diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4167965
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# Clerk Authentication
+NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_
+CLERK_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_
+
+# Database
+DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/dbname"
+
+# Next.js
+NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL="http://localhost:3000"
+
+# Optional: For production deployments
+# NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL="https://yourdomain.com"
+# VERCEL_URL="https://yourdomain.com"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index aec8848..a1fa6fc 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -29,8 +29,11 @@ npm-debug.log*
 yarn-debug.log*
 yarn-error.log*
 
-# env files (can opt-in for commiting if needed)
-.env*
+# Ignore all .env files
+.env
+
+# Allow .env.example
+!.env.example
 
 # vercel
 .vercel