Environment

The environment file (.env, pronounced "dot env") is where all your app's private keys are stored — Firebase, AdMob, AppLovin, in-app purchases, and so on. It's the very first thing to set up, because every later step writes its keys into this file.

Keep it private

The keys inside .env are secret and identify your app. Never share it publicly and never upload it to GitHub. Don't worry about accidents though — the project already tells Git to ignore this file automatically.

Create your .env file

The project ships with a template called .env.example. Make a copy of it named .env.

Using your file manager — find .env.example in the project folder, duplicate it, and rename the copy to .env. Files starting with a dot are hidden by default: press ⌘ + ⇧ + . on macOS, or turn on View → Show → Hidden items on Windows.

Using the terminal — open a terminal in the project folder and run:

cp .env.example .env

What's next

You now have an empty .env file. Don't edit it by hand — continue to the Setup Page, where a friendly browser screen fills it in for you.