diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index b1c1fed..a87c1c0 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -6,10 +6,16 @@ __pycache__/
 *.pyo
 *.pyd
 
+# Virtual environments
+
+
 # Virtual environments
 enisper/
 venv/
-*.env/
+.env          # Ignore the specific .env file
+.env.* # Ignore local variations like .env.local or .env.development
+!.env.example # OPTIONAL: Ensure the example file is NOT ignored (the '!' means 'exclude from ignore')
+
 
 # ======================
 # Audio / Video / Media
diff --git a/pipeline/.env.example b/pipeline/.env.example
index e69de29..a88ab28 100644
--- a/pipeline/.env.example
+++ b/pipeline/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY
+BASE_URL=http://pluto/v1