diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 256ad55..6508f26 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ ENV EXTRA_JAVA_OPTS="-Xms256m -Xmx1g"
 ENV GEOSERVER_BUILD=$GS_BUILD
 ENV GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR=/opt/geoserver_data/
 ENV GEOSERVER_LIB_DIR=$CATALINA_HOME/webapps/geoserver/WEB-INF/lib/
-ENV GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE=$GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR/global.xml
+ENV SET_GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE=true
 ENV GEOSERVER_VERSION=$GS_VERSION
 ENV HEALTHCHECK_URL=''
 ENV INSTALL_EXTENSIONS=false
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1d7c642..1ed6f68 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -234,7 +234,8 @@ Following is the list of the all the environment variables that can be passed do
 | DEBIAN_FRONTEND | Configures the Debian package manager frontend | `noninteractive`|
 | CATALINA_OPTS | Catalina options. Check [ref](https://www.baeldung.com/tomcat-catalina_opts-vs-java_opts) | `-Djava.awt.headless=true` |
 | GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR | Geoserver data directory location | `/opt/geoserver_data/` |
-| GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE | Geoserver configuration used interally | `/opt/geoserver_data/global.xml` |
+| GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE | Path to a file that will be passed to GeoServer. If this file does not exist, GeoServer won't start. |  |
+| SET_GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE | If set to true, the GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE will be automatically set to `$GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR/global.xml` on startup. If GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE is set it will take precedence. | `true` |
 | INSTALL_EXTENSIONS | Indicates whether additional GeoServer extensions should be installed | `false` |
 | WAR_ZIP_URL | Specifies the URL for a GeoServer Web Archive (WAR) file | |
 | STABLE_EXTENSIONS | Specifies stable GeoServer extensions | |
@@ -243,7 +244,7 @@ Following is the list of the all the environment variables that can be passed do
 | COMMUNITY_PLUGIN_URL | Specifies the URL for downloading the latest community-contributed GeoServer plugins | `https://build.geoserver.org/geoserver/2.26.x/community-latest` |
 | ADDITIONAL_LIBS_DIR | Sets the directory for additional libraries used by GeoServer | `/opt/additional_libs/` |
 | ADDITIONAL_FONTS_DIR | Sets the directory for additional fonts used by GeoServer | `/opt/additional_fonts/` |
-| SKIP_DEMO_DATA | Indicates whether to skip the installation of demo data provided by GeoServer | `false` |
+| SKIP_DEMO_DATA | Indicates whether to skip the installation of demo data provided by GeoServer. GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE will be ignored if set to true. | `false` |
 | ROOT_WEBAPP_REDIRECT | Indicates whether to issue a permanent redirect to the web interface | `false` |
 | HEALTHCHECK_URL | URL to the resource / endpoint used for `docker` health checks | `http://localhost:8080/geoserver/web/wicket/resource/org.geoserver.web.GeoServerBasePage/img/logo.png` |
 | GEOSERVER_ADMIN_USER | Admin username |   |
diff --git a/startup.sh b/startup.sh
index ce329c9..5b038f6 100755
--- a/startup.sh
+++ b/startup.sh
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ function copy_custom_config() {
     # Otherwise use the default
     echo "Installing default ${CONFIG_FILE} with substituted environment variables"
     envsubst < "${CONFIG_DIR}"/"${CONFIG_FILE}" > "${CATALINA_HOME}/conf/${CONFIG_FILE}"
-    
+
     # since autodeploy is disabled by default, we need to enable it if the user has not provided a custom server.xml
     if [ "${CONFIG_FILE}" = "server.xml" ] && [ "${ROOT_WEBAPP_REDIRECT}" = "true" ] && [ "${WEBAPP_CONTEXT}" != "" ]; then
        echo "Deploying ROOT context to allow for redirect to ${WEBAPP_CONTEXT}"
@@ -21,11 +21,6 @@ function copy_custom_config() {
   fi
 }
 
-## Skip demo data
-if [ "${SKIP_DEMO_DATA}" = "true" ]; then
-  unset GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE
-fi
-
 ## Add a permanent redirect (HTTP 301) from the root webapp ("/") to geoserver web interface ("/geoserver/web")
 if [ "${ROOT_WEBAPP_REDIRECT}" = "true" ] && [ "${WEBAPP_CONTEXT}" != "" ]; then
   if [ ! -d $CATALINA_HOME/webapps/ROOT ]; then
@@ -48,10 +43,35 @@ DEFAULT_HEALTHCHECK_URL="http://${DEFAULT_HEALTHCHECK_URL}"
 # write the healthcheck URL to a file that geoserver user has access to but is not served by tomcat
 echo "${HEALTHCHECK_URL:-$DEFAULT_HEALTHCHECK_URL}" > $CATALINA_HOME/conf/healthcheck_url.txt
 
-## install release data directory if needed before starting tomcat
-if [ ! -z "$GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE" ] && [ ! -f "$GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE" ]; then
-  echo "Initialize $GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR from data directory included in geoserver.war"
-  cp -r $CATALINA_HOME/webapps/geoserver/data/* $GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR
+if [ "${SKIP_DEMO_DATA}" = "true" ]; then
+  # skipping demo data
+
+  if [ "$SET_GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE" = true ]; then
+    echo "SET_GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE will be ignored because SKIP_DEMO_DATA is set to true"
+  fi
+
+  # unset geoserver require file
+  if [ ! -z "$GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE" ]; then
+    echo "GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE will be ignored because SKIP_DEMO_DATA is set to true"
+    unset GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE
+  fi
+else
+  # using demo data if data dir does not contain geoserver require file
+
+  # set geoserver require file to the correct value
+  if [ "$SET_GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE" = true ]; then
+    if [ -z "$GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE" ]; then
+      export GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE="$GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR/global.xml"
+    else
+      echo "SET_GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE is ignored because GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE is set to a value"
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  ## install release data directory if needed before starting tomcat
+  if [ ! -f "$GEOSERVER_REQUIRE_FILE" ]; then
+    echo "Initialize $GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR from data directory included in geoserver.war"
+    cp -r $CATALINA_HOME/webapps/geoserver/data/* $GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR
+  fi
 fi
 
 ## install GeoServer extensions before starting the tomcat
@@ -136,11 +156,11 @@ copy_custom_config "server.xml"
 # Use a custom "web.xml" if the user mounted one into the container
 if [ -d "${CONFIG_OVERRIDES_DIR}" ] && [ -f "${CONFIG_OVERRIDES_DIR}/web.xml" ]; then
   echo "Installing configuration override for web.xml with substituted environment variables"
-  
-  if [ "${CORS_ENABLED}" = "true" ]; then 
+
+  if [ "${CORS_ENABLED}" = "true" ]; then
     echo "Warning: the CORS_ENABLED's changes will be overwritten!"
   fi
-  
+
   envsubst < "${CONFIG_OVERRIDES_DIR}"/web.xml > "${CATALINA_HOME}/webapps/geoserver/WEB-INF/web.xml"
 fi
 
@@ -178,13 +198,13 @@ then
   echo "creating user tomcat (${RUN_WITH_USER_UID}:${RUN_WITH_USER_GID})"
   addgroup --gid ${RUN_WITH_USER_GID} tomcat && \
     adduser --system -u ${RUN_WITH_USER_UID} --gid ${RUN_WITH_USER_GID} \
-            --no-create-home tomcat 
+            --no-create-home tomcat
 
   if [ -n "$CHANGE_OWNERSHIP_ON_FOLDERS" ]; then
     echo "Changing ownership accordingly ($CHANGE_OWNERSHIP_ON_FOLDERS)"
     chown -R tomcat:tomcat $CHANGE_OWNERSHIP_ON_FOLDERS
   fi
-  
+
   exec gosu tomcat $CATALINA_HOME/bin/catalina.sh run -Dorg.apache.catalina.connector.RECYCLE_FACADES=true
 else
   exec $CATALINA_HOME/bin/catalina.sh run -Dorg.apache.catalina.connector.RECYCLE_FACADES=true