diff --git a/.env b/.env
index 650763a..e2e9725 100644
--- a/.env
+++ b/.env
@@ -12,10 +12,16 @@ SCRIPT_RESTORE_DATA_TO=/path/to/restore/data
 # to access log files outside of the container, default not needed (optional)
 SCRIPT_LOG_PATH=/path/to/logfiles
 
-### storagebox settings (needed)
-ENV_TARGET_DOMAIN=name_of_your_storagebox_domain
-ENV_TARGET_DOMAIN_USER=login_name_of_your_storagebox
-ENV_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY='your private key between single quotes'
+### nextcloud when used
+ENV_NC_URL=url_of_your_nextcloud
+ENV_NC_USER=your_nextcloud_user
+ENV_NC_PASS='password to your nextcloud between single quotes'
+
+### postgres when used
+ENV_POSTGRES_USER="user of your postgres database"
+ENV_POSTGRES_PASSWORD="password of your postgres database"
+ENV_POSTGRES_DATABASE="name of your postgres database"
+ENV_POSTGRES_HOST="host of your postgres database"
 
 ### restic (needed)
 ENV_RESTIC_REPOSITORY_NAME=name_of_your_repository
@@ -32,13 +38,7 @@ ENV_CRON='0 1 * * *'
 ### possible values: "postgres", "nextcloud", "none"
 ENV_PROVISION_MODE="nextcloud"
 
-### nextcloud when used
-ENV_NC_URL=url_of_your_nextcloud
-ENV_NC_USER=your_nextcloud_user
-ENV_NC_PASS='password to your nextcloud between single quotes'
-
-### postgres when used
-ENV_POSTGRES_USER="user of your postgres database"
-ENV_POSTGRES_PASSWORD="password of your postgres database"
-ENV_POSTGRES_DATABASE="name of your postgres database"
-ENV_POSTGRES_HOST="host of your postgres database"
+### storagebox settings (needed)
+ENV_TARGET_DOMAIN=name_of_your_storagebox_domain
+ENV_TARGET_DOMAIN_USER=login_name_of_your_storagebox
+ENV_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_BASE64='your private key between single quotes as base64 encoded string'
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 31196ac..7d7c333 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -49,12 +49,18 @@ When used with Hetzner Storagebox, follow this [guide](https://docs.hetzner.com/
 
 ### 2. Download the script and .env file
 * `curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/realAP/backup/main/run_backup.sh`
-* `curl -0 https://raw.githubusercontent.com/realAP/backup/main/.env`
+* `curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/realAP/backup/main/.env`
 * make the script executable `chmod +x run_backup.sh`
 
 ### 3. Set .env file
 Fill all needed variables in the `.env` file, it is provided with example values.
 
+* For ``ENV_TELEGRAM_TOKEN`` token see [here](https://core.telegram.org/bots/features#creating-a-new-bot)
+* For ``ENV_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID`` see [here](https://stackoverflow.com/a/32572159)
+* For ``ENV_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_BASE64`` you can use the following command to get the base64 encoded private key in the `.env` file
+  * ``echo "ENV_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_BASE=$(cat <insert path of private key> | base64)" >> .env``
+  * ATTENTION: you have to remove the template key in the `.env` file afterward
+
 ### 4. Run Backup
 Just run the script `./run_backup.sh` the backup will immediately start and repeat every day at 1am (default).
 For the first run, the script will initialize the restic repository.
diff --git a/docker/prepare_ssh.sh b/docker/prepare_ssh.sh
index f4cbf92..2dfe04c 100644
--- a/docker/prepare_ssh.sh
+++ b/docker/prepare_ssh.sh
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ fi
 ssh-keyscan -t rsa $TARGET_DOMAIN > /etc/ssh/ssh_known_hosts
 
 # Create the private key file
-echo "$SSH_PRIVATE_KEY" > /private_key
+echo "$SSH_PRIVATE_KEY" | base64 --decode > /private_key
 chmod 600 /private_key
 
 # Create the ssh_config file