diff --git a/backend/src/index.ts b/backend/src/index.ts
index ce201dea..a30e66ed 100644
--- a/backend/src/index.ts
+++ b/backend/src/index.ts
@@ -14,9 +14,6 @@ import http from 'http';
 const app = express();
 const PORT = 3000;
 
-// Environment variables
-const JWT_SECRET = process.env.JWT_SECRET || 'your-secret-key-change-in-production';
-
 // ConfigService for persistent auth storage
 const configService = new ConfigService();
 
@@ -25,12 +22,19 @@ const fileSystemService = new FileSystemService();
 
 // Cookie settings
 const COOKIE_NAME = 'sencho_token';
-const COOKIE_OPTIONS = {
+
+// Helper to determine if request is secure (HTTPS or behind a proxy that terminates SSL)
+const isSecureRequest = (req: Request): boolean => {
+  return req.secure || req.headers['x-forwarded-proto'] === 'https';
+};
+
+// Helper to get cookie options dynamically per-request
+const getCookieOptions = (req: Request) => ({
   httpOnly: true,
-  secure: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production',
+  secure: isSecureRequest(req),
   sameSite: 'strict' as const,
   maxAge: 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000, // 24 hours
-};
+});
 
 // Middleware
 app.use(cors({
@@ -48,7 +52,7 @@ declare module 'express' {
 }
 
 // Authentication Middleware
-const authMiddleware = (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction): void => {
+const authMiddleware = async (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction): Promise<void> => {
   const token = req.cookies[COOKIE_NAME];
   
   if (!token) {
@@ -57,7 +61,8 @@ const authMiddleware = (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction): void =
   }
   
   try {
-    const decoded = jwt.verify(token, JWT_SECRET) as { username: string };
+    const jwtSecret = await configService.getJwtSecret();
+    const decoded = jwt.verify(token, jwtSecret) as { username: string };
     req.user = { username: decoded.username };
     next();
   } catch {
@@ -112,12 +117,13 @@ app.post('/api/auth/setup', async (req: Request, res: Response): Promise<void> =
       return;
     }
 
-    // Save credentials
+    // Save credentials (this also generates the JWT secret)
     await configService.saveConfig(username, password);
     
     // Issue JWT and log user in
-    const token = jwt.sign({ username }, JWT_SECRET, { expiresIn: '24h' });
-    res.cookie(COOKIE_NAME, token, COOKIE_OPTIONS);
+    const jwtSecret = await configService.getJwtSecret();
+    const token = jwt.sign({ username }, jwtSecret, { expiresIn: '24h' });
+    res.cookie(COOKIE_NAME, token, getCookieOptions(req));
     res.json({ success: true, message: 'Setup completed successfully' });
   } catch (error) {
     console.error('Setup error:', error);
@@ -138,8 +144,9 @@ app.post('/api/auth/login', async (req: Request, res: Response): Promise<void> =
     const isValid = await configService.validateCredentials(username, password);
     
     if (isValid) {
-      const token = jwt.sign({ username }, JWT_SECRET, { expiresIn: '24h' });
-      res.cookie(COOKIE_NAME, token, COOKIE_OPTIONS);
+      const jwtSecret = await configService.getJwtSecret();
+      const token = jwt.sign({ username }, jwtSecret, { expiresIn: '24h' });
+      res.cookie(COOKIE_NAME, token, getCookieOptions(req));
       res.json({ success: true, message: 'Login successful' });
       return;
     }
@@ -154,7 +161,7 @@ app.post('/api/auth/login', async (req: Request, res: Response): Promise<void> =
 app.post('/api/auth/logout', (req: Request, res: Response): void => {
   res.clearCookie(COOKIE_NAME, {
     httpOnly: true,
-    secure: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production',
+    secure: isSecureRequest(req),
     sameSite: 'strict',
   });
   res.json({ success: true, message: 'Logged out successfully' });
@@ -183,7 +190,7 @@ const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ noServer: true });
 let terminalWs: WebSocket | null = null;
 
 // Handle WebSocket upgrade with JWT authentication
-server.on('upgrade', (req, socket, head) => {
+server.on('upgrade', async (req, socket, head) => {
   // Parse cookies from the upgrade request
   const cookieHeader = req.headers.cookie || '';
   const cookies = Object.fromEntries(
@@ -199,7 +206,8 @@ server.on('upgrade', (req, socket, head) => {
   }
   
   try {
-    jwt.verify(token, JWT_SECRET);
+    const jwtSecret = await configService.getJwtSecret();
+    jwt.verify(token, jwtSecret);
     // Authentication successful, proceed with WebSocket connection
     wss.handleUpgrade(req, socket, head, (ws) => {
       wss.emit('connection', ws, req);
diff --git a/backend/src/services/ConfigService.ts b/backend/src/services/ConfigService.ts
index cae56850..192d4510 100644
--- a/backend/src/services/ConfigService.ts
+++ b/backend/src/services/ConfigService.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 import { promises as fs } from 'fs';
 import path from 'path';
 import bcrypt from 'bcrypt';
+import crypto from 'crypto';
 
 interface AuthConfig {
   username: string;
   passwordHash: string;
+  jwtSecret: string;
 }
 
 export class ConfigService {
@@ -12,7 +14,7 @@ export class ConfigService {
   private configPath: string;
 
   constructor() {
-    this.dataDir = process.env.DATA_DIR || path.join(process.cwd(), 'data');
+    this.dataDir = process.env.DATA_DIR || '/app/data';
     this.configPath = path.join(this.dataDir, 'sencho.json');
   }
 
@@ -46,7 +48,8 @@ export class ConfigService {
     await this.ensureDataDir();
     const saltRounds = 10;
     const passwordHash = await bcrypt.hash(password, saltRounds);
-    const config: AuthConfig = { username, passwordHash };
+    const jwtSecret = crypto.randomBytes(64).toString('hex');
+    const config: AuthConfig = { username, passwordHash, jwtSecret };
     await fs.writeFile(this.configPath, JSON.stringify(config, null, 2), 'utf-8');
   }
 
@@ -58,4 +61,12 @@ export class ConfigService {
     
     return await bcrypt.compare(password, config.passwordHash);
   }
+
+  async getJwtSecret(): Promise<string> {
+    const config = await this.readConfig();
+    if (!config || !config.jwtSecret) {
+      throw new Error('JWT secret not found - setup may not be complete');
+    }
+    return config.jwtSecret;
+  }
 }
diff --git a/backend/src/services/FileSystemService.ts b/backend/src/services/FileSystemService.ts
index 1bb56dd0..3d7ab6d3 100644
--- a/backend/src/services/FileSystemService.ts
+++ b/backend/src/services/FileSystemService.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ export class FileSystemService {
   private baseDir: string;
 
   constructor() {
-    this.baseDir = process.env.COMPOSE_DIR || path.join(process.cwd(), '..', 'mock_data', 'docker', 'compose');
+    this.baseDir = process.env.COMPOSE_DIR || '/app/compose';
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index c1dcaf0f..beb6861d 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -1,23 +1,19 @@
 services:
   sencho:
     image: saelix/sencho:latest
-    build: .
     container_name: sencho
     restart: unless-stopped
     ports:
       - "3000:3000"
     volumes:
       - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
+      
+      # DATA DIRECTORY
+      # Left Side: Where Sencho saves your admin login (Change this if you want it elsewhere)
+      # Right Side: Internal container path (DO NOT CHANGE)
       - ./data:/app/data
       
-      # Stacks Directory
-      # Left Side = Path on your host server (Change this to your actual folder)
-      # Right Side = Path inside Sencho (Do NOT change)
-      - /path/to/your/docker/compose:/app/compose
-    
-    environment:
-      # Tell Sencho's backend where to look inside the container
-      - COMPOSE_DIR=/app/compose
-      - DATA_DIR=/app/data
-      # Generate a secure random string for this in production
-      - JWT_SECRET=change-me-in-production
+      # STACKS DIRECTORY
+      # Left Side: The absolute path to your Docker compose stacks on your server
+      # Right Side: Internal container path (DO NOT CHANGE)
+      - SENCHO_STACKS_DIR:/app/compose