diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..95f91e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# Local environment variables for Cloud Agents
+# Copy this file to .env and fill in your actual values
+#
+# cp .env.example .env
+#
+# Cloud agents can read your .env file directly to access these variables.
+
+# Example variables (replace with your actual values):
+API_KEY=your-api-key-here
+DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/mydb
+DEBUG=true
+NODE_ENV=development
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6b04ce7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# Environment variables
+.env
+.env.local
+.env.*.local
+
+# Don't commit sensitive configuration
+*.pem
+*.key