diff --git a/cgi-example/README.md b/cgi-example/README.md
index 53efcf9..9bc52a9 100644
--- a/cgi-example/README.md
+++ b/cgi-example/README.md
@@ -8,19 +8,11 @@ The goal of this project is to give a working example of a basic Gemini CGI appl
 * (DONE) Users can set data on their own account (a name field for example)
 * (DONE) Users can add additional certificates to the same account by using a special code
 
-## Files
+## Setup
 
-* `index.gmi` - a python script using the `gmi` extension. It is an executable file to enable CGI use. Your server must be configured for CGI for this to work. Depending on your server software you may need to house this project within a special `cgi-bin` directory.
+Create database with:
 
-Several sub-directories exist with their own index.gmi files to perform specific app actions.
-
-* `db.py` - handles database connection and queries
-* `helpers.py` - provides some Gemini header operations and environment variable fetching
-* `create_schema.sql` - holds the database schema for sqlite used in this app.
-
- Create database with:
-
-```bash
+``` sqlite command to create database
 sqlite3 db/cgi-example.sqlite3 < create_schema.sql
 ```
 
diff --git a/cgi-example/db.py b/cgi-example/db.py
index 98706d9..3a97207 100644
--- a/cgi-example/db.py
+++ b/cgi-example/db.py
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ db_file = os.path.join(dir_name, db_name)
 def create_connection():
     """ create a database connection to the SQLite database
         specified by db_file
-    :param db_file: database file
     :return: Connection object or None
     """
     conn = None
@@ -23,7 +22,7 @@ def create_connection():
 def add_user(conn):
     """
     Create a new user record
-    :param conn:
+    :param conn: database connection object
     :return: user id
     """
     sql = ''' INSERT INTO users DEFAULT VALUES '''
@@ -35,52 +34,49 @@ def add_user(conn):
         return 'error in insert'
     return cur.lastrowid
 
-def add_hash(conn, cert_user):
+def add_hash(conn, tls_client_hash, user_id):
     """
-    Create a new record for cert_user
-    :param conn:
-    :param cert_user:
-    :return: id
+    Create a new record for this cert
+    :param conn: database connection object
+    :param tls_client_hash:
+    :param user_id:
+    :return: certificate id
     """
     sql = ''' INSERT OR REPLACE INTO certs(hash,user_id) VALUES(?,?) '''
     cur = conn.cursor()
-    cur.execute(sql, cert_user)
+    cur.execute(sql, (tls_client_hash, user_id))
     conn.commit()
     return cur.lastrowid
 
 def get_user(conn, tls_client_hash):
     """
-    Get user id of tls_client_hash if it exists
-    :param conn:
+    Get user id matching tls_client_hash if it exists
+    :param conn: database connection object
     :param tls_client_hash:
-    :return: user id
+    :return: user id or None
     """
     cur = conn.cursor()
     cur.execute("SELECT user_id FROM certs WHERE hash=?", (tls_client_hash,))
-    rows = cur.fetchall()
-
-    if len(rows) > 0:
-        row = rows[0]
-        return row[0] # user_id
-    else:
+    row = cur.fetchone()
+    if row is None:
         return None
+    else:
+        return row[0] # user_id
 
 def get_user_by_keycode(conn, key_code):
     """
     Get user id of tls_client_hash if it exists
-    :param conn:
-    :param key_code:
-    :return: user id
+    :param conn: database connection object
+    :param key_code: authorization key code
+    :return: user id or None
     """
     cur = conn.cursor()
     cur.execute("SELECT id FROM users WHERE add_key_code=?", (key_code,))
-    rows = cur.fetchall()
-
-    if len(rows) > 0:
-        row = rows[0]
-        return row[0] # user_id
-    else:
+    row = cur.fetchone()
+    if row is None:
         return None
+    else:
+        return row[0] # user_id
 
 def check_hash(tls_client_hash):
     """
@@ -94,8 +90,7 @@ def check_hash(tls_client_hash):
         user_id = get_user(conn, tls_client_hash)
         if (user_id is None):
             user_id = add_user(conn)
-            cert_user = (tls_client_hash, user_id)
-            add_hash(conn, cert_user)
+            add_hash(conn, tls_client_hash, user_id)
         return user_id
 
 def get_name(user_id):
@@ -108,13 +103,11 @@ def get_name(user_id):
     with conn:
         cur = conn.cursor()
         cur.execute("SELECT name FROM users WHERE id=?", (user_id,))
-        rows = cur.fetchall()
-
-        if len(rows) > 0:
-            row = rows[0]
-            return row[0] # user_name
-        else:
+        row = cur.fetchone()
+        if row is None:
             return None
+        else:
+            return row[0] # user_name
 
 def set_name(user_id, user_name):
     """
@@ -160,8 +153,7 @@ def add_cert_to_user(key_code, tls_client_hash):
         user_id = get_user_by_keycode(conn, key_code)
         if (user_id is None):
             return False
-        cert_user = (tls_client_hash, user_id)
-        add_hash(conn, cert_user)
+        add_hash(conn, tls_client_hash, user_id)
         return True
 
 #vim:fenc=utf-8:ts=4:sw=4:sta:noet:sts=4:fdm=marker:ai
diff --git a/cgi-example/helpers.py b/cgi-example/helpers.py
index 1055eda..ffa9d69 100644
--- a/cgi-example/helpers.py
+++ b/cgi-example/helpers.py
@@ -10,11 +10,11 @@ def get_client_cert(ok_if_found = True):
         show_header_ok()
     return TLS_CLIENT_HASH
 
-def get_query_string(msg):
+def get_query_string(msg, ok_if_found = True):
     QUERY_STRING = os.getenv('QUERY_STRING')
     if(QUERY_STRING is None):
         show_query_string_required(msg)
-    else:
+    elif ok_if_found:
         show_header_ok()
     return QUERY_STRING