diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6b566c0..b184b6a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -99,6 +99,8 @@ docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d
 # Access the frontend at localhost:6767
 ```
 
+For single-container deployments, `JWT_SECRET` can be omitted and will be auto-generated and persisted in the backend volume on first start. For portability and all multi-instance deployments, set a fixed `JWT_SECRET` explicitly.
+
 ## Docker Build
 
 [Install Docker](https://docs.docker.com/desktop/)
@@ -141,7 +143,7 @@ frontend:
 
 ### Multi-Container / Kubernetes Deployments
 
-When running multiple backend replicas (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, or load-balanced containers), you **must** set the `CSRF_SECRET` environment variable to the same value across all instances.
+When running multiple backend replicas (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, or load-balanced containers), you **must** set both `JWT_SECRET` and `CSRF_SECRET` to the same values across all instances.
 
 ```bash
 # Generate a secure secret
@@ -152,6 +154,7 @@ openssl rand -base64 32
 # docker-compose.yml or k8s deployment
 backend:
   environment:
+    - JWT_SECRET=your-generated-jwt-secret-here
     - CSRF_SECRET=your-generated-secret-here
 ```
 
diff --git a/backend/docker-entrypoint.sh b/backend/docker-entrypoint.sh
index 07889f6..9eff924 100644
--- a/backend/docker-entrypoint.sh
+++ b/backend/docker-entrypoint.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,30 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 set -e
 
+JWT_SECRET_FILE="/app/prisma/.jwt_secret"
+
+# Ensure JWT secret exists for production startup.
+# Backward compatibility: older installs may not have JWT_SECRET configured.
+if [ -z "${JWT_SECRET:-}" ]; then
+    echo "JWT_SECRET not provided, resolving persisted secret..."
+    if [ -f "${JWT_SECRET_FILE}" ]; then
+        JWT_SECRET="$(tr -d '\r\n' < "${JWT_SECRET_FILE}")"
+    fi
+
+    if [ -z "${JWT_SECRET}" ]; then
+        echo "No persisted JWT secret found. Generating a new secret..."
+        JWT_SECRET="$(openssl rand -hex 32)"
+        umask 077
+        printf "%s" "${JWT_SECRET}" > "${JWT_SECRET_FILE}"
+    fi
+else
+    # Persist explicitly provided secret to support future restarts without env injection.
+    umask 077
+    printf "%s" "${JWT_SECRET}" > "${JWT_SECRET_FILE}"
+fi
+
+export JWT_SECRET
+
 # 1. Hydrate volume if empty (Running as root)
 if [ ! -f "/app/prisma/schema.prisma" ]; then
     echo "Mount is empty. Hydrating /app/prisma..."
@@ -18,6 +42,7 @@ echo "Fixing filesystem permissions..."
 chown -R nodejs:nodejs /app/uploads
 chown -R nodejs:nodejs /app/prisma
 chmod 755 /app/uploads
+chmod 600 "${JWT_SECRET_FILE}"
 
 # Ensure database file has proper permissions
 if [ -f "/app/prisma/dev.db" ]; then
diff --git a/docker-compose.prod.yml b/docker-compose.prod.yml
index f4dddaa..268578a 100644
--- a/docker-compose.prod.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.prod.yml
@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@ services:
       - DATABASE_URL=file:/app/prisma/dev.db
       - PORT=8000
       - NODE_ENV=production
-      # Required for authentication: must be explicitly set to a strong secret (min 32 chars)
+      # Optional for single-instance deployments:
+      # if unset, backend auto-generates and persists one in the volume.
+      # Recommended to set explicitly for portability and multi-instance setups.
       - JWT_SECRET=${JWT_SECRET}
       # Required for horizontal scaling (k8s): uncomment and set to same value on all instances
       # - CSRF_SECRET=${CSRF_SECRET}
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 20d06a1..184d77c 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -8,7 +8,9 @@ services:
       - DATABASE_URL=file:/app/prisma/dev.db
       - PORT=8000
       - NODE_ENV=production
-      # Required for authentication: must be explicitly set to a strong secret (min 32 chars)
+      # Optional for single-instance deployments:
+      # if unset, backend auto-generates and persists one in the volume.
+      # Recommended to set explicitly for portability and multi-instance setups.
       - JWT_SECRET=${JWT_SECRET}
       # Required for horizontal scaling (k8s): uncomment and set to same value on all instances
       # - CSRF_SECRET=${CSRF_SECRET}