diff --git a/.env b/.env
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..35a9fbc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+COMPOSE_RESTART_POLICY=unless-stopped
+
+MYSQL_IMAGE=mysql:8.4
+MYSQL_CONTAINER_NAME=social-raiting-mysql
+MYSQL_HOST_PORT=3306
+MYSQL_VOLUME_NAME=mysql_data
+MYSQL_HEALTHCHECK_INTERVAL=10s
+MYSQL_HEALTHCHECK_TIMEOUT=5s
+MYSQL_HEALTHCHECK_RETRIES=10
+
+MYSQL_DATABASE=social_raiting
+MYSQL_USER=social_raiting
+MYSQL_PASSWORD=change-db-password
+MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=change-root-password
+
+BACKEND_BUILD_CONTEXT=./backend
+BACKEND_DOCKERFILE=Dockerfile
+BACKEND_CONTAINER_NAME=social-raiting-backend
+BACKEND_HOST_PORT=8080
+
+SWAGGER_UI_IMAGE=swaggerapi/swagger-ui
+SWAGGER_UI_CONTAINER_NAME=social-raiting-swagger-ui
+SWAGGER_UI_HOST_PORT=8081
+SWAGGER_SPEC_PATH=./backend/docs/swagger.yaml
+
+SERVER_PORT=8080
+JWT_SECRET=replace-with-a-long-random-secret
+
+DB_HOST=mysql
+DB_PORT=3306
+DB_NAME=social_raiting
+DB_USER=social_raiting
+DB_PASSWORD=change-db-password
+
+DEFAULT_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@example.com
+DEFAULT_ADMIN_PASSWORD=change-admin-password
diff --git a/backend/internal/database/mysql.go b/backend/internal/database/mysql.go
index 9229219..89d4f30 100644
--- a/backend/internal/database/mysql.go
+++ b/backend/internal/database/mysql.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package database
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
 	"strings"
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ import (
 
 	"gorm.io/driver/mysql"
 	"gorm.io/gorm"
+	"gorm.io/gorm/clause"
 )
 
 func Connect(cfg config.Config) *gorm.DB {
@@ -74,7 +76,7 @@ func ensureDefaultAdmin(db *gorm.DB, cfg config.Config) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	if err != gorm.ErrRecordNotFound {
+	if !errors.Is(err, gorm.ErrRecordNotFound) {
 		log.Fatalf("failed to check default admin user: %v", err)
 	}
 
@@ -88,7 +90,20 @@ func ensureDefaultAdmin(db *gorm.DB, cfg config.Config) {
 		PasswordHash: string(passwordHash),
 		IsAdmin:      true,
 	}
-	if err := db.Create(&user).Error; err != nil {
+	if err := db.Clauses(clause.OnConflict{
+		Columns:   []clause.Column{{Name: "email"}},
+		DoNothing: true,
+	}).Create(&user).Error; err != nil {
 		log.Fatalf("failed to create default admin user: %v", err)
 	}
+
+	if err := db.Where("email = ?", email).First(&user).Error; err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("failed to load default admin user after bootstrap: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if !user.IsAdmin {
+		if err := db.Model(&user).Update("is_admin", true).Error; err != nil {
+			log.Fatalf("failed to ensure default admin privileges: %v", err)
+		}
+	}
 }
diff --git a/backend/internal/models/user.go b/backend/internal/models/user.go
index 1f7cd11..2d7510a 100644
--- a/backend/internal/models/user.go
+++ b/backend/internal/models/user.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"gorm.io/gorm"
+	"gorm.io/gorm/clause"
 )
 
 type User struct {
@@ -17,7 +18,10 @@ type User struct {
 }
 
 func (u *User) AfterCreate(tx *gorm.DB) error {
-	return tx.FirstOrCreate(&UserSocialRating{}, UserSocialRating{
-		UserID: u.ID,
-	}).Error
+	rating := UserSocialRating{UserID: u.ID}
+
+	return tx.
+		Omit(clause.Associations).
+		Where("user_id = ?", u.ID).
+		FirstOrCreate(&rating).Error
 }
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index df8531b..9c25e74 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ services:
     ports:
       - "${MYSQL_HOST_PORT}:3306"
     volumes:
-      - ${MYSQL_VOLUME_NAME}:/var/lib/mysql
+      - volume:/var/lib/mysql
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD", "mysqladmin", "ping", "-h", "127.0.0.1", "-uroot", "-p${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}"]
       interval: ${MYSQL_HEALTHCHECK_INTERVAL}
@@ -43,4 +43,4 @@ services:
       - ${SWAGGER_SPEC_PATH}:/usr/share/nginx/html/swagger.yaml:ro
 
 volumes:
-  ${MYSQL_VOLUME_NAME}:
+  volume: