diff --git a/ios/ModeratedChat/ModeratedChat/TranslationApi.swift b/ios/ModeratedChat/ModeratedChat/TranslationApi.swift
index 29dd67c..6e253e9 100644
--- a/ios/ModeratedChat/ModeratedChat/TranslationApi.swift
+++ b/ios/ModeratedChat/ModeratedChat/TranslationApi.swift
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import Alamofire
 @MainActor
 class TranslationApi: ObservableObject {
     static let shared = TranslationApi()
-    private let baseUrl = "https://57zovcekn0.execute-api.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/prod";
+    private let baseUrl: String = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment["API_BASE_URL"]!
     @Published var selectedLanguageCode: String = "en"
     @Published var supportedLanguages: [Language] = []
     @Published var currentUsername: String = ""
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ class TranslationApi: ObservableObject {
     }
     
     func createToken() async -> MomentoToken {
+        
         do {
             let user = getUser()
             currentUsername = user.username
diff --git a/ios/README.md b/ios/README.md
index 625ba39..a888e5a 100644
--- a/ios/README.md
+++ b/ios/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,23 @@
-# Moderated Chat using iOS Client
+# iOS Moderated Chat App
 
-## Running the example using the Xcode simulator
+This directory contains an iOS client of the Moderated Chat demo.
 
-1. Open the `ios/moderated_chat` directory as an Xcode project.
-3. Click Run (in the Product menu). 
\ No newline at end of file
+## Prerequisites
+
+- [Xcode](https://developer.apple.com/xcode/)
+
+## Running the demo
+
+Create an environment variable to specify the base URL for your API endpoints.
+
+```bash
+VITE_API_BASE_URL="https://chat-api.your-chosen-domain-name.com"
+```
+
+You may also need to specify a variable to enable logging output:
+
+```bash
+IDEPreferLogStreaming=YES
+```
+
+To run the app using a simulator, simply open the `ios/moderated_chat` directory as an Xcode project and click "Run".