diff --git a/init.sh b/init.sh
index b840505..28557ad 100644
--- a/init.sh
+++ b/init.sh
@@ -3,5 +3,12 @@
 # Generate secrets if the secrets file does not already exist
 ./manage.py setup generate-secrets
 
+# Use settings template as default settings if the settings does not file already exist
+SETTINGS_FILE=/volumes/data/settings.ini
+if [[ -f "$SETTINGS_FILE" ]]; then
+    cp deploy/settings_template.ini "$SETTINGS_FILE" \
+        && echo "Initialized default settings at $SETTINGS_FILE"
+fi
+
 # Start the server
 gunicorn --bind "0.0.0.0:80" --workers "5" --log-file "/volumes/logs/gunicorn.log" "run:create_app()"