.env.development.local -

Because these files often contain sensitive secrets—such as private access tokens, passwords, or local paths—they should always be included in the project's .gitignore file. To help other developers know which variables they need to define, it is standard practice to provide a "template" file, such as .env.example , which contains the variable names but none of the actual secret values. Loading Order

# ----------------------------------------------------------- # General Settings # ----------------------------------------------------------- NODE_ENV=development APP_ENV=local .env.development.local

Keys that shouldn't be shared with teammates (e.g., your personal STRIPE_SECRET_KEY Local Overrides: such as .env.example