diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index ef67b0a..71e228a 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 ETH_CLIENT_ADDRESS=wss://sepolia.infura.io/ws/v3/<key>
 ETH_TESTNET_KEY=012345privatekey
-RLN_RELAY_CRED_PASSWORD="my_secure_keystore_password"
\ No newline at end of file
+RLN_RELAY_CRED_PASSWORD="my_secure_keystore_password"
+NODEKEY=
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 210bd3f..145e465 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -14,12 +14,20 @@ You need:
 * Ethereum Sepolia account with some balance <0.01 Eth. Get some [here](https://www.infura.io/faucet/sepolia).
 * A password to protect your rln membership.
 
+You can either export the environment variable (keep in mind that this will expose your secrets in your shell history)
+
 ```
 export ETH_CLIENT_ADDRESS=wss://sepolia.infura.io/ws/v3/YOUR_INFURA_KEY
 export ETH_TESTNET_KEY=REPLACE_BY_YOUR_KEY
 export RLN_RELAY_CRED_PASSWORD=PICK_A_PASSWORD
 ```
 
+Or you can use `.env` file - copy the example and edit the variables inside
+
+```
+cp .env.example .env
+```
+
 **🔑 1. Register RLN membership**
 
 The RLN membership is your access key to The Waku Network. Its registration is done onchain, and allows your nwaku node to publish messages in a decentralized and private way, respecting some [rate limits](https://rfc.vac.dev/spec/64/#rate-limit-exceeded).