diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 95c3dce..52dd8b2 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ go.work.sum
 
 # env file
 .env
+.envrc
 
 # Editor/IDE
 # .idea/
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e374e86..b91202b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -14,22 +14,21 @@ Simple no-frills .gitignore generator backed by the Github API.
 go install github.com/onyx-and-iris/ignr-cli@latest
 ```
 
-## Authentication
+## Configuration
 
-You can run this tool without authenticating but requests will have a stricter rate limiting. 
+*flags*
 
-If you prefer to authenticate you can pass a token in the following ways:
+-   --token/-t: GitHub authentication token
+    -   note, this tool can be used **without** authenticating but rate limiting will be stricter.
+-   --height/-H: Height of the selection prompt (default 20)
 
-*Flag*
-
--   --token/-t: Github API Token
-
-*Environment Variable*
+*environment variables*
 
 ```bash
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 
-export GH_TOKEN=<API Token>
+export IGNR_TOKEN=<API Token>
+export IGNR_HEIGHT=20
 ```
 
 ## Commands
@@ -38,11 +37,6 @@ export GH_TOKEN=<API Token>
 
 Trigger the selection prompt.
 
--   flags:
-
-    *optional*
-    -   --height:  Height of the selection prompt, defaults to 20.
-
 ```console
 ignr-cli new
 ```
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index ae32a55..97dfc3b 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -54,11 +54,14 @@ You may also list available templates and generate .gitignore files based on tho
 // init initialises the root command and its flags.
 func init() {
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringP("token", "t", "", "GitHub authentication token")
+	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().IntP("height", "H", 20, "Height of the selection prompt")
+
 	rootCmd.Flags().BoolP("version", "v", false, "Print the version of the CLI")
 
-	viper.SetEnvPrefix("GH")
+	viper.SetEnvPrefix("IGNR")
 	viper.AutomaticEnv()
 	viper.BindPFlag("token", rootCmd.PersistentFlags().Lookup("token"))
+	viper.BindPFlag("height", rootCmd.PersistentFlags().Lookup("height"))
 }
 
 // main is the entry point of the application.
diff --git a/new.go b/new.go
index f6aa0e6..5ed32ff 100644
--- a/new.go
+++ b/new.go
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/charmbracelet/lipgloss"
 	"github.com/google/go-github/v72/github"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+	"github.com/spf13/viper"
 )
 
 const gitignoreFileName = ".gitignore"
@@ -27,16 +28,14 @@ var newCmd = &cobra.Command{
 
 func init() {
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(newCmd)
-
-	newCmd.Flags().IntP("height", "H", 20, "Height of the selection prompt")
 }
 
 // runNewCommand is the handler for the 'new' command.
 // It retrieves the selected .gitignore template from GitHub and writes it to the .gitignore file.
 func runNewCommand(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
-	height, err := cmd.Flags().GetInt("height")
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("error getting height flag: %w", err)
+	height := viper.GetInt("height")
+	if height <= 0 {
+		return errors.New("height must be a positive integer")
 	}
 
 	client, ok := clientFromContext(cmd.Context())