diff --git a/src/Host/FSH.Starter.DbMigrator/Program.cs b/src/Host/FSH.Starter.DbMigrator/Program.cs
index 3779e3a46d..9f1f9c53a7 100644
--- a/src/Host/FSH.Starter.DbMigrator/Program.cs
+++ b/src/Host/FSH.Starter.DbMigrator/Program.cs
@@ -46,9 +46,18 @@
     await Console.Out.WriteLineAsync(MigratorCommand.HelpText).ConfigureAwait(false);
     return 0;
 }
-
 var builder = Host.CreateApplicationBuilder(args);
 
+// In local development (dotnet run), the working directory is the project folder,
+// but appsettings.json is linked and copied to the output directory.
+// We explicitly load it from AppContext.BaseDirectory so IdentityModule's JwtOptions validate.
+builder.Configuration.AddJsonFile(Path.Combine(AppContext.BaseDirectory, "appsettings.json"), optional: true);
+builder.Configuration.AddJsonFile(Path.Combine(AppContext.BaseDirectory, $"appsettings.{builder.Environment.EnvironmentName}.json"), optional: true);
+
+// Re-add environment variables and command line args so they maintain priority over the manually added JSON files.
+builder.Configuration.AddEnvironmentVariables();
+builder.Configuration.AddCommandLine(args);
+
 // Fail-fast before option-validation runs at host build time: if the operator
 // forgot to set DatabaseOptions__ConnectionString, give them a single clear
 // line they'll actually read rather than a validation exception stack trace.