.env configuration

DATABASE_URL="mongodb+srv://<user>:<password>@<cluster>/<db>?retryWrites=true&w=majority"
PORT=3000
BASE_URL="<https://localhost>:{PORT}"

Why environment variables matter

• Keep secrets out of source control.
• Support different settings per environment (local, staging, production).
• Enable safer deployments (Vercel environment configuration).

Notes

• Never commit real credentials.
• Consider separate DBs/collections for non-production environments.