diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index 959f9541ea18b018ef329382965842f0fec9ab36..f02837a0bff25e7d3ee3f903ee7d55b288238158 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -11,4 +11,5 @@ collector/outputs/**
 **/__pycache__/
 **/.env
 **/.env.*
+!docker/.env.example
 !frontend/.env.production
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docker/.env.example b/docker/.env.example
index cef053114f3a10ec4656b3d844f855ba8784b778..4ab09a1e2e3ab3d71ce8f5c288dcc1bdd5f77baf 100644
--- a/docker/.env.example
+++ b/docker/.env.example
@@ -5,9 +5,9 @@ CACHE_VECTORS="true"
 ###########################################
 ######## LLM API SElECTION ################
 ###########################################
-LLM_PROVIDER='openai'
+# LLM_PROVIDER='openai'
 # OPEN_AI_KEY=
-OPEN_MODEL_PREF='gpt-3.5-turbo'
+# OPEN_MODEL_PREF='gpt-3.5-turbo'
 
 # LLM_PROVIDER='azure'
 # AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT=
@@ -36,13 +36,13 @@ OPEN_MODEL_PREF='gpt-3.5-turbo'
 # CHROMA_API_KEY="sk-123abc"
 
 # Enable all below if you are using vector database: Pinecone.
-VECTOR_DB="lancedb"
-PINECONE_ENVIRONMENT=
-PINECONE_API_KEY=
-PINECONE_INDEX=
+# VECTOR_DB="pinecone"
+# PINECONE_ENVIRONMENT=
+# PINECONE_API_KEY=
+# PINECONE_INDEX=
 
 # Enable all below if you are using vector database: LanceDB.
-# VECTOR_DB="lancedb"
+VECTOR_DB="lancedb"
 
 # Enable all below if you are using vector database: Weaviate.
 # VECTOR_DB="weaviate"
@@ -58,6 +58,5 @@ PINECONE_INDEX=
 # AUTH_TOKEN="hunter2" # This is the password to your application if remote hosting.
 # NO_DEBUG="true"
 STORAGE_DIR="/app/server/storage"
-GOOGLE_APIS_KEY=
 UID='1000'
 GID='1000'
diff --git a/docker/Dockerfile b/docker/Dockerfile
index a6729b7667ac27e439f68fd2cfc0f74e65222ee7..28578cbdaf67c2530caf68183d0754813e75d930 100644
--- a/docker/Dockerfile
+++ b/docker/Dockerfile
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ RUN groupadd -g $ARG_GID anythingllm && \
 # Copy docker helper scripts
 COPY ./docker/docker-entrypoint.sh /usr/local/bin/
 COPY ./docker/docker-healthcheck.sh /usr/local/bin/
+COPY --chown=anythingllm:anythingllm ./docker/.env.example /app/server/.env
 
 # Ensure the scripts are executable
 RUN chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-entrypoint.sh && \
diff --git a/docker/HOW_TO_USE_DOCKER.md b/docker/HOW_TO_USE_DOCKER.md
index 2cc5a41ef4f557fc923ede7eebc9de5a99658227..b6a7f02a660268b3f96983ea124eadfd72b38899 100644
--- a/docker/HOW_TO_USE_DOCKER.md
+++ b/docker/HOW_TO_USE_DOCKER.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Use the Dockerized version of AnythingLLM for a much faster and complete startup
 - `git clone` this repo and `cd anything-llm` to get to the root directory.
 - `touch server/storage/anythingllm.db` to create empty SQLite DB file.
 - `cd docker/`
-- `cp .env.example .env`
+- `cp .env.example .env` **you must do this before building**
 - `docker-compose up -d --build` to build the image - this will take a few moments.
 
 Your docker host will show the image as online once the build process is completed. This will build the app to `http://localhost:3001`.
diff --git a/docker/docker-compose.yml b/docker/docker-compose.yml
index d9972426c4d28ac3c381dafb1ffd45203e20c438..ba1632aa71c18c4beb1e98d3ebe75b559bf1b294 100644
--- a/docker/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker/docker-compose.yml
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ services:
         ARG_UID: ${UID}
         ARG_GID: ${GID}
     volumes:
+      - "./.env:/app/server/.env"
       - "../server/storage:/app/server/storage"
       - "../collector/hotdir/:/app/collector/hotdir"
       - "../collector/outputs/:/app/collector/outputs"