diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index b376e693d4a49e941472f91450d7dc7937651069..87725e6da2f14d20435f3bf9504e84bd09dd6903 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -26,4 +26,6 @@ objectsdb/
 # OSX related files
 .DS_Store
 shimmer
-goshimmer
\ No newline at end of file
+goshimmer
+
+config.json
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0fc5a332011783b0f344bdd9a11fdc1f4f250f0f..a44050959e3db9f83d0aed430e41f6d886f66657 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -148,7 +148,16 @@ If Go is installed, you should see the version that's installed.
 
 2. Change into the `goshimmer` directory
 
-3. Use one of the following commands to build your executable file, depending on your operating system
+3. Copy and adjust `config.default.json`
+
+    ```bash
+    # Linux and macOS
+    cp config.default.json config.json
+    # Windows
+    copy config.default.json config.json
+    ```
+
+4. Use one of the following commands to build your executable file, depending on your operating system
 
     ```bash
     # Linux and macOS
diff --git a/config.json b/config.default.json
similarity index 100%
rename from config.json
rename to config.default.json