diff --git a/.github/workflows/backend.yaml b/.github/workflows/backend.yaml
index 2daa9e8..3e191ac 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/backend.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/backend.yaml
@@ -2,9 +2,10 @@ name: Go Integration & Test Suite
 
 on:
   push:
-    branches: [ main, v0.1.5, 0.2.0 ]
   pull_request:
-    branches: [ main ]
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
 
 jobs:
   test:
@@ -13,9 +14,9 @@ jobs:
       postgres:
         image: postgres:16-alpine
         env:
-          POSTGRES_USER: ${{ vars.POSTGRES_USER }}
-          POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.POSTGRES_PASSWORD }}
-          POSTGRES_DB: ${{ vars.POSTGRES_DB }}        
+          POSTGRES_USER: ${{ vars.POSTGRES_USER || 'elephant_admin' }}
+          POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.POSTGRES_PASSWORD || 'local_test_password' }}
+          POSTGRES_DB: ${{ vars.POSTGRES_DB || 'elephant_messenger' }}
         ports:
           - 42359:5432
         options: >-
@@ -49,30 +50,30 @@ jobs:
 
     - name: Execute Package Test Automation Suite      
       env:
-        HOST: ${{ vars.HOST }}
-        PORT: ${{ vars.PORT }}
-        POSTGRES_USER: ${{ vars.POSTGRES_USER }}
-        POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.POSTGRES_PASSWORD }} # FIXED: Removed extra '{'
-        POSTGRES_DB: ${{ vars.POSTGRES_DB }}
-        POSTGRES_PORT: ${{ vars.POSTGRES_PORT }}
-        POSTGRES_HOST: ${{ vars.POSTGRES_HOST }}
-        JWT_SECRET: ${{ secrets.JWT_SECRET }}
-        ARGON_MEMORY: ${{ vars.ARGON_MEMORY }}
-        ARGON_ITERATIONS: ${{ vars.ARGON_ITERATIONS }}
-        ARGON_PARALLELISM: ${{ vars.ARGON_PARALLELISM }}
+        HOST: ${{ vars.HOST || '127.0.0.1' }}
+        PORT: ${{ vars.PORT || '8080'}}
+        POSTGRES_USER: ${{ vars.POSTGRES_USER || 'elephant_admin' }}
+        POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.POSTGRES_PASSWORD || 'local_test_password' }}
+        POSTGRES_DB: ${{ vars.POSTGRES_DB || 'elephant_messenger' }}
+        POSTGRES_PORT: ${{ vars.POSTGRES_PORT || '42359' }}
+        POSTGRES_HOST: ${{ vars.POSTGRES_HOST || 'localhost' }}
+        JWT_SECRET: ${{ secrets.JWT_SECRET || 'testing_only_secret_key_string_32_chars' }}
+        ARGON_MEMORY: ${{ vars.ARGON_MEMORY || '65536' }}
+        ARGON_ITERATIONS: ${{ vars.ARGON_ITERATIONS || '1' }}
+        ARGON_PARALLELISM: ${{ vars.ARGON_PARALLELISM || '2'}}
       run: |
         cd server
         sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y postgresql-client
-        PGPASSWORD="${{ secrets.POSTGRES_PASSWORD }}" psql -h "${{ vars.POSTGRES_HOST }}" -p "${{ vars.POSTGRES_PORT }}" -U "${{ vars.POSTGRES_USER }}" -d "${{ vars.POSTGRES_DB }}" \
+        PGPASSWORD="$POSTGRES_PASSWORD" psql -h "$POSTGRES_HOST" -p "$POSTGRES_PORT" -U "$POSTGRES_USER" -d "$POSTGRES_DB" \
           -f migrations/001_create_users_up.sql \
           -f migrations/002_create_refresh_tokens_up.sql \
           -f migrations/003_add_search_indexes_up.sql \
           -f migrations/004_create_message_up.sql \
-          -f migrations/005_create_message_status_up.sql\
+          -f migrations/005_create_message_status_up.sql \
           -f migrations/006_create_groups_table_up.sql
         go run main.go &
         for i in $(seq 1 10); do
-          curl -sf http://${{ vars.POSTGRES_HOST }}:${{ vars.PORT }}/api/health && break
+          curl -sf http://$HOST:$PORT/api/health && break
           echo "Waiting for server... attempt $i"
           sleep 2
         done