diff --git a/cmd/gotosocial/main.go b/cmd/gotosocial/main.go
index 96798035e..0919d5fc4 100644
--- a/cmd/gotosocial/main.go
+++ b/cmd/gotosocial/main.go
@@ -58,6 +58,18 @@ func main() {
 				Value:   "",
 				EnvVars: []string{envNames.ConfigPath},
 			},
+			&cli.StringFlag{
+				Name:    flagNames.Host,
+				Usage:   "Hostname to use for the server (eg., example.org, gotosocial.whatever.com)",
+				Value:   "localhost",
+				EnvVars: []string{envNames.Host},
+			},
+			&cli.StringFlag{
+				Name:    flagNames.Protocol,
+				Usage:   "Protocol to use for the REST api of the server (only use http for debugging and tests!)",
+				Value:   "https",
+				EnvVars: []string{envNames.Protocol},
+			},
 
 			// DATABASE FLAGS
 			&cli.StringFlag{
diff --git a/example/config.yaml b/example/config.yaml
index b65149d9a..58766a23a 100644
--- a/example/config.yaml
+++ b/example/config.yaml
@@ -28,6 +28,17 @@ logLevel: "info"
 # Default: "gotosocial"
 applicationName: "gotosocial"
 
+# String. Hostname/domain to use for the server. Defaults to localhost for local testing,
+# but you should *definitely* change this when running for real, or your server won't work at all.
+# Examples: ["example.org","some.server.com"]
+# Default: "localhost"
+host: "localhost"
+
+# String. Protocol to use for the server. Only change to http for local testing!
+# Options: ["http","https"]
+# Default: "https"
+protocol: "https"
+
 # Config pertaining to the Gotosocial database connection
 db:
   # String. Database type.
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index ce194cd52..dca325cbf 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ import (
 type Config struct {
 	LogLevel        string          `yaml:"logLevel"`
 	ApplicationName string          `yaml:"applicationName"`
+	Host            string          `yaml:"host"`
+	Protocol        string          `yaml:"protocol"`
 	DBConfig        *DBConfig       `yaml:"db"`
 	TemplateConfig  *TemplateConfig `yaml:"template"`
 }
@@ -97,6 +99,14 @@ func (c *Config) ParseCLIFlags(f KeyedFlags) {
 		c.ApplicationName = f.String(fn.ApplicationName)
 	}
 
+	if c.Host == "" || f.IsSet(fn.Host) {
+		c.Host = f.String(fn.Host)
+	}
+
+	if c.Protocol == "" || f.IsSet(fn.Protocol) {
+		c.Protocol = f.String(fn.Protocol)
+	}
+
 	// db flags
 	if c.DBConfig.Type == "" || f.IsSet(fn.DbType) {
 		c.DBConfig.Type = f.String(fn.DbType)
@@ -142,6 +152,8 @@ type Flags struct {
 	LogLevel        string
 	ApplicationName string
 	ConfigPath      string
+	Host            string
+	Protocol        string
 	DbType          string
 	DbAddress       string
 	DbPort          string
@@ -158,6 +170,8 @@ func GetFlagNames() Flags {
 		LogLevel:        "log-level",
 		ApplicationName: "application-name",
 		ConfigPath:      "config-path",
+		Host:            "host",
+		Protocol:        "protocol",
 		DbType:          "db-type",
 		DbAddress:       "db-address",
 		DbPort:          "db-port",
@@ -175,6 +189,8 @@ func GetEnvNames() Flags {
 		LogLevel:        "GTS_LOG_LEVEL",
 		ApplicationName: "GTS_APPLICATION_NAME",
 		ConfigPath:      "GTS_CONFIG_PATH",
+		Host:            "GTS_HOST",
+		Protocol:        "GTS_PROTOCOL",
 		DbType:          "GTS_DB_TYPE",
 		DbAddress:       "GTS_DB_ADDRESS",
 		DbPort:          "GTS_DB_PORT",