diff --git a/.envrc b/.envrc
index f9abeb04..a374b417 100644
--- a/.envrc
+++ b/.envrc
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
 # When nix is available, use the flake for environment management
 if command -v nix &> /dev/null; then
-    use flake
+    if type use_flake &> /dev/null; then
+        use flake
+    else
+        echo "Falling back to nix develop (nix-direnv not available)"
+        eval "$(nix develop --print-env 2>/dev/null || echo 'echo Failed to load nix environment')"
+    fi
 fi
\ No newline at end of file