diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 331e6b4..690016a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -184,6 +184,15 @@ curl http://localhost:5000/metrics                  # Prometheus text, for a scr
 curl http://localhost:5000/metrics?fmt=json | jq    # the same numbers, for a human
 ```
 
+#### Responses
+
+| **Code** | **When**                                                                                   |
+| -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
+| `200`    | The counters, in the format named by `fmt`                                                 |
+| `400`    | `fmt` was something other than `prometheus` or `json`                                      |
+| `401`    | A token is configured and the request did not carry it. Carries `WWW-Authenticate: Bearer` |
+| `500`    | An unexpected failure, rendered by the catch-all handler like on any other endpoint        |
+
 #### How collection works
 
 Everything is counted **in this process, in memory**. There is no database and no external dependency, and the counters
@@ -548,27 +557,39 @@ which is `null` rather than absent when nothing has been recorded yet, so the sh
 
 #### Protecting the endpoint
 
-`/metrics` is **open by default**, which is what a local run and the Docker instructions above
-expect. Set the `METRICS_TOKEN` environment variable on the server to require a bearer token
-instead:
+`/metrics` is **open unless a token is configured**, through the `METRICS_TOKEN` environment
+variable.
+
+| `METRICS_TOKEN` | Behaviour of `/metrics`                                                |
+| --------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| unset           | Open. A credential sent anyway is **ignored, not rejected**            |
+| blank           | Same as unset — an empty value means "no token", not "the empty token" |
+| set             | Every request must carry that token, in both formats                   |
 
 ```bash
-TOKEN=$(openssl rand -hex 32)   # keep it: whatever scrapes the endpoint needs the same value
-docker run --name pesu-auth -d -p 5000:5000 -e METRICS_TOKEN="$TOKEN" pesu-auth
+# Deployed: an environment variable on the service
+docker run --name pesu-auth -d -p 5000:5000 -e METRICS_TOKEN=<token> pesu-auth
+
+# Running from source: pass it to the process
+METRICS_TOKEN=<token> uv run python -m app.app
 ```
 
-With it set, a request must carry that token or the endpoint answers `401` with
-`WWW-Authenticate: Bearer` and the same error body as every other failure. Both formats are
-covered, so `?fmt=json` is not a way around it.
+`.env` is read by the test suite, never by the application, so a token there does not protect a
+running server.
+
+A rejection carries `WWW-Authenticate: Bearer` and the same error body as every other failure.
 
 ```bash
 curl http://localhost:5000/metrics                                   # 401
 curl -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" http://localhost:5000/metrics  # 200
 ```
 
-The variable is read once at startup, so changing it needs a restart. Leaving it blank counts as
-unset. No other endpoint is affected — `/health` in particular stays open, since uptime monitors
-and the hosting platform's own health check send no credentials.
+The interactive docs at `/` carry an **Authorize** button for it. Paste the token there with no
+`Bearer ` prefix; Swagger adds that itself.
+
+The variable is read once at startup, so changing it needs a restart. No other endpoint is
+affected — `/health` in particular stays open, since uptime monitors and the hosting platform's own
+health check send no credentials.
 
 #### Scraping the endpoint
 
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index b07d09b..01a8f69 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "pesu-auth"
-version = "4.3.0"
+version = "4.4.0"
 description = "A simple API to authenticate PESU credentials using PESU Academy."
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.14"
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 7f9bc05..8c62995 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -630,7 +630,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "pesu-auth"
-version = "4.3.0"
+version = "4.4.0"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "fastapi" },