY = os.getenv("SECRET_KEY", "your-secret-key-here")
-        self.ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRE_MINUTES = int(
-            os.getenv("ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRE_MINUTES", "30")
-        )
-
-        # Logging Configuration
-        self.LOG_LEVEL = os.getenv("LOG_LEVEL", "INFO")
-        self.LOG_FORMAT = os.getenv("LOG_FORMAT", "json")
+        self.DATABASE_URL = os.getenv("VALUECELL_SQLITE_DB", _default_db_path())
 
         # File Paths
         self.BASE_DIR = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent
@@ -51,37 +52,9 @@ def __init__(self):
         # I18n Configuration
         self.LOCALE_DIR = self.BASE_DIR / "configs/locales"
 
-        # Agent Configuration
-        self.AGENT_TIMEOUT = int(os.getenv("AGENT_TIMEOUT", "300"))  # 5 minutes
-        self.MAX_CONCURRENT_AGENTS = int(os.getenv("MAX_CONCURRENT_AGENTS", "10"))
-
-        # External APIs
-        self.OPENAI_API_KEY = os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")
-        self.FINNHUB_API_KEY = os.getenv("FINNHUB_API_KEY")
-        self.ALPHA_VANTAGE_API_KEY = os.getenv("ALPHA_VANTAGE_API_KEY")
-
-    @property
-    def is_development(self) -> bool:
-        """Check if running in development mode."""
-        return self.APP_ENVIRONMENT == "development"
-
-    @property
-    def is_production(self) -> bool:
-        """Check if running in production mode."""
-        return self.APP_ENVIRONMENT == "production"
-
     def get_database_config(self) -> dict:
         """Get database configuration."""
-        return {
-            "url": self.DATABASE_URL,
-            "echo": self.DB_ECHO,
-        }
-
-    def get_redis_config(self) -> dict:
-        """Get Redis configuration."""
-        return {
-            "url": self.REDIS_URL,
-        }
+        return {"url": self.DATABASE_URL}
 
     def update_language(self, language: str) -> None:
         """Update current language setting.
diff --git a/python/valuecell/server/db/connection.py b/python/valuecell/server/db/connection.py
index 05d5000cb..e5cb37633 100644
--- a/python/valuecell/server/db/connection.py
+++ b/python/valuecell/server/db/connection.py
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ def _initialize_engine(self) -> None:
 
         self.engine = create_engine(
             database_config["url"],
-            echo=database_config["echo"],
             connect_args=connect_args,
             poolclass=StaticPool
             if database_config["url"].startswith("sqlite")