diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fb58dee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+.env
+data
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 96d67b8..1167e18 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -34,14 +34,8 @@ $ git clone https://github.com/MISP/misp-docker
 $ cd misp-docker
 ```
 ## Fix your environment
-Edit the docker-compose.yml and change the following environment variables:
-* MYSQL_DATABASE
-* MYSQL_USER
-* MYSQL_PASSWORD
-* MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD
-* MYSQL_MISP_PASSWORD
-* MISP_ADMIN_PASSPHRASE
-* Changed the volumes to match your local filesystem
+Copy template.env to .env (on the root directory) and edit the environment variables at .env file
+
 
 ## Build the containers
 ```
diff --git a/docker-compose-nginx.yml b/docker-compose-nginx.yml
index a02e108..0c21461 100644
--- a/docker-compose-nginx.yml
+++ b/docker-compose-nginx.yml
@@ -18,27 +18,27 @@ services:
     restart: unless-stopped
     volumes:
       - /dev/urandom:/dev/random
-      - /data/misp/web:/var/www/MISP
+      - ${DATA_DIR}/web:/var/www/MISP
     environment:
       - MYSQL_HOST=db
-      - MYSQL_DATABASE=misp
-      - MYSQL_USER=misp
-      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=misp
-      - MISP_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@admin.test
-      - MISP_ADMIN_PASSPHRASE=admin
-      - MISP_BASEURL=http:\/\/misp\.test
-      - POSTFIX_RELAY_HOST=relay.fqdn
-      - TIMEZONE=Europe/Brussels
+      - MYSQL_DATABASE=${MYSQL_DATABASE}
+      - MYSQL_USER=${MYSQL_USER}
+      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
+      - MISP_ADMIN_EMAIL=${MISP_ADMIN_EMAIL}
+      - MISP_ADMIN_PASSPHRASE=${MISP_ADMIN_PASSPHRASE}
+      - MISP_BASEURL=${MISP_BASEURL}
+      - POSTFIX_RELAY_HOST=${POSTFIX_RELAY_HOST}
+      - TIMEZONE=${TIMEZONE}
 
   db:
     container_name: misp_db
     image: mysql/mysql-server:5.7
     restart: unless-stopped
     volumes:
-      - /data/misp/db:/var/lib/mysql
+      - ${DATA_DIR}/db:/var/lib/mysql
     environment:
-      - MYSQL_DATABASE=misp
-      - MYSQL_USER=misp
-      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=misp
-      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=misp
+      - MYSQL_DATABASE=${MYSQL_DATABASE}
+      - MYSQL_USER=${MYSQL_USER}
+      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
+      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}
 
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index e9fd021..59d2814 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -12,26 +12,26 @@ services:
       - "80:80"
     volumes:
       - /dev/urandom:/dev/random
-      - /data/misp/web:/var/www/MISP
+      - ${DATA_DIR}/web:/var/www/MISP
     environment:
       - MYSQL_HOST=db
-      - MYSQL_DATABASE=misp
-      - MYSQL_USER=misp
-      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=misp
-      - MISP_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@admin.test
-      - MISP_ADMIN_PASSPHRASE=admin
-      - MISP_BASEURL=http:\/\/misp\.test
-      - POSTFIX_RELAY_HOST=relay.fqdn
-      - TIMEZONE=Europe/Brussels
+      - MYSQL_DATABASE=${MYSQL_DATABASE}
+      - MYSQL_USER=${MYSQL_USER}
+      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
+      - MISP_ADMIN_EMAIL=${MISP_ADMIN_EMAIL}
+      - MISP_ADMIN_PASSPHRASE=${MISP_ADMIN_PASSPHRASE}
+      - MISP_BASEURL=${MISP_BASEURL}
+      - POSTFIX_RELAY_HOST=${POSTFIX_RELAY_HOST}
+      - TIMEZONE=${TIMEZONE}
 
   db:
     container_name: misp_db
     image: mysql/mysql-server:5.7
     restart: unless-stopped
     volumes:
-      - /data/misp/db:/var/lib/mysql
+      - ${DATA_DIR}/db:/var/lib/mysql
     environment:
-      - MYSQL_DATABASE=misp
-      - MYSQL_USER=misp
-      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=misp
-      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=misp
+      - MYSQL_DATABASE=${MYSQL_DATABASE}
+      - MYSQL_USER=${MYSQL_USER}
+      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
+      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}
diff --git a/template.env b/template.env
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f23d46b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/template.env
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+MYSQL_DATABASE=misp
+MYSQL_USER=misp
+MYSQL_PASSWORD=misp
+MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=misp
+
+MISP_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@admin.test
+MISP_ADMIN_PASSPHRASE=admin
+MISP_BASEURL=localhost
+
+POSTFIX_RELAY_HOST=relay.fqdn
+TIMEZONE=Europe/Brussels
+
+DATA_DIR=./data
\ No newline at end of file