diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f6d28a2..d869723 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -37,3 +37,5 @@ Thumbs.db
 # Ignore built ts files
 dist/**/*
 
+# ignore yarn.lock
+yarn.lock
diff --git a/src/util/secrets.ts b/src/util/secrets.ts
index 4fbf6b5..7e52a00 100644
--- a/src/util/secrets.ts
+++ b/src/util/secrets.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,10 @@ if (!SESSION_SECRET) {
 }
 
 if (!MONGODB_URI) {
-    logger.error("No mongo connection string. Set MONGODB_URI environment variable.");
+    if (prod) {
+        logger.error("No mongo connection string. Set MONGODB_URI environment variable.");
+    } else {
+        logger.error("No mongo connection string. Set MONGODB_URI_LOCAL environment variable.");
+    }
     process.exit(1);
 }