diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 504f572..369e73d 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -9,14 +9,14 @@ ARG WORKDIR
 ENV PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
 # Don't create `.pyc` files:
 ENV PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1
-# https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/issues/2808 
+# https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/issues/2808
 ENV CARGO_NET_GIT_FETCH_WITH_CLI=true
 
 # For building CFFI / Crypgotraphy (needed on ARM builds):
 RUN apk add gcc make musl-dev libffi-dev rust cargo git openssl-dev
 
 RUN pip install poetry
-RUN poetry config virtualenvs.in-project true 
+RUN poetry config virtualenvs.in-project true
 
 WORKDIR ${WORKDIR}
 
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ ENV HS_SERVER=http://localhost/
 ENV KEY=""
 # ENV SCRIPT_NAME=/
 ENV DOMAIN_NAME=http://localhost
-ENV AUTH_TYPE="None"
+ENV AUTH_TYPE=""
 ENV LOG_LEVEL="Info"
 
 # BasicAuth variables
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ ENV OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET=secret
 ARG GIT_COMMIT_ARG=""
 ARG GIT_BRANCH_ARG=""
 ARG APP_VERSION_ARG=""
-ARG BUILD_DATE_ARG="NOT SET"
+ARG BUILD_DATE_ARG=""
 ARG HS_VERSION_ARG=""
 
 # About section on the Settings page
@@ -78,4 +78,4 @@ EXPOSE 5000/tcp
 ENTRYPOINT ["/app/entrypoint.sh"]
 
 # Temporarily reduce to 1 worker
-CMD gunicorn -w 1 -b 0.0.0.0:5000 server:app
\ No newline at end of file
+CMD gunicorn -w 1 -b 0.0.0.0:5000 server:app
diff --git a/Jenkinsfile b/Jenkinsfile
index a4c8aa5..1b080d5 100644
--- a/Jenkinsfile
+++ b/Jenkinsfile
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ pipeline {
             steps {
 
                 sh 'printenv'
-                script { BUILD_DATE = java.time.LocalDate.now() }
+                script { BUILD_DATE = java.time.DateTimeFormatter.ISO_DATE_TIME.format(java.time.OffsetDateTime.now()) }
                 sh """
                     # Create the builder:
                     docker buildx create --name $BUILDER_NAME --driver-opt=image=moby/buildkit
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ pipeline {
                                 --label \"GIT_COMMIT=${env.GIT_COMMIT}\" \
                                 --platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64,linux/arm/v7,linux/arm/v6 \
                                 --push
-                        """ 
+                        """
                     } else { // If I'm just testing, I don't need to build for ARM
                         sh """
                             docker buildx build . \
@@ -98,10 +98,10 @@ pipeline {
                     }
                     else {
                         sh """
-                            docker pull git.sysctl.io/albert/headscale-webui:testing 
-                            docker pull ghcr.io/ifargle/headscale-webui:testing 
-                            docker pull git.sysctl.io/albert/headscale-webui:${env.BRANCH_NAME} 
-                            docker pull ghcr.io/ifargle/headscale-webui:${env.BRANCH_NAME} 
+                            docker pull git.sysctl.io/albert/headscale-webui:testing
+                            docker pull ghcr.io/ifargle/headscale-webui:testing
+                            docker pull git.sysctl.io/albert/headscale-webui:${env.BRANCH_NAME}
+                            docker pull ghcr.io/ifargle/headscale-webui:${env.BRANCH_NAME}
                         """
                     }
                 }
diff --git a/config.py b/config.py
index 31ad541..cb2bc0f 100644
--- a/config.py
+++ b/config.py
@@ -61,8 +61,12 @@ class BasicAuthConfig(BaseSettings):
     Used only if "AUTH_TYPE" environment variable is set to "basic".
     """
 
-    username: str = Field(env="BASIC_AUTH_USER", description="Username for basic auth.")
-    password: str = Field(env="BASIC_AUTH_PASS", description="Password for basic auth.")
+    username: str = Field(
+        "headscale", env="BASIC_AUTH_USER", description="Username for basic auth."
+    )
+    password: str = Field(
+        "headscale", env="BASIC_AUTH_PASS", description="Password for basic auth."
+    )
 
 
 class AuthType(StrEnum):
@@ -156,7 +160,7 @@ class InitCheckError(RuntimeError):
                 "  %s with type %s: %s",
                 field.field_info.extra["env"],
                 field.type_.__name__,
-                sub_pydantic_error["type"],
+                sub_pydantic_error["msg"],
             )
 
             new_error.append_error(
@@ -317,8 +321,8 @@ class Config(BaseSettings):
         env="APP_VERSION",
         description="Application version. Should be set by Docker.",
     )
-    build_date: str = Field(
-        default_factory=str(datetime.now),
+    build_date: datetime = Field(
+        default_factory=datetime.now,
         env="BUILD_DATE",
         description="Application build date. Should be set by Docker.",
     )
@@ -383,6 +387,15 @@ class Config(BaseSettings):
         description="Application data path.",
     )
 
+    @validator("auth_type", pre=True)
+    @classmethod
+    def validate_auth_type(cls, value: Any):
+        """Validate AUTH_TYPE so that it accepts more valid values."""
+        value = str(value).lower()
+        if value == "":
+            return AuthType.BASIC
+        return AuthType(value)
+
     @validator("log_level_name")
     @classmethod
     def validate_log_level_name(cls, value: Any):
@@ -409,6 +422,23 @@ class Config(BaseSettings):
         except ZoneInfoNotFoundError as error:
             raise ValueError(f"Timezone {value} is invalid: {error}") from error
 
+    @validator("build_date", pre=True)
+    @classmethod
+    def validate_build_date(cls, value: Any):
+        """Validate build date and accept more values."""
+        if isinstance(value, datetime):
+            return value
+        assert isinstance(value, str), "BUILD_DATE needs to be a string."
+        if value == "":
+            return datetime.now()
+        try:
+            return datetime.fromisoformat(value)
+        except ValueError as error:
+            current_app.logger.warning(
+                "BUILD_DATE in wrong format. Expected ISO format. Error: %s", str(error)
+            )
+            return datetime.now()
+
     @validator("hs_config_path", pre=True)
     @classmethod
     def validate_hs_config_path(cls, value: Any):