diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 16472b9..a977c5d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -46,13 +46,16 @@ Enter the project's directory, then install the required packages by running:
 pip install -r requirements.txt
 ```
 
-While in the directory of the project, run ` python server.py` to start the server. Pass in as parameters the IP address `--ip` of the ATEM switcher and a simple passphrase `--passphrase` for high level authentication. 
+While in the directory of the project, run ` python server.py` to start the server. Pass in as parameters the IP address `--ip` of the ATEM switcher, optionally a simple passphrase `--passphrase` for high level authentication, and optionally the port `--port` to run the server on (defaults to `5555`).
 
 The passphrase is optional. If you do not include a passphrase, one will not be required. If you do use a passphrase, make sure to pass it in with your requests in the Authorization header (see below for an example).
 
+The port is also optional. If you do not include a port, the server will run on port `5555`. If running via Docker, you can also map the port to a different port on the host machine using docker.
+
+
 ```bash
-python server.py --ip 127.0.0.1 --passphrase Password1`
-````
+python server.py --ip 127.0.0.1 --passphrase Password1 --port 5555
+```
 
 > [!WARNING]
 > Passing sensitive data in the command line will result in the passphrase being in plaintext in command line history logs such as in `.bash_history`, other Linux/Mac shell histories, or `$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\PSReadLine` in Windows. This probably doesn't matter for most users, but if you're concerned about it, you can use the following methods to pass in sensitive data:
diff --git a/server.py b/server.py
index 9270068..b3758b8 100644
--- a/server.py
+++ b/server.py
@@ -107,12 +107,14 @@ def main():
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
     parser.add_argument('--ip', help='switcher IP address')
     parser.add_argument('--passphrase', help='passphrase to compare requests to', type=str, default='')
+    parser.add_argument('--port', help='port to start server on', type=int, default=5555)
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     # set global variables
     global passphrase, ip
     passphrase = os.environ.get('PASSPHRASE', args.passphrase)
     ip = os.environ.get('SERVER_IP', args.ip)
+    preferred_port = os.environ.get('PORT', args.port)
 
     # if no ip is provided, exit
     if ip is None:
@@ -123,6 +125,11 @@ def main():
         log.info("No passphrase provided, using no passphrase")
         passphrase = ''
 
+    if preferred_port is None:
+        # if the default port is not 
+        log.info("No port provided, using default port 5555")
+        preferred_port = 5555
+
     log.info("Initializing switcher")
     switcher.setLogLevel(logging.INFO) # Set switcher verbosity (try DEBUG to see more)
     switcher.connect(ip)
@@ -135,7 +142,7 @@ def main():
     # this is the object which take port
     # number and the server-name
     # for running the server
-    port = ThreadingHTTPServer(('', 5555), GFG)
+    port = ThreadingHTTPServer(('', preferred_port), GFG)
 
     # this is used for running our
     # server as long as we wish