diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 3a9684f..9522372 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 node_modules/
 dist/
 .vite/
+.env
+.env.local
 client/public/assets/chars/
 shared/tsconfig.tsbuildinfo
 .worktrees/
diff --git a/server/.env.example b/server/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f528ace
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# OpenRouter API key — get one at https://openrouter.ai/keys
+# LLM features are disabled when this is not set.
+OPENROUTER_API_KEY=
+
+# Optional: override the default model
+# LLM_MODEL=arcee-ai/trinity-large-preview:free