diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ee4a87d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# Use the Prisma Postgres integration from Vercel Marketeplace to automatically connect a Prisma Postgres instance
+# Or manually run `npx prisma init --db` to create a Prisma Postgres and manually set the `DATABASE_URL` below
+
+# Create a random 32-character string or run `npx auth secret` to obtain one and set it as the `AUTH_SECRET` below
+
+GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=
+GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=
+NEXTAUTH_SECRET=
+NEXTAUTH_URL=http://localhost:3000
+
+# Email configuration
+EMAIL_SERVER_HOST=smtp.resend.dev
+EMAIL_SERVER_PORT=587
+EMAIL_SERVER_USER=BayesBond
+EMAIL_SERVER_PASSWORD=
+RESEND_API_KEY=
+EMAIL_FROM=
+
+# Development (SQLite)
+DATABASE_URL=file:./dev.db
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 82f4b795..e5b62b5d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ You now need to configure your database connection via an environment variable.
 First, create an `.env` file:
 
 ```bash
-touch .env
+cp .env.example .env
 ```
 
 To ensure your authentication works properly, you'll also need to set [env vars for NextAuth.js](https://next-auth.js.org/configuration/options):