diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2eea525
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+.env
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index cbf909c..53469e0 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -22,7 +22,9 @@ RUN apt-get install -y \
     openjdk-11-jdk:i386 \
     psmisc \
     supervisor \
-    wget
+    wget \
+    vim \
+    nano
 
 RUN apt-get clean && \
     rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
@@ -44,7 +46,26 @@ ENV ORACLE_HOME=/usr/lib/oracle/18.3/client
 ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/oracle/18.3/client/lib:/usr/include/oracle/18.3/client
 ENV JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-11-openjdk-i386
 
-RUN git clone https://github.com/SWG-Source/swg-main.git /swg-main
+# Declare build arguments with a default for the repo URL
+ARG REPO_URL=https://github.com/SWG-Source/swg-main.git
+ARG REPO_USERNAME
+ARG REPO_PASSWORD
+
+# Clone the repository, using credentials if provided
+RUN if [ -n "$REPO_USERNAME" ] && [ -n "$REPO_PASSWORD" ]; then \
+        # URL-encode the password to handle special characters
+        ENCODED_PASSWORD=$(echo "$REPO_PASSWORD" | sed -e 's/%/%25/g' -e 's/@/%40/g' -e 's/:/%3A/g' -e 's/\$/%24/g' -e 's/&/%26/g' -e 's/+/%2B/g' -e 's/,/%2C/g' -e 's|/|%2F|g' -e 's/;/%3B/g' -e 's/=/%3D/g' -e 's/?/%3F/g' -e 's/ /%20/g'); \
+        # Extract the hostname (e.g., gitlab.bmcstudios.org) from the repo URL
+        REPO_HOST=$(echo "$REPO_URL" | sed -e 's|https://||' -e 's|/.*||'); \
+        # Globally configure git to rewrite URLs for this host to include credentials.
+        # This ensures ALL git operations for this host are authenticated.
+        git config --global url."https://${REPO_USERNAME}:${ENCODED_PASSWORD}@${REPO_HOST}".insteadOf "https://${REPO_HOST}"; \
+        # Now clone the repository and its submodules. The rewrite rule will be applied automatically.
+        git clone --recurse-submodules "${REPO_URL}" /swg-main; \
+    else \
+        git clone --recurse-submodules "${REPO_URL}" /swg-main; \
+    fi
+
 WORKDIR /swg-main
 RUN ant git_update_submods
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f8bca63..1ce01fd 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,8 +1,36 @@
 # swg-docker
 
-Instructions:
-- Clone this repository
-- `docker compose up -d`
-- `docker exec -it swg bash` to log into a shell in the swg container
-- `ant swg` to compile the game and the assets
-- `ant start` to run the server
\ No newline at end of file
+This project sets up a development environment for SWG using Docker.
+
+## Instructions:
+
+1.  Clone this repository.
+2.  **(Optional)** To use a custom git repository for the server source, create a file named `.env` in this directory. See the "Custom Repository" section below for details.
+3.  Run `docker compose up -d --build` to build the images and start the services.
+4.  Run `docker exec -it swg bash` to log into a shell in the `swg` container.
+5.  Run `ant swg` to compile the game and the assets.
+6.  Run `ant start` to run the server.
+
+## Custom Repository
+
+You can configure the Docker build to pull the `swg-main` source from your own repository. Create a file named `.env` in the root of this project and add the following variables as needed.
+
+**Example `.env` file:**
+
+```.env
+# .env file for custom repository configuration
+
+# The full HTTPS URL to your git repository.
+# If left unset, it defaults to https://github.com/SWG-Source/swg-main.git
+REPO_URL=https://github.com/SWG-Source/swg-main.git
+
+# (Optional) Credentials for private repositories.
+# For security, it is highly recommended to use a Personal Access Token instead of your actual password.
+REPO_USERNAME=your-gitlab-username
+REPO_PASSWORD=your-personal-access-token
+
+# (Optional) Credentials for overriding the default oracle DB
+ORACLE_PASSWORD=YourSecureOraclePassword
+APP_USER=YourAppUser
+APP_USER_PASSWORD=YourSecureAppPassword
+```
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docker-compose.yaml b/docker-compose.yaml
index 195b395..a2ad20c 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yaml
+++ b/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@ services:
     ports:
       - "1521:1521"
     environment:
-      ORACLE_PASSWORD: swg
-      APP_USER: swg
-      APP_USER_PASSWORD: swg
+      ORACLE_PASSWORD: ${ORACLE_PASSWORD:-swg}
+      APP_USER: ${APP_USER:-swg}
+      APP_USER_PASSWORD: ${APP_USER_PASSWORD:-swg}
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD", "healthcheck.sh"]
       interval: 10s
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@ services:
         condition: service_healthy
     build:
       context: .
+      args:
+        - REPO_URL=${REPO_URL}
+        - REPO_USERNAME=${REPO_USERNAME}
+        - REPO_PASSWORD=${REPO_PASSWORD}
     ports:
       - "44451-44453:44451-44453/tcp"
       - "44462-44464:44462-44464/tcp"
@@ -36,9 +40,9 @@ services:
     environment:
       DB_HOST: oracle
       DB_PORT: 1521
-      DB_USER: swg
-      ORACLE_PASSWORD: swg
-      DB_PASSWORD: swg
+      DB_USER: ${APP_USER:-swg}
+      ORACLE_PASSWORD: ${ORACLE_PASSWORD:-swg}
+      DB_PASSWORD: ${APP_USER_PASSWORD:-swg}
     tty: true
     stdin_open: true
     volumes: