NEVER commit .env files to Git!

The .gitignore file is configured to automatically exclude:

• .env - Main environment file
• .env.* - Any .env variant files
• *.env - Any file ending in .env
• .env.local - Local overrides
• .env.production - Production config
• .env.development - Development config
• .env.test - Test config

To verify your .env file is not tracked:

# Check if .env is ignored
git check-ignore .env

# Verify .env is not in Git
git ls-files | grep .env

# Should return nothing if properly ignored

If you accidentally committed a .env file:

# Remove from Git (but keep local file)
git rm --cached .env

# Commit the removal
git commit -m "Remove .env file from Git"

# Push the change
git push

# IMPORTANT: If you pushed sensitive data, rotate all API keys and passwords!

1. ✅ Always use .gitignore to exclude .env files
2. ✅ Never share .env files in emails or messages
3. ✅ Use .env.example as a template (without real values)
4. ✅ Rotate credentials if .env was ever committed
5. ✅ Use environment variables in production (not files)

✅ .gitignore is configured correctly ✅ .env files are excluded from Git ✅ No .env files are tracked in the repository

Remember: Your .env file contains sensitive credentials. Keep it secure!