diff --git a/ui.py b/ui.py
index 6dc073a..a2f6ce7 100755
--- a/ui.py
+++ b/ui.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 import os
 import random
+from typing import List
 from urllib.parse import quote_plus
 
 import altair as alt
@@ -9,38 +10,50 @@
 import pandas as pd
 import requests
 import streamlit as st
+from pydantic import BaseModel, computed_field
+from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings
 from wordcloud import WordCloud
 
-from utils import env_to_list, load_config
 
-config = load_config()
+class Config(BaseSettings):
+    title: str = "Collection Search API"
+    apiurl: str = "http://localhost:8000/v1"
+    termfields: str = "article_title,text_content"
+    termaggrs: str = "top"
+    maxwc: int = 30
+
+    @computed_field()
+    def full_title(self) -> str:
+        return self.title + " Explorer"
+
+    @computed_field()
+    def termfields_list(self) -> List[str]:
+        return self.termfields.split(",")
+
+    @computed_field()
+    def termaggrs_list(self) -> List[str]:
+        return self.termaggrs.split(",")
 
-config["title"] = (
-    os.getenv("TITLE", config.get("title", "Collection Search API")) + " Explorer"
-)
-config["apiurl"] = os.getenv(
-    "APIURL", config.get("apiurl", "http://localhost:8000/v1")
-).rstrip("/")
-config["termfields"] = env_to_list("TERMFIELDS") or config.get("termfields", [])
-config["termaggrs"] = env_to_list("TERMAGGRS") or config.get("termaggrs", [])
-config["maxwc"] = int(os.getenv("MAXWC", config.get("maxwc", 30)))
 
-st.set_page_config(page_title=config["title"], layout="wide")
-st.title(config["title"])
+config = Config()
+
+
+st.set_page_config(
+    page_title=config.full_title, layout="wide"  # type: ignore[arg-type]
+)
+st.title(config.full_title)
 
 
 # @st.cache(ttl=300)
 def load_data(cname, qstr, ep="search/overview"):
-    r = requests.get(
-        f"{config['apiurl']}/{cname}/{ep}?q={quote_plus(qstr)}", timeout=60
-    )
+    r = requests.get(f"{config.apiurl}/{cname}/{ep}?q={quote_plus(qstr)}", timeout=60)
     if r.ok:
         return r.json()
     return None
 
 
 def load_collections():
-    r = requests.get(f"{config['apiurl']}/collections", timeout=60)
+    r = requests.get(f"{config.apiurl}/collections", timeout=60)
     if r.ok:
         return r.json()
     return None
@@ -135,19 +148,20 @@ def load_collections():
         tbs[0].altair_chart(c, use_container_width=True)
         tbs[1].write(ov[v])
 
-for fld in config["termfields"]:
+for fld in config.termfields_list:  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
     cols = st.columns(3)
-    for i, aggr in enumerate(config["termaggrs"]):
+    aggr: str
+    for i, aggr in enumerate(config.termaggrs_list):  # type: ignore[arg-type]
         with cols[i]:
             tbs = st.tabs([f"{aggr} {fld} terms".title(), "Data"])
             tt = load_data(col, q, f"terms/{fld}/{aggr}")
             if tt:
                 sample = tt
-                if len(tt) > config["maxwc"]:
+                if len(tt) > config.maxwc:
                     if aggr == "rare":
-                        sample = dict(random.sample(list(tt.items()), config["maxwc"]))
+                        sample = dict(random.sample(list(tt.items()), config.maxwc))
                     else:
-                        sample = dict(list(tt.items())[: config["maxwc"]])
+                        sample = dict(list(tt.items())[: config.maxwc])
                 wc = WordCloud(background_color="white")
                 wc.generate_from_frequencies(sample)
                 fig, ax = plt.subplots()