diff --git a/weed/command/mini.go b/weed/command/mini.go
index 049ea0390..e4a97f4a1 100644
--- a/weed/command/mini.go
+++ b/weed/command/mini.go
@@ -378,6 +378,19 @@ The S3 endpoint is available at http://localhost:8333. For client
 configuration and IAM setup, see the project documentation or use the
 Admin UI (http://localhost:23646) to manage users and policies.
 
+Notes:
+- Values mini computes itself (currently master.volumeSizeLimitMB) are
+  pinned in <dir>/mini.options and applied again on the next start to
+  keep them stable; applied values are printed at startup. Command-line
+  flags are never saved and always win over saved values. Edit or
+  delete mini.options to reset a computed value.
+- The official Docker image ships /etc/seaweedfs/filer.toml, which keeps
+  the filer metadata in /data/filerldb2 regardless of -dir; mini warns
+  at startup when a configured store dir is outside -dir. If you set
+  -dir to another path, keep /data on a persistent volume as well.
+  Otherwise the metadata is lost when the container is recreated, and
+  buckets list no objects although the volume files are still in -dir.
+
 `,
 }