diff --git a/internal/handlers/app.go b/internal/handlers/app.go
index b10de59..d55c27c 100644
--- a/internal/handlers/app.go
+++ b/internal/handlers/app.go
@@ -912,13 +912,12 @@ type envPairJSON struct {
 // envVarMaxBodyBytes is the maximum allowed request body size for env var saves (1 MB).
 const envVarMaxBodyBytes = 1 << 20
 
-// deduplicateEnvPairs validates and deduplicates env var pairs.
-// It rejects empty keys (returns a non-empty error string) and
-// deduplicates by key, keeping the last occurrence.
-func deduplicateEnvPairs(pairs []envPairJSON) ([]models.EnvVarPair, string) {
-	seen := make(map[string]int, len(pairs))
+// validateEnvPairs validates env var pairs.
+// It rejects empty keys and duplicate keys (returns a non-empty error string).
+func validateEnvPairs(pairs []envPairJSON) ([]models.EnvVarPair, string) {
+	seen := make(map[string]bool, len(pairs))
 
-	var result []models.EnvVarPair
+	result := make([]models.EnvVarPair, 0, len(pairs))
 
 	for _, p := range pairs {
 		trimmedKey := strings.TrimSpace(p.Key)
@@ -926,12 +925,13 @@ func deduplicateEnvPairs(pairs []envPairJSON) ([]models.EnvVarPair, string) {
 			return nil, "empty environment variable key is not allowed"
 		}
 
-		if idx, exists := seen[trimmedKey]; exists {
-			result[idx] = models.EnvVarPair{Key: trimmedKey, Value: p.Value}
-		} else {
-			seen[trimmedKey] = len(result)
-			result = append(result, models.EnvVarPair{Key: trimmedKey, Value: p.Value})
+		if seen[trimmedKey] {
+			return nil, "duplicate environment variable key: " + trimmedKey
 		}
+
+		seen[trimmedKey] = true
+
+		result = append(result, models.EnvVarPair{Key: trimmedKey, Value: p.Value})
 	}
 
 	return result, ""
@@ -941,7 +941,7 @@ func deduplicateEnvPairs(pairs []envPairJSON) ([]models.EnvVarPair, string) {
 // It reads a JSON array of {key, value} objects from the request body,
 // deletes all existing env vars for the app, and inserts the full
 // submitted set atomically within a database transaction.
-// Duplicate keys are deduplicated server-side (last occurrence wins).
+// Duplicate keys are rejected with a 400 Bad Request error.
 func (h *Handlers) HandleEnvVarSave() http.HandlerFunc {
 	return func(writer http.ResponseWriter, request *http.Request) {
 		appID := chi.URLParam(request, "id")
@@ -967,7 +967,7 @@ func (h *Handlers) HandleEnvVarSave() http.HandlerFunc {
 			return
 		}
 
-		modelPairs, validationErr := deduplicateEnvPairs(pairs)
+		modelPairs, validationErr := validateEnvPairs(pairs)
 		if validationErr != "" {
 			h.respondJSON(writer, request, map[string]string{
 				"error": validationErr,
diff --git a/internal/handlers/handlers_test.go b/internal/handlers/handlers_test.go
index 178d200..6a7d0b3 100644
--- a/internal/handlers/handlers_test.go
+++ b/internal/handlers/handlers_test.go
@@ -664,15 +664,15 @@ func TestHandleEnvVarSaveEmptyKeyRejected(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, http.StatusBadRequest, recorder.Code)
 }
 
-// TestHandleEnvVarSaveDuplicateKeyDedup verifies that when the client
-// sends duplicate keys, the server deduplicates them (last wins).
-func TestHandleEnvVarSaveDuplicateKeyDedup(t *testing.T) {
+// TestHandleEnvVarSaveDuplicateKeyRejected verifies that when the client
+// sends duplicate keys, the server rejects them with 400 Bad Request.
+func TestHandleEnvVarSaveDuplicateKeyRejected(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
 	testCtx := setupTestHandlers(t)
 	createdApp := createTestApp(t, testCtx, "envvar-dedup-app")
 
-	// Send two entries with the same key — last should win
+	// Send two entries with the same key — should be rejected
 	body := `[{"key":"FOO","value":"first"},{"key":"BAR","value":"bar"},{"key":"FOO","value":"second"}]`
 
 	r := chi.NewRouter()
@@ -688,21 +688,8 @@ func TestHandleEnvVarSaveDuplicateKeyDedup(t *testing.T) {
 	recorder := httptest.NewRecorder()
 	r.ServeHTTP(recorder, request)
 
-	assert.Equal(t, http.StatusOK, recorder.Code)
-
-	envVars, err := models.FindEnvVarsByAppID(
-		context.Background(), testCtx.database, createdApp.ID,
-	)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Len(t, envVars, 2, "duplicate key should be deduplicated")
-
-	keys := make(map[string]string)
-	for _, ev := range envVars {
-		keys[ev.Key] = ev.Value
-	}
-
-	assert.Equal(t, "second", keys["FOO"], "last occurrence should win")
-	assert.Equal(t, "bar", keys["BAR"])
+	assert.Equal(t, http.StatusBadRequest, recorder.Code)
+	assert.Contains(t, recorder.Body.String(), "duplicate environment variable key: FOO")
 }
 
 // TestHandleEnvVarSaveCrossAppIsolation verifies that posting env vars