diff --git a/packaging/common/config.json b/packaging/common/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..27fe991
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packaging/common/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+{
+  "_comment": [
+    "webui4frpc startup config. Every field is optional; the effective",
+    "precedence is: command-line flag > this file > built-in default.",
+    "",
+    "Password handling (pick ONE, do not put a literal password here):",
+    "  \"password\": \"file:/etc/webui4frpc/secret/password\"   first line of a 0640 root:webui4frpc file",
+    "  \"password\": \"${W4F_PASSWORD}\"                        from the environment (unset => refuses to start)",
+    "",
+    "Unknown keys are a hard error, so a typo cannot silently fall back to the",
+    "built-in default credentials. The file may be absent (pure-flag mode)."
+  ],
+  "addr": "0.0.0.0:7500",
+  "user": "admin",
+  "password": "file:/etc/webui4frpc/secret/password",
+  "workdir": "/var/lib/webui4frpc",
+
+  "_optional": [
+    "bin     - initial frpc binary path, seeded into settings on first start",
+    "frpc    - fallback worker frpc path when settings has none",
+    "peers   - cluster peer host:port list (same as repeating -peer)",
+    "join_key- cluster admission key = sponsor node's nodeKey (or ${W4F_JOIN_KEY})"
+  ],
+  "frpc": "",
+  "peers": [],
+  "join_key": ""
+}
diff --git a/packaging/common/webui4frpc.env b/packaging/common/webui4frpc.env
index 2a74d9c..94e822c 100644
--- a/packaging/common/webui4frpc.env
+++ b/packaging/common/webui4frpc.env
@@ -1,8 +1,28 @@
-# webui4frpc runtime configuration
-# 默认监听全部接口的 7500 端口；请修改密码后再投入生产。
-W4F_ADDR=0.0.0.0:7500
-W4F_USER=admin
-W4F_PASSWORD=admin
+# webui4frpc optional environment file.
+#
+# Listening address, admin credentials, workdir and peers now belong in
+# /etc/webui4frpc/config.json — that file is what systemd passes via
+# `webui4frpc -config ...`, and it keeps the password out of the unit file and
+# out of `ps` output.
+#
+# Everything here is OPTIONAL; the unit uses `EnvironmentFile=-`, so this file
+# may be empty or missing entirely.
+#
+# Referenced by config.json as ${VAR} (the variable must be set and non-empty,
+# otherwise startup fails loudly rather than booting with an empty password):
+# W4F_PASSWORD=change-me
+#
+# Cluster admission key, used by config.json as "join_key": "${W4F_JOIN_KEY}".
+# W4F_JOIN_KEY=
+#
+# Overrides the advertised hostname for peers (container DNS / wildcard listen).
+# W4F_HOST=
+#
+# Load balancing defaults (the per-node switch in the UI wins over these).
+# W4F_BALANCE_MODE=dry-run
+# W4F_BALANCE_COOLDOWN=600
+# W4F_BALANCE_INTERVAL=10
 
-# 可选：首次提供的 frpc 二进制路径（留空则从 Web UI 手动/自动安装）
-# W4F_FRPC=/usr/local/bin/frpc
+# Optional: point at a config file outside /etc/webui4frpc. An explicit
+# -config flag still wins over this.
+# W4F_CONFIG=/etc/webui4frpc/config.json
diff --git a/packaging/common/webui4frpc.service b/packaging/common/webui4frpc.service
index a1654e8..d612e9d 100644
--- a/packaging/common/webui4frpc.service
+++ b/packaging/common/webui4frpc.service
@@ -8,8 +8,15 @@ Wants=network-online.target
 Type=simple
 User=webui4frpc
 Group=webui4frpc
-EnvironmentFile=/etc/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env
-ExecStart=/usr/bin/webui4frpc -addr ${W4F_ADDR} -user ${W4F_USER} -password ${W4F_PASSWORD} -workdir /var/lib/webui4frpc
+# The listening address, admin credentials and cluster peers live in
+# config.json, NOT on the command line: anything in ExecStart is visible to
+# every user via `ps` and in the unit file itself. Keep the password out of
+# this unit — put it in config.json as "file:/etc/webui4frpc/secret/password"
+# (or "${W4F_PASSWORD}" with an EnvironmentFile), never as -password.
+# The leading "-" makes the EnvironmentFile optional, so a node that keeps all
+# settings in config.json still starts.
+EnvironmentFile=-/etc/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/webui4frpc -config /etc/webui4frpc/config.json
 Restart=always
 RestartSec=5
 LimitNOFILE=65535
@@ -20,6 +27,10 @@ PrivateTmp=true
 ProtectSystem=full
 ProtectHome=true
 ReadWritePaths=/var/lib/webui4frpc
+# config.json may point at a root-only secrets file for the admin password.
+# That path needs to be readable by this service account; keep such files in
+# /etc/webui4frpc/secret/ with mode 0640 root:webui4frpc.
+ReadOnlyPaths=-/etc/webui4frpc/secret
 
 [Install]
 WantedBy=multi-user.target
diff --git a/packaging/deb/postinst b/packaging/deb/postinst
index 7998640..0da2b56 100755
--- a/packaging/deb/postinst
+++ b/packaging/deb/postinst
@@ -18,6 +18,16 @@ chmod 750 /var/lib/webui4frpc
 chown root:webui4frpc /etc/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env 2>/dev/null || true
 chmod 640 /etc/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env 2>/dev/null || true
 
+# Startup config + the directory that holds the admin password file.
+# The service reads /etc/webui4frpc/config.json (see the unit's ExecStart), so
+# the password never has to appear on the command line. secret/ is root-writable
+# and group-readable by the service account; files inside are created by the
+# admin, we only fix ownership/permissions of the directory itself.
+mkdir -p /etc/webui4frpc/secret
+chown root:webui4frpc /etc/webui4frpc/secret 2>/dev/null || true
+chmod 750 /etc/webui4frpc/secret 2>/dev/null || true
+chmod 644 /etc/webui4frpc/config.json 2>/dev/null || true
+
 if command -v systemctl >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     systemctl daemon-reload || true
     systemctl enable webui4frpc.service || true
@@ -30,7 +40,8 @@ cat <<'EOF'
 
 webui4frpc 已安装。
 
-  配置:  /etc/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env   (请立即修改 W4F_USER / W4F_PASSWORD)
+  配置:  /etc/webui4frpc/config.json      (请设置 password，推荐 file:/etc/webui4frpc/secret/password)
+  密钥:  echo '你的口令' > /etc/webui4frpc/secret/password && chmod 0640 /etc/webui4frpc/secret/password
   数据:  /var/lib/webui4frpc
   服务:  systemctl status webui4frpc
   界面:  http://<本机地址>:7500
diff --git a/packaging/macos/build_pkg.sh b/packaging/macos/build_pkg.sh
index ef1fa1a..f7302a8 100755
--- a/packaging/macos/build_pkg.sh
+++ b/packaging/macos/build_pkg.sh
@@ -38,15 +38,25 @@ mkdir -p "$ROOT/usr/local/bin" "$ROOT/usr/local/etc/webui4frpc" "$SCRIPTS" "$PKG
 # ---- payload 根文件系统 ----
 install -m 0755 "$BINARY" "$ROOT/usr/local/bin/webui4frpc"
 
-cat > "$ROOT/usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env" <<'ENVEOF'
-# webui4frpc runtime configuration (macOS)
-# 请修改密码后再投入使用；改完执行:
-#   sudo launchctl kickstart -k system/com.jianfeeeee.webui4frpc
-W4F_ADDR=0.0.0.0:7500
-W4F_USER=admin
-W4F_PASSWORD=admin
-ENVEOF
-chmod 0644 "$ROOT/usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env"
+# Startup config. The service reads this file via `-config`, so the admin
+# password never appears on the command line (visible in `ps` to every user).
+# Set the password in /usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/secret/password instead of
+# writing it here; the "file:" reference below reads its first line.
+mkdir -p "$ROOT/usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/secret"
+cat > "$ROOT/usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/config.json" <<'CFGEOF'
+{
+  "_comment": "precedence: command-line flag > this file > built-in default",
+  "addr": "0.0.0.0:7500",
+  "user": "admin",
+  "password": "file:/usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/secret/password",
+  "workdir": "/usr/local/var/lib/webui4frpc"
+}
+CFGEOF
+chmod 0644 "$ROOT/usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/config.json"
+# Placeholder so the service starts out of the box (admin/admin). The
+# postinstall script removes it if the file was already customised.
+printf 'admin\n' > "$ROOT/usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/secret/password"
+chmod 0640 "$ROOT/usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/secret/password"
 
 # ---- launchd plist ----
 mkdir -p "$ROOT/Library/LaunchDaemons"
@@ -80,18 +90,15 @@ chmod 0644 "$ROOT/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.jianfeeeee.webui4frpc.plist"
 # launchd 不读 EnvironmentFile，用小包装脚本 source 配置再 exec
 cat > "$ROOT/usr/local/bin/webui4frpc-launch" <<'LAUNCHEOF'
 #!/bin/sh
-# 读取 /usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env 后启动 webui4frpc
+# Start webui4frpc from /usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/config.json.
+# launchd does not read an EnvironmentFile, so the optional env file is sourced
+# here first (config.json may reference ${W4F_*}), then the config file drives
+# everything. No credential is ever passed on this command line.
 set -e
 ENV_FILE=/usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env
-W4F_ADDR=0.0.0.0:7500
-W4F_USER=admin
-W4F_PASSWORD=admin
+CONFIG_FILE=/usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/config.json
 [ -f "$ENV_FILE" ] && . "$ENV_FILE"
-exec /usr/local/bin/webui4frpc \
-    -addr "$W4F_ADDR" \
-    -user "$W4F_USER" \
-    -password "$W4F_PASSWORD" \
-    -workdir /usr/local/var/lib/webui4frpc
+exec /usr/local/bin/webui4frpc -config "$CONFIG_FILE"
 LAUNCHEOF
 chmod 0755 "$ROOT/usr/local/bin/webui4frpc-launch"
 
@@ -159,12 +166,16 @@ cat > "$FLAT/Distribution" <<DISTEOF
     <welcome language="zh_CN" mime-type="text/plain">webui4frpc — 可视化 frpc 控制器
 
 安装内容：
-  /usr/local/bin/webui4frpc                 主程序（内嵌 Web 界面）
-  /usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env  配置文件
-  /Library/LaunchDaemons/…webui4frpc.plist  开机自启服务
+  /usr/local/bin/webui4frpc                       主程序（内嵌 Web 界面）
+  /usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/config.json           启动配置（监听地址/账号/对端）
+  /usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/secret/password       口令文件（file: 引用，不进命令行）
+  /usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env        可选环境变量（config.json 里可写 \${VAR}）
+  /Library/LaunchDaemons/…webui4frpc.plist        开机自启服务
 
 安装完成后服务自动启动，访问 http://127.0.0.1:7500
-默认凭据 admin/admin —— 请立即修改 webui4frpc.env 中的密码。</welcome>
+默认凭据 admin/admin —— 请立即修改
+/usr/local/etc/webui4frpc/secret/password 后再重启
+（sudo launchctl kickstart -k system/com.jianfeeeee.webui4frpc）。</welcome>
     <choices-outline>
         <line choice="default">
             <line choice="com.jianfeeeee.webui4frpc"/>
diff --git a/packaging/rpm/webui4frpc.spec b/packaging/rpm/webui4frpc.spec
index 30e77e0..bf20280 100644
--- a/packaging/rpm/webui4frpc.spec
+++ b/packaging/rpm/webui4frpc.spec
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ and audit-log CSV export.
 install -D -m 0755 %{_w4f_bin}          %{buildroot}%{_bindir}/webui4frpc
 install -D -m 0644 %{_w4f_service}      %{buildroot}%{_unitdir}/webui4frpc.service
 install -D -m 0640 %{_w4f_env}          %{buildroot}%{_sysconfdir}/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env
+install -D -m 0644 %{_w4f_config}       %{buildroot}%{_sysconfdir}/webui4frpc/config.json
+install -d -m 0750                      %{buildroot}%{_sysconfdir}/webui4frpc/secret
 install -D -m 0644 %{_w4f_readme}       %{buildroot}%{_docdir}/webui4frpc/README.md
 install -d -m 0750                      %{buildroot}%{_sharedstatedir}/webui4frpc
 
@@ -36,11 +38,14 @@ exit 0
 %systemd_post webui4frpc.service
 chown -R webui4frpc:webui4frpc %{_sharedstatedir}/webui4frpc || :
 chown root:webui4frpc %{_sysconfdir}/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env || :
+chown root:webui4frpc %{_sysconfdir}/webui4frpc/secret || :
+chmod 0750 %{_sysconfdir}/webui4frpc/secret || :
 cat <<'EOF'
 
 webui4frpc 已安装。
 
-  配置:  /etc/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env   (请立即修改 W4F_USER / W4F_PASSWORD)
+  配置:  /etc/webui4frpc/config.json      (请设置 password，推荐 file:/etc/webui4frpc/secret/password)
+  密钥:  echo '你的口令' > /etc/webui4frpc/secret/password && chmod 0640 /etc/webui4frpc/secret/password
   数据:  /var/lib/webui4frpc
   服务:  systemctl enable --now webui4frpc
   界面:  http://<本机地址>:7500
@@ -63,6 +68,8 @@ fi
 %{_unitdir}/webui4frpc.service
 %dir %{_sysconfdir}/webui4frpc
 %config(noreplace) %attr(0640,root,webui4frpc) %{_sysconfdir}/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env
+%config(noreplace) %attr(0644,root,root) %{_sysconfdir}/webui4frpc/config.json
+%dir %attr(0750,root,webui4frpc) %{_sysconfdir}/webui4frpc/secret
 %dir %attr(0750,webui4frpc,webui4frpc) %{_sharedstatedir}/webui4frpc
 %doc %{_docdir}/webui4frpc/README.md
 
diff --git a/packaging/windows/webui4frpc.nsi b/packaging/windows/webui4frpc.nsi
index 59df78c..ce05c0f 100644
--- a/packaging/windows/webui4frpc.nsi
+++ b/packaging/windows/webui4frpc.nsi
@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@
 
 !include "MUI2.nsh"
 !include "LogicLib.nsh"
+!include "StrFunc.nsh"
+
+; Used to JSON-escape the free-text fields written into config.json below.
+${Using:StrFunc} StrRep
 
 !ifndef VERSION
   !define VERSION "0.0.0"
@@ -48,6 +52,9 @@ Var TxtPass
 Var CfgAddr
 Var CfgUser
 Var CfgPass
+Var EscAddr
+Var EscUser
+Var EscDir
 
 Function .onInit
   StrCpy $CfgAddr "0.0.0.0:7500"
@@ -95,12 +102,37 @@ Section "webui4frpc" SecMain
 
   CreateDirectory "$INSTDIR\data"
 
-  ; 启动脚本，承载安装时选择的配置
+  ; ---- 启动配置 ----
+  ; 口令写进独立文件、由 config.json 用 "file:" 引用：既不出现在启动脚本的
+  ; 命令行上（任务管理器 / wmic 可见），也不需要做 JSON 转义。
+  ${StrRep} $EscDir $INSTDIR "\" "\\"
+  ${StrRep} $EscAddr $CfgAddr "\" "\\"
+  ${StrRep} $EscAddr $EscAddr '$\"' '\"'
+  ${StrRep} $EscUser $CfgUser "\" "\\"
+  ${StrRep} $EscUser $EscUser '$\"' '\"'
+
+  FileOpen $1 "$INSTDIR\secret-password.txt" w
+  FileWrite $1 "$CfgPass$\r$\n"
+  FileClose $1
+  ; 口令文件仅 SYSTEM / Administrators 可读（Program Files 默认 Users 可读）
+  nsExec::ExecToLog 'icacls "$INSTDIR\secret-password.txt" /inheritance:r /grant:r *S-1-5-18:F *S-1-5-32-544:F'
+
+  FileOpen $2 "$INSTDIR\data\config.json" w
+  FileWrite $2 "{$\r$\n"
+  FileWrite $2 '  "addr": "$EscAddr",$\r$\n'
+  FileWrite $2 '  "user": "$EscUser",$\r$\n'
+  FileWrite $2 '  "password": "file:$EscDir\\secret-password.txt",$\r$\n'
+  FileWrite $2 '  "workdir": "data"$\r$\n'
+  FileWrite $2 "}$\r$\n"
+  FileClose $2
+
+  ; 启动脚本：只传 -config，不传任何凭据
   FileOpen $0 "$INSTDIR\start-webui4frpc.cmd" w
   FileWrite $0 "@echo off$\r$\n"
   FileWrite $0 "rem webui4frpc 启动脚本（由安装程序生成）$\r$\n"
+  FileWrite $0 "rem 凭据在 data\config.json（口令来自 secret-password.txt），不经过命令行。$\r$\n"
   FileWrite $0 "cd /d %~dp0$\r$\n"
-  FileWrite $0 'webui4frpc.exe -addr $CfgAddr -user $CfgUser -password $CfgPass -workdir "%~dp0data"$\r$\n'
+  FileWrite $0 'webui4frpc.exe -config "%~dp0data\config.json"$\r$\n'
   FileClose $0
 
   WriteRegStr HKLM "Software\webui4frpc" "InstallDir" "$INSTDIR"
@@ -142,6 +174,8 @@ Section "Uninstall"
 
   Delete "$INSTDIR\webui4frpc.exe"
   Delete "$INSTDIR\start-webui4frpc.cmd"
+  Delete "$INSTDIR\secret-password.txt"
+  Delete "$INSTDIR\data\config.json"
   Delete "$INSTDIR\README.md"
   Delete "$INSTDIR\LICENSE.txt"
   Delete "$INSTDIR\uninstall.exe"
diff --git a/scripts/build_installers.sh b/scripts/build_installers.sh
index 8e298fd..c30a6d8 100755
--- a/scripts/build_installers.sh
+++ b/scripts/build_installers.sh
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ EOF
   install -m 0755 "$bindir/webui4frpc"            "$deb/usr/bin/webui4frpc"
   install -m 0644 "$PKG/common/webui4frpc.service" "$deb/lib/systemd/system/webui4frpc.service"
   install -m 0640 "$PKG/common/webui4frpc.env"     "$deb/etc/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env"
+  install -m 0644 "$PKG/common/config.json"        "$deb/etc/webui4frpc/config.json"
+  install -d -m 0750                               "$deb/etc/webui4frpc/secret"
   install -m 0644 "$ROOT/README.md"                "$deb/usr/share/doc/webui4frpc/README.md"
   cat > "$deb/usr/share/doc/webui4frpc/copyright" <<'EOF'
 webui4frpc - visual frpc controller
@@ -55,7 +57,7 @@ EOF
   install -m 0755 "$PKG/deb/postinst" "$deb/DEBIAN/postinst"
   install -m 0755 "$PKG/deb/prerm"    "$deb/DEBIAN/prerm"
   install -m 0755 "$PKG/deb/postrm"   "$deb/DEBIAN/postrm"
-  echo "/etc/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env" > "$deb/DEBIAN/conffiles"
+  printf '%s\n' /etc/webui4frpc/webui4frpc.env /etc/webui4frpc/config.json > "$deb/DEBIAN/conffiles"
   ( cd "$deb" && find usr etc lib -type f -exec md5sum {} \; > DEBIAN/md5sums )
   dpkg-deb -b --root-owner-group "$deb" "$OUT/webui4frpc-${VERSION}-linux-${arch}.deb" >/dev/null
   echo "  ✔ .deb linux/$arch"
@@ -74,6 +76,7 @@ build_rpm() {
     --define "_w4f_bin $bindir/webui4frpc" \
     --define "_w4f_service $PKG/common/webui4frpc.service" \
     --define "_w4f_env $PKG/common/webui4frpc.env" \
+    --define "_w4f_config $PKG/common/config.json" \
     --define "_w4f_readme $ROOT/README.md" \
     --define "_unitdir /usr/lib/systemd/system" \
     --define "_sharedstatedir /var/lib" >/tmp/w4f-rpm.log 2>&1 || true
diff --git a/scripts/release.sh b/scripts/release.sh
index 400bfef..4863a21 100755
--- a/scripts/release.sh
+++ b/scripts/release.sh
@@ -92,7 +92,10 @@ Wants=network-online.target
 
 [Service]
 Type=simple
-ExecStart=/opt/webui4frpc/webui4frpc -addr 0.0.0.0:7500 -user admin -password admin -workdir /opt/webui4frpc/data
+# Listen address, admin credentials and peers live in config.json, not here:
+# whatever is in ExecStart is visible to every user via `ps`. Set the password
+# in /opt/webui4frpc/config.json as "file:/opt/webui4frpc/secret/password".
+ExecStart=/opt/webui4frpc/webui4frpc -config /opt/webui4frpc/config.json
 Restart=always
 RestartSec=5
 LimitNOFILE=65535
@@ -121,7 +124,8 @@ for target in "${TARGETS[@]}"; do
     ( cd "$stage" && zip -q "$OUT/$base.zip" "$bin" README.md )
   else
     cp "$OUT/webui4frpc.service.tpl" "$stage/"
-    ( cd "$stage" && tar czf "$OUT/$base.tar.gz" "$bin" README.md webui4frpc.service.tpl )
+    cp "$ROOT/packaging/common/config.json" "$stage/config.json.example"
+    ( cd "$stage" && tar czf "$OUT/$base.tar.gz" "$bin" README.md webui4frpc.service.tpl config.json.example )
   fi
 done
 rm -rf "$OUT/.stage"