diff --git a/example.env b/example.env
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..38c690a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/example.env
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+VITE_TMDB_READ_API_KEY=...
+VITE_OPENSEARCH_ENABLED=false
+
+# make sure the cors proxy url does NOT have a slash at the end
+VITE_CORS_PROXY_URL=...
+
+# make sure the domain does NOT have a slash at the end
+VITE_APP_DOMAIN=http://localhost:5173