diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6a739b0..6266e6c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -55,7 +55,13 @@ docker compose up -d
 | `9091` | Authelia web portal |
 | `8080` | Authelia-API (user management API) |
 
-The container handles first-time bootstrap automatically — the admin user is created using the `session.secret` value from your Authelia config as the API bearer token.
+**First-time authentication**: The container creates an admin user automatically on startup by reading the `session.secret` from your Authelia config. Whatever value you set for `session.secret` in `configuration.yml` becomes your initial bearer token — there is nothing to fetch. For example:
+
+```bash
+curl -H "Authorization: Bearer your-session-secret-value" http://localhost:8080/api/health
+```
+
+**Authelia configuration reference**: The example file at `docker/configuration.yml.example` covers the essentials, but Authelia has many more options. See the [official Authelia configuration docs](https://www.authelia.com/configuration/) for details on secrets, domains, authentication backends, and access control rules.
 
 ### Development Installation