diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 2d30a43..767cdca 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -6,8 +6,9 @@ CORS_ORIGINS=["http://localhost:5173","http://localhost:3000"]
 # Auth — default credentials: admin / admin
 # ⚠️  Change before exposing on a network.
 # Generate a new hash: python3 -c "from passlib.context import CryptContext; print(CryptContext(schemes=['bcrypt']).hash('yourpassword'))"
+# ⚠️  Keep the single quotes around the hash — bcrypt hashes contain \$ which Docker misinterprets without them.
 AUTH_USERNAME=admin
-AUTH_PASSWORD_HASH=$2b$12$RtMbyw17l4N5UGzeXMNAWuzCaVV.XFBY7ZetWheQhxcBDcxahapkG
+AUTH_PASSWORD_HASH='$2b$12$RtMbyw17l4N5UGzeXMNAWuzCaVV.XFBY7ZetWheQhxcBDcxahapkG'
 
 # Scanner — JSON array of CIDR ranges to scan
 SCANNER_RANGES=["192.168.1.0/24"]