diff --git a/k8s/deployment.yaml b/k8s/deployment.yaml
index 4b828d5..74e857c 100644
--- a/k8s/deployment.yaml
+++ b/k8s/deployment.yaml
@@ -31,9 +31,6 @@ spec:
               value: "https://humorunits.com"
             - name: ALLOWED_ORIGINS
               value: "https://humorunits.com,https://www.humorunits.com,https://dickloads.com,https://www.dickloads.com"
-          envFrom:
-            - secretRef:
-                name: humor-units-secrets  # SESSION_SECRET, PASSWORD_HASH
           volumeMounts:
             - name: data
               mountPath: /app/data
diff --git a/src/lib/server/data.ts b/src/lib/server/data.ts
index 5e4af00..f2f3806 100644
--- a/src/lib/server/data.ts
+++ b/src/lib/server/data.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-import { readFileSync, writeFileSync, renameSync } from 'fs';
+import { readFileSync, writeFileSync, renameSync, existsSync, mkdirSync } from 'fs';
+import { randomBytes } from 'crypto';
 import { resolve } from 'path';
 import type { UnitsData } from '$lib/types';
 
@@ -25,6 +26,9 @@ export interface AppConfig {
 
 /** Read units.json synchronously. Returns parsed UnitsData. */
 export function loadData(): UnitsData {
+  if (!existsSync(UNITS_PATH)) {
+    throw new Error(`[humor-units] units.json not found at ${UNITS_PATH}. Mount it via a ConfigMap or PVC.`);
+  }
   const raw = readFileSync(UNITS_PATH, 'utf8');
   return JSON.parse(raw) as UnitsData;
 }
@@ -36,8 +40,20 @@ export function saveData(data: UnitsData): void {
   renameSync(tmp, UNITS_PATH);
 }
 
-/** Read config.json synchronously. */
+/** Read config.json synchronously. Creates a default config on first run if missing. */
 export function loadConfig(): AppConfig {
+  if (!existsSync(CONFIG_PATH)) {
+    mkdirSync(DATA_DIR, { recursive: true });
+    const defaultConfig: AppConfig = {
+      adminPath: 'admin',
+      passwordHash: '',
+      sessionSecret: randomBytes(32).toString('hex'),
+    };
+    writeFileSync(CONFIG_PATH, JSON.stringify(defaultConfig, null, 2) + '\n', 'utf8');
+    console.log('[humor-units] First run: generated default config.json with random sessionSecret.');
+    console.log('[humor-units] Set an admin password via: node scripts/set-password.js <password>');
+    return defaultConfig;
+  }
   const raw = readFileSync(CONFIG_PATH, 'utf8');
   return JSON.parse(raw) as AppConfig;
 }