diff --git a/.env b/.env
deleted file mode 100644
index fbfc976..0000000
--- a/.env
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-# CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_TOKENS controls the maximum token limit for Claude Code sessions
-# This is used by the Claude Agent SDK to set the context window size for AI analysis
-# Higher values allow for more comprehensive code analysis but consume more tokens
-# Default: 64000 tokens (sufficient for most penetration testing tasks)
-CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_TOKENS=64000
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index c0d7b8f..a870073 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -109,7 +109,6 @@ WORKDIR /app
 
 # Copy package.json and package-lock.json first for better caching
 COPY package*.json ./
-COPY .env ./.env
 
 # Install Node.js dependencies as root
 RUN npm ci --only=production && \
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2684e66..bbb5869 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -107,15 +107,19 @@ Shannon is available in two editions:
 
 You need either a **Claude Code OAuth token** or an **Anthropic API key** to run Shannon. Get your token from the [Anthropic Console](https://console.anthropic.com) and pass it to Docker via the `-e` flag.
 
-### Environment Configuration (Optional)
+### Environment Configuration (Recommended)
 
-To prevent Claude Code from hitting token limits during long report generation, set the max output tokens before running Shannon:
+To prevent Claude Code from hitting token limits during long report generation, set the max output tokens environment variable:
 
+**For local runs:**
 ```bash
 export CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS=64000
 ```
 
-This is especially useful for extensive penetration testing reports or when analyzing large codebases.
+**For Docker runs:**
+```bash
+-e CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS=64000
+```
 
 ### Quick Start with Docker
 
@@ -164,6 +168,7 @@ docker run --rm -it \
       --cap-add=NET_RAW \
       --cap-add=NET_ADMIN \
       -e CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN="$CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN" \
+      -e CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS=64000 \
       -v "$(pwd)/repos:/app/repos" \
       -v "$(pwd)/configs:/app/configs" \
       shannon:latest \
@@ -180,6 +185,7 @@ docker run --rm -it \
       --cap-add=NET_RAW \
       --cap-add=NET_ADMIN \
       -e ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="$ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
+      -e CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS=64000 \
       -v "$(pwd)/repos:/app/repos" \
       -v "$(pwd)/configs:/app/configs" \
       shannon:latest \