diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 681a624..7e21964 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -161,7 +161,11 @@ process was started with and the file's own key. A variable's value is
 parsed as the same text in the file would be. The three lists take
 comma-separated entries, with the spaces around each trimmed; an empty
 variable is an empty list. A value that does not parse or is invalid aborts
-startup, naming the variable.
+startup, naming the variable. A variable whose name starts with `PIXA_` but
+is not in the table below, such as a misspelled one or `PIXA_PORT`, aborts
+startup naming it, as an unknown config key does. The one other accepted
+name is `PIXA_CONFIG_PATH`, the config file's path (like `--config`). The
+variables set by the file's `env:` section are checked the same way.
 
 | Variable                             | Config key                      | Meaning                                                                      |
 | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
diff --git a/TODO.md b/TODO.md
index 3e8c7b4..e726796 100644
--- a/TODO.md
+++ b/TODO.md
@@ -30,6 +30,13 @@ exhaustion
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-09-28 unknown `PIXA_` environment variables abort startup (closes
+  #133): a variable whose name starts with `PIXA_` but is neither a
+  setting's variable nor `PIXA_CONFIG_PATH` aborts startup naming it, as
+  an unknown config key does, and `PIXA_PORT` is named with a pointer to
+  `PORT`; the check runs after the config file loads, so the variables
+  the file's `env:` section sets are checked too; documented in
+  `README.md`.
 - 2026-09-28 start on a fresh upaas volume (closes #129): the image
   starts as root only to give `/var/lib/pixa` to `pixad` when `pixad`
   does not own it (`deploy/docker-entrypoint.sh`), then runs the server
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index a2e2037..3d948be 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ var (
 	errValueRequired     = errors.New("a value is required")
 	errValueEmpty        = errors.New("value must not be empty")
 	errUnknownConfigKeys = errors.New("unknown config keys")
+	errUnknownEnvVars    = errors.New("unknown environment variables")
 	errNotAString        = errors.New("not a string")
 	errNotAnInteger      = errors.New("not an integer")
 	errNotABoolean       = errors.New("not a boolean")
@@ -154,6 +155,13 @@ func New(_ fx.Lifecycle, params Params) (*Config, error) {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
+	// Loading the config file sets the variables in its env section,
+	// so this also checks their names.
+	err = validateKnownEnvVars()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
 	if sc == nil {
 		log.Info("no config file found, using environment variables and defaults")
 	}
@@ -377,6 +385,43 @@ func envVarNames() map[string]string {
 	}
 }
 
+// validateKnownEnvVars rejects environment variables whose names start
+// with PIXA_ but that are neither a setting's variable nor
+// PIXA_CONFIG_PATH, so a misspelled variable fails at startup instead of
+// being silently ignored, as validateKnownKeys does for config file keys.
+// New calls it after loading the config file, so the variables the
+// file's env section sets are checked too.
+func validateKnownEnvVars() error {
+	known := map[string]bool{"PIXA_CONFIG_PATH": true}
+
+	for _, name := range envVarNames() {
+		known[name] = true
+	}
+
+	var unknown []string
+
+	for _, entry := range os.Environ() {
+		name, _, _ := strings.Cut(entry, "=")
+
+		switch {
+		case !strings.HasPrefix(name, "PIXA_") || known[name]:
+			continue
+		case name == "PIXA_PORT":
+			unknown = append(unknown, name+" (use PORT for the port)")
+		default:
+			unknown = append(unknown, name)
+		}
+	}
+
+	if len(unknown) > 0 {
+		sort.Strings(unknown)
+
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w: %s", errUnknownEnvVars, strings.Join(unknown, ", "))
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // lookupValue returns the value set for key and whether one is set. The
 // key's environment variable wins when it is present, even when empty;
 // its value is a string, read exactly as the same text quoted in the