diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..87af043
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+export TUBESTATUS_FEED_EMAIL=
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4c49bd7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+.env
diff --git a/tubestatus.rb b/tubestatus.rb
index 4d80eca..c30c49c 100644
--- a/tubestatus.rb
+++ b/tubestatus.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+require 'dotenv'
+Dotenv.load
+
 require 'sinatra'
 require 'json'
 require 'xmlsimple'