diff --git a/apps/basic/README.md b/apps/basic/README.md
index daa0bfdc4..48e01fa85 100644
--- a/apps/basic/README.md
+++ b/apps/basic/README.md
@@ -1,18 +1,71 @@
-# Basic example using @cipherstash/protect
+# Basic example of using @cipherstash/protect
 
-This is a basic example of how to use the @cipherstash/protect package.
+This basic example demonstrates how to use the `@cipherstash/protect` package to encrypt arbitrary input.
 
-## Usage
+## Installing the basic example
 
-1. Create a `.env` file in the root directory of this project with the following contents:
+> [!IMPORTANT]
+> Make sure you have installed Node.js and [pnpm](https://pnpm.io/installation) before following these steps.
 
+Clone this repo:
+
+```bash
+git clone https://github.com/cipherstash/protectjs
+```
+
+Install dependencies:
+
+```bash
+# Build Project.js
+cd protectjs
+pnpm build
+
+# Install deps for basic example
+cd protectjs/apps/basic
+pnpm install
 ```
-CS_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id
-CS_CLIENT_KEY=your-client-key
+
+Lastly, install the CipherStash CLI:
+
+- On macOS:
+
+  ```bash
+  brew install cipherstash/tap/stash
+  ```
+
+- On Linux, download the binary for your platform, and put it on your `PATH`:
+    - [Linux ARM64](https://github.com/cipherstash/cli-releases/releases/latest/download/stash-aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu)
+    - [Linux x86_64](https://github.com/cipherstash/cli-releases/releases/latest/download/stash-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu)
+
+
+## Configuring the basic example
+
+> [!IMPORTANT]
+> Make sure you have [installed the CipherStash CLI](#installation) before following these steps.
+
+Set up all the configuration and credentials required for Protect.js:
+
+```bash
+stash setup
 ```
 
-2. Run `pnpm install` to install the dependencies.
+If you have not already signed up for a CipherStash account, this will prompt you to do so along the way.
+
+At the end of `stash setup`, you will have two files in your project:
+
+- `cipherstash.toml` which contains the configuration for Protect.js
+- `cipherstash.secret.toml` which contains the credentials for Protect.js
+
+> [!WARNING]
+> Do not commit `cipherstash.secret.toml` to git, because it contains sensitive credentials.
 
-3. Run `pnpm start` to start the application.
 
-4. The application will log the plaintext to the console which has been encrypted using the CipherStash, decrypted, and logged the original plaintext.
\ No newline at end of file
+## Using the basic example
+
+Run the example:
+
+```
+pnpm start
+```
+
+The application will log the plaintext to the console that has been encrypted using the CipherStash, decrypted, and logged the original plaintext.
diff --git a/apps/basic/index.mjs b/apps/basic/index.mjs
index d77da6c6e..2074c6ca6 100644
--- a/apps/basic/index.mjs
+++ b/apps/basic/index.mjs
@@ -1,17 +1,38 @@
 import 'dotenv/config'
 import { protect } from '@cipherstash/protect'
+import readline from 'node:readline';
+
+const rl = readline.createInterface({
+  input: process.stdin,
+  output: process.stdout,
+});
+
+const askQuestion = () => {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => {
+    rl.question("\n👋Hello\n\nWhat is your name? ", (answer) => {
+      resolve(answer);
+    });
+  });
+};
 
 async function main() {
   const protectClient = await protect()
+  const input = await askQuestion();
 
-  const ciphertext = await protectClient.encrypt('plaintext', {
+  const ciphertext = await protectClient.encrypt(input, {
     column: 'column_name',
     table: 'users',
   })
 
+  console.log('Encrypting your name...')
+  console.log('The ciphertext is:', ciphertext)
+
   const plaintext = await protectClient.decrypt(ciphertext)
 
+  console.log('Decrypting the ciphertext...')
   console.log('The plaintext is:', plaintext)
+
+  rl.close();
 }
 
 main()