diff --git a/app/.gitignore b/app/.gitignore
index 3c3629e..1dcef2d 100644
--- a/app/.gitignore
+++ b/app/.gitignore
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
 node_modules
+.env
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/lib/express.js b/app/lib/express.js
index cb95c8f..f157cf6 100644
--- a/app/lib/express.js
+++ b/app/lib/express.js
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ router.get("/", async (_req, res) => {
   }
 
   if (!context.profile.name) {
-    res.redirect("/about");
+    return res.redirect("/about");
   }
 
   const [posts, friends, vanishingMessages] = await Promise.all([
diff --git a/app/lib/ssb.js b/app/lib/ssb.js
index 9484a71..043538c 100644
--- a/app/lib/ssb.js
+++ b/app/lib/ssb.js
@@ -1,6 +1,20 @@
-const Server = require("ssb-server");
 const fs = require("fs");
 const path = require("path");
+
+let homeFolder =
+  process.env.HOME || process.env.HOMEPATH || process.env.USERPROFILE;
+let ssbFolder = `${homeFolder}/.${process.env.CONFIG_FOLDER || "social"}`;
+let secretPath = `${ssbFolder}/secret`;
+let envKey =
+  process.env.SSB_KEY &&
+  Buffer.from(process.env.SSB_KEY, "base64").toString("utf8");
+if (envKey) {
+  console.log("Using env SSB_KEY");
+  fs.mkdirSync(ssbFolder, { recursive: true });
+  fs.writeFileSync(secretPath, envKey);
+}
+
+const Server = require("ssb-server");
 const config = require("./ssb-config");
 
 // add plugins