diff --git a/lifecycle/ak b/lifecycle/ak
index 6e7060d2c..93be4b6ec 100755
--- a/lifecycle/ak
+++ b/lifecycle/ak
@@ -62,7 +62,10 @@ if [[ "$1" == "server" ]]; then
     wait_for_db
     echo "server" > $MODE_FILE
     # We only set prometheus_multiproc_dir for serer, as with the worker it just fills up the disk
-    export prometheus_multiproc_dir=/dev/shm/
+    # as one file is created per process
+    #
+    # Set to TMPDIR instead hardcoded path so this can be used outside docker too
+    export prometheus_multiproc_dir=$TMPDIR
     python -m lifecycle.migrate
     /authentik-proxy
 elif [[ "$1" == "worker" ]]; then
diff --git a/lifecycle/wait_for_db.py b/lifecycle/wait_for_db.py
index af157ac46..f466068b4 100755
--- a/lifecycle/wait_for_db.py
+++ b/lifecycle/wait_for_db.py
@@ -25,6 +25,12 @@ def j_print(event: str, log_level: str = "info", **kwargs):
     print(dumps(data), file=stderr)
 
 
+# Sanity check, ensure SECRET_KEY is set before we even check for database connectivity
+if CONFIG.y("secret_key") is None or len(CONFIG.y("secret_key")) == 0:
+    j_print("Secret key missing, check https://goauthentik.io/docs/installation/.")
+    exit(1)
+
+
 while True:
     try:
         conn = connect(