diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..06b1178
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Debug Mode
+# Set to 'true' to enable debug mode which shows LLM prompts and responses
+# This is useful for debugging AI behavior
+NEXT_PUBLIC_DEBUG=false
+
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 5ef6a52..7b8da95 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ yarn-error.log*
 
 # env files (can opt-in for committing if needed)
 .env*
+!.env.example
 
 # vercel
 .vercel