diff --git a/.env.sample b/.env.sample
index a2788bc..d325e6f 100644
--- a/.env.sample
+++ b/.env.sample
@@ -28,3 +28,24 @@ SECRET_HQL_API_VERSION=v1
 #SMTP_USERNAME=
 #SECRET_SMTP_PASSWORD_VERSION=v1
 #SMTP_STARTTLS_ONLY=true
+
+# Bootstrap admin account (only on first deploy)
+# Generate admin bootstrap hash: abra app cmd --local generate_bootstrap_admin_password
+#COMPOSE_FILE="$COMPOSE_FILE:compose.bootstrapadmin.yml"
+#SECRET_ADMIN_PWHASH_VERSION=v1 # generate=false
+
+# API key
+# When set before first deploy, rauthy will bootstrap an API key with the Base64 encoded JSON access rights.
+# After first deploy, api_secret is also used by abra.sh functions (create_clients, create_groups)
+#COMPOSE_FILE="$COMPOSE_FILE:compose.api.yml"
+#SECRET_API_SECRET_VERSION=v1 # length=64
+
+# Default value for API_BASE64_ACCESS (ewog...) is read and create rights on Clients, Roles and Groups. See file api.key.example.json and https://sebadob.github.io/rauthy/config/bootstrap.html#api-key
+# In rauthy this value is stored in the config as API_KEY
+#API_BASE64_ACCESS_RIGHTS="ewogICJuYW1lIjoiYm9vdHN0cmFwIiwKICAiZXhwIjpudWxsLAogICJhY2Nlc3MiOlt7CiAgICAgICJncm91cCI6IkNsaWVudHMiLAogICAgICAiYWNjZXNzX3JpZ2h0cyI6WyJyZWFkIiwiY3JlYXRlIl0KICAgIH0sewogICAgICAiZ3JvdXAiOiJSb2xlcyIsCiAgICAgICJhY2Nlc3NfcmlnaHRzIjpbInJlYWQiLCJjcmVhdGUiXQogICAgfSx7CiAgICAgICJncm91cCI6ICJHcm91cHMiLAogICAgICAiYWNjZXNzX3JpZ2h0cyI6WyJyZWFkIiwiY3JlYXRlIl0KICAgIH0sewogICAgICAiZ3JvdXAiOiAiU2VjcmV0cyIsCiAgICAgICJhY2Nlc3NfcmlnaHRzIjpbInJlYWQiXQogICAgfQogIF0KfQo="                   
+
+# Nextcloud OIDC integration
+#COMPOSE_FILE="$COMPOSE_FILE:compose.nextcloud.yml"
+#SECRET_NEXTCLOUD_SEC_VERSION=v1 # length=5 prefix=Empty- This needs a value before deployment, but it will be set to the actual secret after the OIDC client is created.
+#NEXTCLOUD_CLIENT_NAME="Nextcloud"
+#NEXTCLOUD_REDIRECT_URI="https://nextcloud.example.com/apps/user_oidc/code"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9629d0a..213650a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -38,6 +38,86 @@ mistakenly rate limited  based on internal ipv4 addresses (e.g. `10.0.0.6`).
 COMPOSE_FILE="$COMPOSE_FILE:compose.host.yml"
 ```
 
+### Bootstrap admin password
+
+By default, rauthy generates a random admin password and prints it to the logs on first deploy. If you want to set a known password upfront, you can bootstrap it before the first deploy.
+
+Requires `argon2` on your local machine.
+
+1. With  `abra app config <app>`, configure the following envs:
+   ```
+   COMPOSE_FILE="$COMPOSE_FILE:compose.bootstrapadmin.yml"
+   SECRET_ADMIN_PWHASH_VERSION=v1
+   ```
+2. Generate and insert the admin password hash:
+   ```
+   abra app cmd --local <app> generate_bootstrap_admin_password
+   ```
+3. Deploy: `abra app deploy <app>`
+
+Rauthy will use the bootstrapped hash instead of generating a password.
+
+### API key
+
+The API key allows access to the Rauthy API, used for creating OIDC clients, groups, and roles.
+
+#### Setup
+
+1. With  `abra app config <app>`, configure the following envs:
+   ```
+   COMPOSE_FILE="$COMPOSE_FILE:compose.api.yml"
+   SECRET_API_SECRET_VERSION=v1
+   ```
+2. Generate the secret:
+   ```
+   abra app secret generate <app> api_secret v1
+   ```
+3. When `API_BASE64_ACCESS_RIGHTS` and `api_secret` are set before first deployment, Rauthy will bootstrap an API key with the access rights as configured in `API_BASE64_ACCESS_RIGHTS`. The default value in `.env.sample` grants read and create rights on Clients, Roles, and Groups. See the [rauthy bootstrap docs](https://sebadob.github.io/rauthy/config/bootstrap.html#api-key) for the JSON schema. If `API_BASE64_ACCESS_RIGHTS` is empty or set after first deployment, no API key is bootstrapped and you'll need to create one manually in the admin UI with secret `api_secret` to be used by the abra.sh functions.
+
+#### Available commands
+
+All commands require the API key to be set up and the app to be running.
+
+**`create_client <client_id> [insertsecret]`** — Creates a confidential OIDC client. Reads configuration from env vars prefixed with the uppercased client ID:
+
+| Variable | Required | Default |
+|---|---|---|
+| `<ID>_CLIENT_NAME` | yes | — |
+| `<ID>_REDIRECT_URI` | yes | — |
+| `<ID>_ALLOWED_SCOPES` | no | `email openid profile groups` |
+
+Without `insertsecret`, prints the generated client secret. With `insertsecret`, it inserts Rauthy's client secret in the app secret `<ID>_sec` (undeploying and redeploying the app automatically).
+
+**`create_groups <group> [<group> ...]`** — Creates one or more groups.
+
+**`create_roles <role> [<role> ...]`** — Creates one or more roles.
+
+#### Example: Nextcloud OIDC integration
+
+This sets up rauthy as an OIDC provider for a Nextcloud app. Requires the API key to be set up first.
+
+1. With  `abra app config <app>`, configure the following envs:
+   ```
+   COMPOSE_FILE="$COMPOSE_FILE:compose.nextcloud.yml"
+   SECRET_NEXTCLOUD_SEC_VERSION=v1
+   NEXTCLOUD_CLIENT_NAME="Nextcloud"
+   NEXTCLOUD_REDIRECT_URI="https://nextcloud.example.com/apps/user_oidc/code"
+   ```
+2. Generate a placeholder secret (required before deploy; it will be replaced after client creation):
+   ```
+   abra app secret generate <app> nextcloud_sec v1
+   ```
+3. Deploy: `abra app deploy <app>`
+4. Create the OIDC client in rauthy and insert the generated client secret:
+   ```
+   abra app cmd <app> create_client nextcloud insertsecret
+   ```
+   This undeploys the app, replaces the `nextcloud_sec` Docker secret with the real client secret, and redeploys.
+5. Configure Nextcloud's OIDC provider (via the `user_oidc` app, see [Nextcloud user_oidc docs](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/nextcloud#how-do-i-enable-openid-connect-oidc-providers)) with:
+   - **Discovery endpoint**: `https://<rauthy-domain>/.well-known/openid-configuration`
+   - **Client ID**: `nextcloud`
+   - **Client secret**: the value inserted above (can also be view in Rauthy Admin UI)
+
 ### Encryption key rotation
 
 This recipe supports encryption key rotation as described in [the docs](https://sebadob.github.io/rauthy/config/encryption.html). To rotate keys the first time:
diff --git a/abra.sh b/abra.sh
index bfc64ee..5b8e12a 100644
--- a/abra.sh
+++ b/abra.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,26 @@
 set -e
 
-export CONFIG_TOML_VERSION=v4
+export CONFIG_TOML_VERSION=v5
+
+generate_bootstrap_admin_password() {
+  if ! command -v argon2 &> /dev/null; then
+    echo "ERROR: 'argon2' CLI not found. Install it (e.g. 'apt install argon2')"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  PASSWORD="$(openssl rand -base64 24)"  
+  SALT="$(openssl rand -base64 24)"
+  HASH="$(echo -n "$PASSWORD" | argon2 "$SALT" -id -t 3 -m 16 -p 2 -l 32 -e)"
+
+  if abra app secret insert -C "$APP_NAME" admin_pwhash v1 "$HASH"; then
+    echo "Generated admin password:"
+    echo "$PASSWORD"
+    echo "WARNING: password is NOT shown again, please save it NOW"
+  else
+    echo "Failed to insert admin hash."
+    exit 1
+  fi
+}
 
 generate_enc_keys() {
   KEY_A="$(openssl rand -base64 32)"
@@ -11,3 +31,213 @@ generate_enc_keys() {
   echo "    enc_keys_a    $KEY_A"
   echo "    enc_keys_b    $KEY_B"
 }
+
+# Reads a Docker Swarm secret value from the running container
+# Requires jq locally and SSH access to the server.
+# Usage: get_secret <secret_name>
+get_secret() {
+  local SECRET_NAME="$1"
+
+  if ! command -v jq &>/dev/null; then
+    echo "ERROR: jq is required. Install with: apt install jq" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  local SERVER
+  SERVER=$(abra app ls -m | jq -r --arg domain "$APP_NAME" '[.[].apps[] | select(.domain == $domain) | .server] | first' 2>/dev/null)
+
+  if [ -z "$SERVER" ] || [ "$SERVER" = "null" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: could not determine server for app '$APP_NAME'" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  local MATCH
+  MATCH=$(ssh "$SERVER" "
+    docker stack services ${STACK_NAME} --format '{{.Name}}' | while read svc; do
+      CID=\$(docker ps --no-trunc -q --filter \"name=\${svc}\" | head -1)
+      [ -z \"\$CID\" ] && continue
+      docker service inspect \"\$svc\" --format '{{json .Spec.TaskTemplate.ContainerSpec.Secrets}}' | jq -r --arg cid \"\$CID\" '.[]? | .SecretID + \" \" + \$cid + \" \" + .SecretName'
+    done
+  " 2>/dev/null | grep " ${STACK_NAME}_${SECRET_NAME}_" | head -1)
+
+  if [ -z "$MATCH" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: secret '$SECRET_NAME' not found in stack '$STACK_NAME'" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  local SECRET_ID CID
+  SECRET_ID=$(echo "$MATCH" | awk '{print $1}')
+  CID=$(echo "$MATCH" | awk '{print $2}')
+
+  local VALUE
+  VALUE=$(ssh "$SERVER" "cat /var/lib/docker/containers/${CID}/mounts/secrets/${SECRET_ID} 2>/dev/null || sudo cat /var/lib/docker/containers/${CID}/mounts/secrets/${SECRET_ID} 2>/dev/null")
+
+  if [ -z "$VALUE" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: could not read value for secret '$SECRET_NAME'" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  printf '%s' "$VALUE"
+}
+
+# Usage: rauthy_api_request <method> <path> [json_body]
+# Sets globals API_HTTP_STATUS and API_BODY.
+rauthy_api_request() {
+  local METHOD="$1" ENDPOINT="$2" PAYLOAD="${3:-}"
+  if [ -z "$API_SECRET" ]; then
+    API_SECRET=$(get_secret api_secret)
+  fi
+  local AUTH_HEADER
+  AUTH_HEADER=$(printf 'Authorization: API-Key bootstrap$%s' "$API_SECRET")
+  local ARGS=(-s -w "\n%{http_code}" -X "$METHOD" -H "$AUTH_HEADER")
+  [ -n "$PAYLOAD" ] && ARGS+=(-H "Content-Type: application/json" -d "$PAYLOAD")
+  local RESPONSE
+  RESPONSE=$(curl "${ARGS[@]}" "https://${DOMAIN}/auth/v1${ENDPOINT}")
+  API_HTTP_STATUS=$(echo "$RESPONSE" | tail -1)
+  API_BODY=$(echo "$RESPONSE" | sed '$d')
+}
+
+# Creates an OIDC client in Rauthy and prints the client secret.
+# Usage: create_client <client_id> [insertsecret]
+#   Reads config from env vars prefixed with uppercased client_id:
+#     <ID>_CLIENT_NAME    (required)
+#     <ID>_REDIRECT_URI   (required)
+#     <ID>_ALLOWED_SCOPES (optional, default: 'email openid profile groups')
+#   With 'insertsecret': undeploys APP_NAME, replaces the Docker secret, then redeploys.
+# Example: NEXTCLOUD_CLIENT_NAME="Nextcloud" NEXTCLOUD_REDIRECT_URI="https://..." create_client nextcloud
+create_client() {
+  local CLIENT_ID="$1"
+  local MODE="$2"
+
+  if [ -z "$CLIENT_ID" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: no client_id; Usage: create_client <client_id> [insertsecret]" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  local PREFIX
+  PREFIX=$(echo "$CLIENT_ID" | tr '[:lower:]' '[:upper:]')
+
+  local CLIENT_NAME REDIRECT_URI ALLOWED_SCOPES
+  CLIENT_NAME=$(eval "echo \"\${${PREFIX}_CLIENT_NAME}\"")
+  REDIRECT_URI=$(eval "echo \"\${${PREFIX}_REDIRECT_URI}\"")
+  ALLOWED_SCOPES=$(eval "echo \"\${${PREFIX}_ALLOWED_SCOPES:-email openid profile groups}\"")
+
+  if [ -z "$CLIENT_NAME" ] || [ -z "$REDIRECT_URI" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: ${PREFIX}_CLIENT_NAME and ${PREFIX}_REDIRECT_URI must be set" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  if ! command -v jq &>/dev/null; then
+    echo "ERROR: jq is required. Install with: apt install jq" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  rauthy_api_request GET "/clients/${CLIENT_ID}"
+  if [ "$API_HTTP_STATUS" = "200" ]; then
+    echo "Client '${CLIENT_ID}' already exists, skipping creation."
+  else
+    local PAYLOAD
+    PAYLOAD=$(jq -n \
+      --arg id "$CLIENT_ID" \
+      --arg name "$CLIENT_NAME" \
+      --arg redirect_uris "$REDIRECT_URI" \
+      --arg allowed_scopes "$ALLOWED_SCOPES" \
+      '$ARGS.named | .redirect_uris = [.redirect_uris] | .allowed_scopes = (.allowed_scopes | split(" ")) | .confidential = true')
+
+    rauthy_api_request POST "/clients" "$PAYLOAD"
+    if [ "$API_HTTP_STATUS" != "200" ] && [ "$API_HTTP_STATUS" != "201" ]; then
+      echo "ERROR: failed to create client '${CLIENT_ID}' (HTTP ${API_HTTP_STATUS}): ${API_BODY}" >&2
+      exit 1
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  rauthy_api_request POST "/clients/${CLIENT_ID}/secret"
+  if [ "$API_HTTP_STATUS" != "200" ] && [ "$API_HTTP_STATUS" != "201" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: failed to fetch secret for client '${CLIENT_ID}' (HTTP ${API_HTTP_STATUS}): ${API_BODY}" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  local CLIENT_SECRET
+  CLIENT_SECRET=$(echo "$API_BODY" | jq -r '.secret // empty')
+
+  if [ -z "$CLIENT_SECRET" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: no secret in API response for '${CLIENT_ID}'" >&2
+    echo "Response was: ${API_BODY}" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  if [ "$MODE" = "insertsecret" ]; then
+    echo "Undeploying '${APP_NAME}' to replace secret '${CLIENT_ID}_sec'"
+    abra --no-input app undeploy "$APP_NAME" || true
+    abra app secret remove -C "$APP_NAME" "${CLIENT_ID}_sec" || true
+    if printf '%s' "$CLIENT_SECRET" | abra app secret insert -C "$APP_NAME" "${CLIENT_ID}_sec" v1; then
+      echo "Secret '${CLIENT_ID}_sec' inserted, redeploying '${APP_NAME}'..."
+    else
+      echo "ERROR: failed to insert secret '${CLIENT_ID}_sec'; redeploying app" >&2
+    fi
+    abra --no-input app deploy -C "$APP_NAME" || true
+    #rauthy doesn't have a healthcheck, wait 5 seconds for startup
+    sleep 5
+
+  else
+    echo "Client '${CLIENT_ID}' created. Secret: ${CLIENT_SECRET}"
+  fi
+}
+
+# Creates one or more groups in Rauthy.
+# Usage: create_groups <group_name> [<group_name> ...]
+create_groups() {
+  if ! command -v jq &>/dev/null; then
+    echo "ERROR: jq is required. Install with: apt install jq" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  rauthy_api_request GET "/groups"
+  local EXISTING_GROUPS
+  if [ "$API_HTTP_STATUS" = "200" ]; then
+    EXISTING_GROUPS=$(echo "$API_BODY" | jq -r '.[].name // empty')
+  fi
+
+  for GROUP_NAME in "$@"; do
+    if echo "$EXISTING_GROUPS" | grep -qx "$GROUP_NAME"; then
+      echo "Group '${GROUP_NAME}' already exists, skipping"
+      continue
+    fi
+
+    rauthy_api_request POST "/groups" "$(jq -n --arg group "$GROUP_NAME" '$ARGS.named')"
+    if [ "$API_HTTP_STATUS" != "200" ] && [ "$API_HTTP_STATUS" != "201" ]; then
+      echo "ERROR: failed to create group '${GROUP_NAME}' (HTTP ${API_HTTP_STATUS}): ${API_BODY}" >&2
+      exit 1
+    fi
+
+    echo "Created group '${GROUP_NAME}'"
+  done
+}
+
+# Creates one or more roles in Rauthy.
+# Usage: create_roles <role_name> [<role_name> ...]
+create_roles() {
+  if ! command -v jq &>/dev/null; then
+    echo "ERROR: jq is required. Install with: apt install jq" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  rauthy_api_request GET "/roles"
+  local EXISTING_ROLES
+  EXISTING_ROLES=$(echo "$API_BODY" | jq -r '.[].name // empty')
+
+  for ROLE_NAME in "$@"; do
+    if echo "$EXISTING_ROLES" | grep -qx "$ROLE_NAME"; then
+      echo "Role '${ROLE_NAME}' already exists, skipping"
+      continue
+    fi
+
+    rauthy_api_request POST "/roles" "$(jq -n --arg role "$ROLE_NAME" '$ARGS.named')"
+    if [ "$API_HTTP_STATUS" != "200" ] && [ "$API_HTTP_STATUS" != "201" ]; then
+      echo "ERROR: failed to create role '${ROLE_NAME}' (HTTP ${API_HTTP_STATUS}): ${API_BODY}" >&2
+      exit 1
+    fi
+
+    echo "Created role '${ROLE_NAME}'"
+  done
+}
diff --git a/alaconnect.yml b/alaconnect.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..60c476f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/alaconnect.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+nextcloud:
+  uncomment:
+      - compose.nextcloud.yml
+      - SECRET_NEXTCLOUD_SEC_VERSION
+      - NEXTCLOUD_REDIRECT_URI
+      - NEXTCLOUD_CLIENT_NAME
+  initial-hooks:
+      - local create_client nextcloud insertsecret
+  shared_secrets:
+      user_oidc_secret: nextcloud_sec
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/api.key.example.json b/api.key.example.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..61c46b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api.key.example.json
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+{
+  "name":"bootstrap",
+  "exp":null,
+  "access":[{
+      "group":"Clients",
+      "access_rights":["read","create"]
+    },{
+      "group":"Roles",
+      "access_rights":["read","create"]
+    },{
+      "group": "Groups",
+      "access_rights":["read","create"]
+    },{
+      "group": "Secrets",
+      "access_rights":["read"]
+    }
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/compose.api.yml b/compose.api.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e085453
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compose.api.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+services:
+  app:
+    environment:
+      - API_KEY
+    secrets:
+      - api_secret
+
+secrets:
+  api_secret:
+    name: ${STACK_NAME}_api_secret_${SECRET_API_SECRET_VERSION}
+    external: true
diff --git a/compose.bootstrapadmin.yml b/compose.bootstrapadmin.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..481e968
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compose.bootstrapadmin.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+services:
+  app:
+    secrets:
+      - admin_pwhash
+
+secrets:
+  admin_pwhash:
+    name: ${STACK_NAME}_admin_pwhash_${SECRET_ADMIN_PWHASH_VERSION}
+    external: true
diff --git a/compose.nextcloud.yml b/compose.nextcloud.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..51826f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compose.nextcloud.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+services:
+  app:
+    secrets:
+      - nextcloud_sec
+
+secrets:
+  nextcloud_sec:
+    name: ${STACK_NAME}_nextcloud_sec_${SECRET_NEXTCLOUD_SEC_VERSION}
+    external: true
diff --git a/config.toml.tmpl b/config.toml.tmpl
index 54d00ad..73c0fbf 100644
--- a/config.toml.tmpl
+++ b/config.toml.tmpl
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@
 
 [bootstrap]
 admin_email = '{{ env "ADMIN_EMAIL" }}'
+pasword_argon2id = '{{ secret "admin_pwhash" }}'
+api_key = '{{ env "API_BASE64_ACCESS_RIGHTS" }}'
+api_key_secret = '{{ secret "api_secret" }}'
 
 [cluster]
 node_id = 1
diff --git a/release/next b/release/next
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b6d9199
--- /dev/null
+++ b/release/next
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+
+* Added bootstrapping admin password and API key
+* Added abra.sh functions for creating clients, groups and roles with the Rauthy API
+* Documentation and example for Nextcloud integration