diff --git a/.github/actions/spelling/expect.txt b/.github/actions/spelling/expect.txt
index 464adca0e..473e0304d 100644
--- a/.github/actions/spelling/expect.txt
+++ b/.github/actions/spelling/expect.txt
@@ -168,6 +168,7 @@ readxl
 reasonwait
 recid
 refsource
+renviron
 rlang
 rmarkdown
 roxygen
diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index 6c4f3cd52..678d7a53f 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -156,6 +156,7 @@ export(read_sc_all_care_home)
 export(read_sc_all_home_care)
 export(read_sc_all_sds)
 export(run_episode_file)
+export(setup_keyring)
 export(start_fy)
 export(start_fy_quarter)
 export(start_next_fy_quarter)
diff --git a/R/get_connection_PHS_database.R b/R/get_connection_PHS_database.R
index 5973e0003..0a528f45b 100644
--- a/R/get_connection_PHS_database.R
+++ b/R/get_connection_PHS_database.R
@@ -1,22 +1,32 @@
 #' Open a connection to a PHS database
 #'
-#' @description Opens a connection to PHS database to allow data to be collected
+#' @description Opens a connection to PHS database given a Data Source Name
+#' (DSN) it will try to get the username, asking for input if in an interactive
+#' session. It will also use [keyring][keyring::keyring-package] to find
+#' an existing keyring called 'createslf' which should contain a `db_password`
+#' key with the users database password.
 #'
-#' @param dsn The Data Source Name passed on to `odbc::dbconnect`
-#' the dsn must be setup first. e.g. SMRA or DVPROD
+#' @param dsn The Data Source Name (DSN) passed on to [odbc::dbConnect()]
+#' the DSN must be set up first. e.g. `SMRA` or `DVPROD`
 #' @param username The username to use for authentication,
-#' if not supplied it first will check the environment variable
-#' and finally ask the user for input.
+#' if not supplied it will try to find it automatically and if possible ask the
+#' user for input.
 #'
-#' @return a connection to the specified dsn
+#' @return a connection to the specified Data Source.
 #' @export
-#'
-phs_db_connection <- function(dsn, username = Sys.getenv("USER")) {
-  # Collect username from the environment
-  username <- Sys.getenv("USER")
+phs_db_connection <- function(dsn, username) {
+  if (missing(username)) {
+    # Collect username if possible
+    username <- dplyr::case_when(
+      Sys.info()["USER"] != "unknown" ~ Sys.info()["USER"],
+      Sys.getenv("USER") != "" ~ Sys.getenv("USER"),
+      system2("whoami", stdout = TRUE) != "" ~ system2("whoami", stdout = TRUE),
+      .default = NA
+    )
+  }
 
-  # Check the username is not empty and take input if not
-  if (is.na(username) || username == "") {
+  # If the username is missing try to get input from the user
+  if (is.na(username)) {
     if (rlang::is_interactive()) {
       username <- rstudioapi::showPrompt(
         title = "Username",
@@ -24,46 +34,219 @@ phs_db_connection <- function(dsn, username = Sys.getenv("USER")) {
         default = ""
       )
     } else {
-      cli::cli_abort("No username found, you should supply one with {.arg username}")
+      cli::cli_abort(
+        c(
+          "x" = "No username found, you can use the {.arg username} argument.",
+          "i" = "Alternatively, add {.code USER = \"<your username>\"} to your
+          {.file .Renviron} file."
+        )
+      )
     }
   }
 
-  # TODO improve error messages and provide instructions for setting up keyring
-  # Add the following code to R profile.
-  # Sys.setenv("CREATESLF_KEYRING_PASS" = "createslf"),
-  # keyring_create("createslf", password = Sys.getenv("CREATESLF_KEYRING_PASS")),
-  # key_set(keyring = "createslf", service = "db_password")
+  # Check the status of keyring
+  # Does the 'createslf' keyring exist
+  keyring_exists <- "createslf" %in% keyring::keyring_list()[["keyring"]]
 
-  if (!("createslf" %in% keyring::keyring_list()[["keyring"]])) {
-    cli::cli_abort("The {.val createslf} keyring does not exist.")
+  # Does the 'db_password' key exist in the 'createslf' keyring
+  if (keyring_exists) {
+    key_exists <- "db_password" %in% keyring::key_list(keyring = "createslf")[["service"]]
+  } else {
+    key_exists <- FALSE
   }
 
-  if (!("db_password" %in% keyring::key_list(keyring = "createslf")[["service"]])) {
-    cli::cli_abort("{.val db_password} is missing from the {.val createslf} keyring.")
-  }
+  # Does the 'CREATESLF_KEYRING_PASS' environment variable exist
+  env_var_pass_exists <- Sys.getenv("CREATESLF_KEYRING_PASS") != ""
 
-  if (Sys.getenv("CREATESLF_KEYRING_PASS") == "") {
-    cli::cli_abort("You must have the password to unlock the {.val createslf} keyring in your environment as
-                   {.envvar CREATESLF_KEYRING_PASS}. Please set this up in your {.file .Renviron} or {.file .Rprofile}")
+  if (!all(keyring_exists, key_exists, env_var_pass_exists)) {
+    if (rlang::is_interactive()) {
+      setup_keyring(
+        keyring = "createslf",
+        key = "db_password",
+        keyring_exists = keyring_exists,
+        key_exists = key_exists,
+        env_var_pass_exists = env_var_pass_exists
+      )
+    } else {
+      if (any(keyring_exists, key_exists, env_var_pass_exists)) {
+        cli::cli_abort(
+          c(
+            "x" = "Your keyring needs to be set up, run:",
+            "{.code setup_keyring(keyring = \"createslf\", key = \"db_password\",
+  keyring_exists = {keyring_exists}, key_exists = {key_exists},
+  env_var_pass_exists = {env_var_pass_exists})}"
+          )
+        )
+      } else {
+        cli::cli_abort(
+          c(
+            "x" = "Your keyring needs to be set up, run:",
+            "{.code setup_keyring(keyring = \"createslf\",
+            key = \"db_password\")}"
+          )
+        )
+      }
+    }
   }
 
-  keyring::keyring_unlock(keyring = "createslf", password = Sys.getenv("CREATESLF_KEYRING_PASS"))
-
-  if (keyring::keyring_is_locked(keyring = "createslf")) {
-    cli::cli_abort("Keyring is locked. To unlock createslf keyring, please use {.fun keyring::keyring_unlock}")
+  if (env_var_pass_exists) {
+    keyring::keyring_unlock(
+      keyring = "createslf",
+      password = Sys.getenv("CREATESLF_KEYRING_PASS")
+    )
+  } else {
+    keyring::keyring_unlock(
+      keyring = "createslf",
+      password = rstudioapi::askForPassword(
+        prompt = "Enter the password for the keyring you just created."
+      )
+    )
   }
 
 
   # Create the connection
-  password_text <- stringr::str_glue("{dsn} password for user: {username}")
   db_connection <- odbc::dbConnect(
     odbc::odbc(),
     dsn = dsn,
     uid = username,
-    pwd = keyring::key_get(keyring = "createslf", service = "db_password")
+    pwd = keyring::key_get(
+      keyring = "createslf",
+      service = "db_password"
+    )
   )
 
   keyring::keyring_lock(keyring = "createslf")
 
   return(db_connection)
 }
+
+#' Interactively set up the keyring
+#'
+#' @description
+#' This is meant to be used with [phs_db_connection()], it can only be used
+#' interactively i.e. not in targets or in a workbench job.
+#'
+#' With the default options it will go through the steps to set up a keyring
+#' which can be used to supply passwords to [odbc::dbConnect()] (or others) in a
+#' secure and seamless way.
+#'
+#'  1. Create an .Renviron file in the project and add a password (for the
+#'  keyring) to it.
+#'  2. Create a keyring with the password - Since we have saved the password as
+#'  an environment variable it can be picked unlocked and used automatically.
+#'  3. Add the database password to the keyring.
+#'
+#'
+#' @param keyring Name of the keyring
+#' @param key Name of the key
+#' @param keyring_exists Does the keyring already exist
+#' @param key_exists Does the key already exist
+#' @param env_var_pass_exists Does the password for the keyring already exist
+#' in the environment.
+#'
+#' @return NULL (invisibly)
+#' @export
+setup_keyring <- function(
+    keyring = "createslf",
+    key = "db_password",
+    keyring_exists = FALSE,
+    key_exists = FALSE,
+    env_var_pass_exists = FALSE) {
+  # First we need the password as an environment variable
+  if (!env_var_pass_exists) {
+    if (Sys.getenv("CREATESLF_KEYRING_PASS") != "") {
+      cli::cli_alert_warning(
+        "{.env CREATESLF_KEYRING_PASS} already exists in the environment, you
+        will need to clean this up manually if it's not correct."
+      )
+      keyring_password <- Sys.getenv("CREATESLF_KEYRING_PASS")
+    } else if (
+      any(stringr::str_detect(
+        readr::read_lines(".Renviron"),
+        "^CREATESLF_KEYRING_PASS\\s*?=\\s*?['\"].+?['\"]$"
+      ))
+
+    ) {
+      cli::cli_abort(
+        "Your {.file .Renviron} file looks ok, try restarting your session."
+      )
+    } else {
+      keyring_password <- rstudioapi::askForPassword(
+        prompt = stringr::str_glue(
+          "Enter a password for the '{keyring}' keyring, this should
+        not be your LDAP / database password."
+        )
+      )
+      if (is.null(keyring_password)) {
+        cli::cli_abort("No keyring password entered.")
+      }
+      if (!fs::file_exists(".Renviron")) {
+        cli::cli_alert_success("Creating an {.file .Renviron} file.")
+      }
+
+      renviron_text <- stringr::str_glue(
+        "CREATESLF_KEYRING_PASS = \"{keyring_password}\""
+      )
+
+      readr::write_lines(
+        x = renviron_text,
+        file = ".Renviron",
+        append = TRUE
+      )
+
+      cli::cli_alert_success(
+        "Added {.code {renviron_text}} to the {.file .Renviron} file."
+      )
+
+      cli::cli_alert_info("You will need to restart your R session.")
+    }
+  } else {
+    keyring_password <- Sys.getenv("CREATESLF_KEYRING_PASS")
+  }
+
+  # If the keyring doesn't exist create it now.
+  if (!keyring_exists) {
+    if (keyring %in% keyring::keyring_list()[["keyring"]]) {
+      cli::cli_alert_warning(
+        "The {keyring} keyring already exists, you will be asked to
+        overwrite it."
+      )
+    }
+    keyring::keyring_create(
+      keyring = keyring,
+      password = keyring_password
+    )
+
+    cli::cli_alert_success(
+      "Created the '{keyring}' keyring with {.fun keyring::keyring_create}."
+    )
+  }
+
+  # If we just created the keyring it will already be unlocked
+  keyring::keyring_unlock(
+    keyring = keyring,
+    password = keyring_password
+  )
+
+  # Now add the password to the keyring
+  if (!key_exists) {
+    keyring::key_set(
+      keyring = keyring,
+      service = key,
+      prompt = "Enter you LDAP password for database connections."
+    )
+
+    cli::cli_alert_success(
+      "Added the '{key}' key to the '{keyring}' keyring with
+      {.fun keyring::keyring_set}."
+    )
+  }
+
+  keyring::keyring_lock(keyring = keyring)
+
+  cli::cli_alert_success(
+    "The keyring should now be set up correctly."
+  )
+
+  return(invisible(NULL))
+}
diff --git a/man/phs_db_connection.Rd b/man/phs_db_connection.Rd
index 93e73ee55..8ff9d0a32 100644
--- a/man/phs_db_connection.Rd
+++ b/man/phs_db_connection.Rd
@@ -4,19 +4,23 @@
 \alias{phs_db_connection}
 \title{Open a connection to a PHS database}
 \usage{
-phs_db_connection(dsn, username = Sys.getenv("USER"))
+phs_db_connection(dsn, username)
 }
 \arguments{
-\item{dsn}{The Data Source Name passed on to \code{odbc::dbconnect}
-the dsn must be setup first. e.g. SMRA or DVPROD}
+\item{dsn}{The Data Source Name (DSN) passed on to \code{\link[odbc:dbConnect-OdbcDriver-method]{odbc::dbConnect()}}
+the DSN must be set up first. e.g. \code{SMRA} or \code{DVPROD}}
 
 \item{username}{The username to use for authentication,
-if not supplied it first will check the environment variable
-and finally ask the user for input.}
+if not supplied it will try to find it automatically and if possible ask the
+user for input.}
 }
 \value{
-a connection to the specified dsn
+a connection to the specified Data Source.
 }
 \description{
-Opens a connection to PHS database to allow data to be collected
+Opens a connection to PHS database given a Data Source Name
+(DSN) it will try to get the username, asking for input if in an interactive
+session. It will also use \link[keyring:keyring-package]{keyring} to find
+an existing keyring called 'createslf' which should contain a \code{db_password}
+key with the users database password.
 }
diff --git a/man/setup_keyring.Rd b/man/setup_keyring.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c40ef31c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/setup_keyring.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/get_connection_PHS_database.R
+\name{setup_keyring}
+\alias{setup_keyring}
+\title{Interactively set up the keyring}
+\usage{
+setup_keyring(
+  keyring = "createslf",
+  key = "db_password",
+  keyring_exists = FALSE,
+  key_exists = FALSE,
+  env_var_pass_exists = FALSE
+)
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{keyring}{Name of the keyring}
+
+\item{key}{Name of the key}
+
+\item{keyring_exists}{Does the keyring already exist}
+
+\item{key_exists}{Does the key already exist}
+
+\item{env_var_pass_exists}{Does the password for the keyring already exist
+in the environment.}
+}
+\value{
+NULL (invisibly)
+}
+\description{
+This is meant to be used with \code{\link[=phs_db_connection]{phs_db_connection()}}, it can only be used
+interactively i.e. not in targets or in a workbench job.
+
+With the default options it will go through the steps to set up a keyring
+which can be used to supply passwords to \code{\link[odbc:dbConnect-OdbcDriver-method]{odbc::dbConnect()}} (or others) in a
+secure and seamless way.
+\enumerate{
+\item Create an .Renviron file in the project and add a password (for the
+keyring) to it.
+\item Create a keyring with the password - Since we have saved the password as
+an environment variable it can be picked unlocked and used automatically.
+\item Add the database password to the keyring.
+}
+}