diff --git a/.env.local.example b/.env.local.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4b85e88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.local.example
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+# every field in here is optional except, CORE_SECRET and CORE_DATABASE_URL.
+# if CORE_SECRET is still "changethis" then zipline will exit and tell you to change it.
+
+# if using s3/swift make sure to comment out the other datasources
+
+CORE_SECURE=true
+CORE_SECRET="changethis"
+CORE_HOST=0.0.0.0
+CORE_PORT=3000
+CORE_DATABASE_URL="postgres://postgres:postgres@localhost/zip10"
+CORE_LOGGER=false
+CORE_STATS_INTERVAL=1800
+
+# default
+DATASOURCE_TYPE=local
+DATASOURCE_LOCAL_DIRECTORY=./uploads
+
+# or you can choose to use s3
+DATASOURCE_TYPE=s3
+DATASOURCE_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=key
+DATASOURCE_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=secret
+DATASOURCE_S3_BUCKET=bucket
+DATASOURCE_S3_ENDPOINT=s3.amazonaws.com
+DATASOURCE_S3_REGION=us-west-2
+DATASOURCE_S3_FORCE_S3_PATH=false
+
+# or you can use swift
+DATASOURCE_TYPE=swift
+DATASOURCE_SWIFT_CONTAINER=container
+DATASOURCE_SWIFT_AUTH_ENDPOINT="https://something/v3"
+DATASOURCE_SWIFT_USERNAME=username
+DATASOURCE_SWIFT_PASSWORD=password
+DATASOURCE_SWIFT_PROJECT_ID=project_id
+DATASOURCE_SWIFT_DOMAIN_ID=domain_id
+
+UPLOADER_ROUTE=/u
+UPLOADER_LENGTH=6
+UPLOADER_ADMIN_LIMIT=104900000
+UPLOADER_USER_LIMIT=104900000
+UPLOADER_DISABLED_EXTENSIONS=someext
+
+URLS_ROUTE=/go
+URLS_LENGTH=6
+
+RATELIMIT_USER = 5
+RATELIMIT_ADMIN = 3
+
+META_DESCRIPTION="zipline cool"
+META_KEYWORDS="zipline,cool,image,uploads,sharing"
+META_THEME_COLOR="#000000"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/config.example.toml b/config.example.toml
deleted file mode 100644
index 7136a6d..0000000
--- a/config.example.toml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,44 +0,0 @@
-[core]
-secure = true # whether to return https or http in links
-secret = 'changethis' # change this or zipline will not work
-host = '0.0.0.0'
-port = 3000
-database_url = 'postgres://postgres:postgres@postgres/postgres'
-
-[datasource]
-type = 'local' # s3, local, or swift
-
-[datasource.local]
-directory = './uploads' # directory to store uploads in
-
-[datasource.s3]
-access_key_id = 'AKIAEXAMPLEKEY'
-secret_access_key = 'somethingsomethingsomething'
-bucket = 'zipline-storage'
-endpoint = 's3.amazonaws.com'
-region = 'us-west-2' # not required, defaults to us-east-1 if not specified
-force_s3_path = false
-
-[datasource.swift]
-container = 'default'
-auth_endpoint = 'http://127.0.0.1:49155/v3' # only supports v3 swift endpoints at the moment.
-username = 'swift'
-password = 'fingertips'
-project_id = 'Default'
-domain_id = 'Default'
-
-[urls]
-route = '/go'
-length = 6
-
-[uploader]
-route = '/u'
-embed_route = '/a'
-length = 6
-user_limit = 104900000 # 100mb
-admin_limit = 104900000 # 100mb
-disabled_extensions = ['jpg']
-
-[ratelimit]
-user = 5 # 5 seconds
-admin = 0 # 0 seconds, disabled
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 7e62ed3..88b99b8 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -31,6 +31,9 @@
     "argon2": "^0.28.5",
     "colorette": "^2.0.19",
     "cookie": "^0.5.0",
+    "dot-prop": "^7.2.0",
+    "dotenv": "^16.0.1",
+    "dotenv-expand": "^8.0.3",
     "fecha": "^4.2.3",
     "fflate": "^0.7.3",
     "find-my-way": "^6.3.0",
diff --git a/src/lib/config/Config.ts b/src/lib/config/Config.ts
index ae0b3ce..5ed4137 100644
--- a/src/lib/config/Config.ts
+++ b/src/lib/config/Config.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 export interface ConfigCore {
   // Whether to return http or https links
-  secure: boolean;
+  https: boolean;
 
   // Used for signing of cookies and other stuff
   secret: string;
@@ -105,10 +105,18 @@ export interface ConfigRatelimit {
   admin: number;
 }
 
+// Metadata for the site
+export interface ConfigMeta {
+  description: string;
+  theme_color: string;
+  keywords: string;
+}
+
 export interface Config {
   core: ConfigCore;
   uploader: ConfigUploader;
   urls: ConfigUrls;
   ratelimit: ConfigRatelimit;
   datasource: ConfigDatasource;
+  meta: ConfigMeta;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/lib/config/readConfig.ts b/src/lib/config/readConfig.ts
index 9c03f5b..e6a6919 100644
--- a/src/lib/config/readConfig.ts
+++ b/src/lib/config/readConfig.ts
@@ -1,168 +1,117 @@
+import { parse } from 'dotenv';
+import { expand } from 'dotenv-expand';
 import { existsSync, readFileSync } from 'fs';
-import { join } from 'path';
-import parse from '@iarna/toml/parse-string';
-import Logger from '../logger';
-import { Config } from './Config';
 
-const e = (val, type, fn: (c: Config, v: any) => void) => ({ val, type, fn });
+function isObject(value: any): value is Record<string, any> {
+  return typeof value === 'object' && value !== null;
+}
 
-const envValues = [
-  e('SECURE', 'boolean', (c, v) => c.core.secure = v),
-  e('SECRET', 'string', (c, v) => c.core.secret = v),
-  e('HOST', 'string', (c, v) => c.core.host = v),
-  e('PORT', 'number', (c, v) => c.core.port = v),
-  e('DATABASE_URL', 'string', (c, v) => c.core.database_url = v),
-  e('LOGGER', 'boolean', (c, v) => c.core.logger = v ?? true),
-  e('STATS_INTERVAL', 'number', (c, v) => c.core.stats_interval = v),
+function set(object: Record<string, any>, property: string, value: any) {
+  const parts = property.split('.');
 
-  e('DATASOURCE_TYPE', 'string', (c, v) => c.datasource.type = v),
-  e('DATASOURCE_LOCAL_DIRECTORY', 'string', (c, v) => c.datasource.local.directory = v),
-  e('DATASOURCE_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID', 'string', (c, v) => c.datasource.s3.access_key_id = v),
-  e('DATASOURCE_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY', 'string', (c, v) => c.datasource.s3.secret_access_key = v),
-  e('DATASOURCE_S3_ENDPOINT', 'string', (c, v) => c.datasource.s3.endpoint = v ?? null),
-  e('DATASOURCE_S3_FORCE_S3_PATH', 'boolean', (c, v) => c.datasource.s3.force_s3_path = v ?? false),
-  e('DATASOURCE_S3_BUCKET', 'string', (c, v) => c.datasource.s3.bucket = v),
-  e('DATASOURCE_S3_REGION', 'string', (c, v) => c.datasource.s3.region = v ?? 'us-east-1'),
+  for (let i = 0; i < parts.length; ++i) {
+    const key = parts[i];
 
-  e('DATASOURCE_SWIFT_CONTAINER', 'string', (c, v) => c.datasource.swift.container = v),
-  e('DATASOURCE_SWIFT_USERNAME', 'string', (c, v) => c.datasource.swift.username = v),
-  e('DATASOURCE_SWIFT_PASSWORD', 'string', (c, v) => c.datasource.swift.password = v),
-  e('DATASOURCE_SWIFT_AUTH_ENDPOINT', 'string', (c, v) => c.datasource.swift.auth_endpoint = v),
-  e('DATASOURCE_SWIFT_PROJECT_ID', 'string', (c, v) => c.datasource.swift.project_id = v),
-  e('DATASOURCE_SWIFT_DOMAIN_ID', 'string', (c, v) => c.datasource.swift.domain_id = v),
-  e('DATASOURCE_SWIFT_REGION_ID', 'string', (c, v) => c.datasource.swift.region_id = v),
+    if (i === parts.length - 1) {
+      object[key] = value;
+    } else if (!isObject(object[key])) {
+      object[key] = typeof parts[i + 1] === 'number' ? [] : {};
+    }
 
-  e('UPLOADER_ROUTE', 'string', (c, v) => c.uploader.route = v),
-  e('UPLOADER_LENGTH', 'number', (c, v) => c.uploader.length = v),
-  e('UPLOADER_ADMIN_LIMIT', 'number', (c, v) => c.uploader.admin_limit = v),
-  e('UPLOADER_USER_LIMIT', 'number', (c, v) => c.uploader.user_limit = v),
-  e('UPLOADER_DISABLED_EXTS', 'array', (c, v) => v ? c.uploader.disabled_extensions = v : c.uploader.disabled_extensions = []),
-
-  e('URLS_ROUTE', 'string', (c, v) => c.urls.route = v),
-  e('URLS_LENGTH', 'number', (c, v) => c.urls.length = v),
-
-  e('RATELIMIT_USER', 'number', (c, v) => c.ratelimit.user = v ?? 0),
-  e('RATELIMIT_ADMIN', 'number', (c, v) => c.ratelimit.user = v ?? 0),
-];
-
-export default function readConfig(): Config {
-  if (!existsSync(join(process.cwd(), 'config.toml'))) {
-    if (!process.env.ZIPLINE_DOCKER_BUILD) Logger.get('config').info('reading environment');
-    return tryReadEnv();
-  } else {
-    if (process.env.ZIPLINE_DOCKER_BUILD) return;
-
-    Logger.get('config').info('reading config file');
-    const str = readFileSync(join(process.cwd(), 'config.toml'), 'utf8');
-    const parsed = parse(str);
-
-    return parsed;
+    object = object[key];
   }
-};
 
-function tryReadEnv(): Config {
-  const config = {
-    core: {
-      secure: undefined,
-      secret: undefined,
-      host: undefined,
-      port: undefined,
-      database_url: undefined,
-      logger: undefined,
-      stats_interval: undefined,
-    },
-    datasource: {
-      type: undefined,
-      local: {
-        directory: undefined,
-      },
-      s3: {
-        access_key_id: undefined,
-        secret_access_key: undefined,
-        endpoint: undefined,
-        bucket: undefined,
-        force_s3_path: undefined,
-        region: undefined,
-      },
-      swift: {
-        username: undefined,
-        password: undefined,
-        auth_endpoint: undefined,
-        container: undefined,
-        project_id: undefined,
-        domain_id: undefined,
-        region_id: undefined,
-      },
-    },
-    uploader: {
-      route: undefined,
-      length: undefined,
-      admin_limit: undefined,
-      user_limit: undefined,
-      disabled_extensions: undefined,
-    },
-    urls: {
-      route: undefined,
-      length: undefined,
-    },
-    ratelimit: {
-      user: undefined,
-      admin: undefined,
-    },
+  return object;
+}
+
+function map(env: string, type: 'string' | 'number' | 'boolean' | 'array', path: string) {
+  return {
+    env,
+    type,
+    path,
   };
+}
 
-  for (let i = 0, L = envValues.length; i !== L; ++i) {
-    const envValue = envValues[i];
-    let value: any = process.env[envValue.val];
+export default function readConfig() {
+  if (existsSync('.env.local')) {
+    const contents = readFileSync('.env.local');
 
-    if (!value) {
-      envValues[i].fn(config, undefined);
-    } else {
-      envValues[i].fn(config, value);
-      if (envValue.type === 'number') value = parseToNumber(value);
-      else if (envValue.type === 'boolean') value = parseToBoolean(value);
-      else if (envValue.type === 'array') value = parseToArray(value);
-      envValues[i].fn(config, value);
+    expand({
+      parsed: parse(contents),
+    });
+  }
+
+  const maps = [
+    map('CORE_HTTPS', 'boolean', 'core.secure'),
+    map('CORE_SECRET', 'string', 'core.secret'),
+    map('CORE_HOST', 'string', 'core.host'),
+    map('CORE_PORT', 'number', 'core.port'),
+    map('CORE_DATABASE_URL', 'string', 'core.database_url'),
+    map('CORE_LOGGER', 'boolean', 'core.logger'),
+    map('CORE_STATS_INTERVAL', 'number', 'core.stats_interval'),
+
+    map('DATASOURCE_TYPE', 'string', 'datasource.type'),
+
+    map('DATASOURCE_LOCAL_DIRECTORY', 'string', 'datasource.local.directory'),
+
+    map('DATASOURCE_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID', 'string', 'datasource.s3.access_key_id'),
+    map('DATASOURCE_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY', 'string', 'datasource.s3.secret_access_key'),
+    map('DATASOURCE_S3_ENDPOINT', 'string', 'datasource.s3.endpoint'),
+    map('DATASOURCE_S3_BUCKET', 'string', 'datasource.s3.bucket'),
+    map('DATASOURCE_S3_FORCE_S3_PATH', 'boolean', 'datasource.s3.force_s3_path'),
+    map('DATASOURCE_S3_REGION', 'string', 'datasource.s3.region'),
+
+    map('DATASOURCE_SWIFT_USERNAME', 'string', 'datasource.swift.username'),
+    map('DATASOURCE_SWIFT_PASSWORD', 'string', 'datasource.swift.password'),
+    map('DATASOURCE_SWIFT_AUTH_ENDPOINT', 'string', 'datasource.swift.auth_endpoint'),
+    map('DATASOURCE_SWIFT_CONTAINER', 'string', 'datasource.swift.container'),
+    map('DATASOURCE_SWIFT_PROJECT_ID', 'string', 'datasource.swift.project_id'),
+    map('DATASOURCE_SWIFT_DOMAIN_ID', 'string', 'datasource.swift.domain_id'),
+    map('DATASOURCE_SWIFT_REGION_ID', 'string', 'datasource.swift.region_id'),
+
+    map('UPLOADER_ROUTE', 'string', 'uploader.route'),
+    map('UPLOADER_LENGTH', 'number', 'uploader.length'),
+    map('UPLOADER_ADMIN_LIMIT', 'number', 'uploader.admin_limit'),
+    map('UPLOADER_USER_LIMIT', 'number', 'uploader.user_limit'),
+    map('UPLOADER_DISABLED_EXTENSIONS', 'array', 'uploader.disabled_extensions'),
+
+    map('URLS_ROUTE', 'string', 'urls.route'),
+    map('URLS_LENGTH', 'number', 'urls.length'),
+
+    map('RATELIMIT_USER', 'number', 'ratelimit.user'),
+    map('RATELIMIT_ADMIN', 'number', 'ratelimit.admin'),
+
+    map('META_DESCRITPION', 'string', 'meta.description'),
+    map('META_KEYWORDS', 'string', 'meta.keywords'),
+    map('META_THEME_COLOR', 'string', 'meta.theme_color'),
+  ];
+
+  const config = {};
+
+  for (let i = 0; i !== maps.length; ++i) {
+    const map = maps[i];
+
+    const value = process.env[map.env];
+
+    if (value) {
+      let parsed: any;
+      switch (map.type) {
+        case 'array':
+          parsed = value.split(',');
+          break;
+        case 'number':
+          parsed = Number(value);
+          break;
+        case 'boolean':
+          parsed = value === 'true';
+          break;
+        default:
+          parsed = value;
+      };
+
+      set(config, map.path, parsed);
     }
   }
 
-
-  switch (config.datasource.type) {
-    case 's3':
-      config.datasource.swift = undefined;
-      break;
-    case 'swift':
-      config.datasource.s3 = undefined;
-      break;
-    case 'local':
-      config.datasource.s3 = undefined;
-      config.datasource.swift = undefined;
-      break;
-    default:
-      config.datasource.local = {
-        directory: null,
-      };
-      config.datasource.s3 = undefined;
-      config.datasource.swift = undefined;
-      break;
-  }
-
   return config;
-}
-
-function parseToNumber(value) {
-  // infer that it is a string since env values are only strings
-  const number = Number(value);
-  if (isNaN(number)) return undefined;
-  return number;
-}
-
-function parseToBoolean(value) {
-  // infer that it is a string since env values are only strings
-  if (!value || value === 'false') return false;
-  else return true;
-}
-
-function parseToArray(value) {
-  return value.split(',');
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/lib/config/validateConfig.ts b/src/lib/config/validateConfig.ts
index 61812bb..f34cc7d 100644
--- a/src/lib/config/validateConfig.ts
+++ b/src/lib/config/validateConfig.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { object, bool, string, number, boolean, array } from 'yup';
 
 const validator = object({
   core: object({
-    secure: bool().default(false),
+    https: bool().default(false),
     secret: string().min(8).required(),
     host: string().default('0.0.0.0'),
     port: number().default(3000),
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ const validator = object({
       project_id: string(),
       domain_id: string().default('default'),
       region_id: string().nullable(),
-    }).notRequired(),
+    }).nullable().notRequired(),
   }).required(),
   uploader: object({
     route: string().default('/u'),
@@ -50,6 +50,11 @@ const validator = object({
     user: number().default(0),
     admin: number().default(0),
   }),
+  meta: object({
+    description: string().nullable().notRequired(),
+    theme_color: string().nullable().notRequired(),
+    keywords: string().nullable().notRequired(),
+  }).notRequired(),
 });
 
 export default function validate(config): Config {
diff --git a/src/server/index.ts b/src/server/index.ts
index 87f16d3..9e7c71a 100644
--- a/src/server/index.ts
+++ b/src/server/index.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { NextServer, RequestHandler } from 'next/dist/server/next';
 import { Image, PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client';
 import { createServer, IncomingMessage, OutgoingMessage, ServerResponse } from 'http';
 import { extname } from 'path';
-import { mkdir } from 'fs/promises';
+import { mkdir, readFile } from 'fs/promises';
 import { getStats, log, migrations } from './util';
 import Logger from '../lib/logger';
 import mimes from '../lib/mimes';
@@ -34,7 +34,8 @@ async function start() {
     logger.error('Running Zipline as is, without a randomized secret is not recommended and leaves your instance at risk!');
     logger.error('Please change your secret in the config file or environment variables.');
     logger.error('The config file is located at `config.toml`, or if using docker-compose you can change the variables in the `docker-compose.yml` file.');
-    logger.error('It is recomended to use a secret that is alphanumeric and randomized. A way you can generate this is through a password manager you may have.');
+    logger.error('It is recomended to use a secret that is alphanumeric and randomized.');
+    logger.error('A way you can generate this is through a password manager you may have.');
     process.exit(1);
   };
 
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index a3d7bf6..c8a7f6c 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -2874,7 +2874,23 @@ __metadata:
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
-"dotenv@npm:16.0.1":
+"dot-prop@npm:^7.2.0":
+  version: 7.2.0
+  resolution: "dot-prop@npm:7.2.0"
+  dependencies:
+    type-fest: ^2.11.2
+  checksum: 08e4ff14f7305ffb5fda7e4c88f3cdbeb3cd97bd27efa4f47503869a2ee7f96938b4c21b0a2abf9c37d891a1bdb3994a09d219b0dcfd6130da4eaeb44c6f067e
+  languageName: node
+  linkType: hard
+
+"dotenv-expand@npm:^8.0.3":
+  version: 8.0.3
+  resolution: "dotenv-expand@npm:8.0.3"
+  checksum: 128ce90ac825b543de3ece0154a51b056ab0dc36bb26d97a68cd0b8707327ecd3c182fb6ac63b26a0fcdfa85064419906a1065cb634f1f9dc08ad311375f1fc0
+  languageName: node
+  linkType: hard
+
+"dotenv@npm:16.0.1, dotenv@npm:^16.0.1":
   version: 16.0.1
   resolution: "dotenv@npm:16.0.1"
   checksum: f459ffce07b977b7f15d8cc4ee69cdff77d4dd8c5dc8c85d2d485ee84655352c2415f9dd09d42b5b5985ced3be186130871b34e2f3e2569ebc72fbc2e8096792
@@ -7779,6 +7795,13 @@ __metadata:
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
+"type-fest@npm:^2.11.2":
+  version: 2.16.0
+  resolution: "type-fest@npm:2.16.0"
+  checksum: 897fc5f6833de5ade5c4841d034bdfb6aaa168f24f725354ad13320b2a463b9df03a7a664b836b4c3bc7d9f92b22a25c26fe24668a35caf3b7a9ea5fcb847b8d
+  languageName: node
+  linkType: hard
+
 "type-is@npm:^1.6.4":
   version: 1.6.18
   resolution: "type-is@npm:1.6.18"
@@ -8236,6 +8259,9 @@ __metadata:
     babel-plugin-import: ^1.13.5
     colorette: ^2.0.19
     cookie: ^0.5.0
+    dot-prop: ^7.2.0
+    dotenv: ^16.0.1
+    dotenv-expand: ^8.0.3
     esbuild: ^0.14.44
     eslint: ^7.32.0
     eslint-config-next: 12.1.6