diff --git a/api/.env.example b/api/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a3b8495
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+NODE_ENV=development
+DB_HOST=localhost
+DB_PORT=5432
+DB_USERNAME=your_database_username
+DB_PASSWORD=your_database_password
+DB_DATABASE=jira_development
+JWT_SECRET=development12345