diff --git a/Program.cs b/Program.cs
index 3075d21..49e4f0e 100644
--- a/Program.cs
+++ b/Program.cs
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ var connectionString = new SqliteConnectionStringBuilder(builder.Configuration.G
 builder.Services.AddDbContext<TodoContext>(options => options.UseSqlite(connectionString));
 
 //setup APIKey validation using apikey.json file
-ApiKeys apiKeys = new();
+ApiKeys? apiKeys = null;
 try
 {
     string? apiKeyFilename = builder.Configuration.GetValue<string>("APIKeyFile");