diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7015a31
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+# .env.example
+
+# --- PLEASE FILL THIS OUT WITH THE SECURELY PROVIDED CREDENTIALS ---
+
+# Application Database Credentials
+MYSQL_DATABASE=astra
+MYSQL_USER=astraadmin
+MYSQL_PASSWORD=
+
+# MySQL Container Root Password (for first-time setup only, not used by the app)
+MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=
+
+# API Keys
+GEMINI_API_KEY=
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-and-deploy.yml b/.github/workflows/build-and-deploy.yml
index 2f8d2cb..c466eae 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-and-deploy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-and-deploy.yml
@@ -84,6 +84,7 @@ jobs:
             export MYSQL_DATABASE='${{ secrets.MYSQL_DATABASE }}'
             export MYSQL_USER='${{ secrets.MYSQL_USER }}'
             export MYSQL_PASSWORD='${{ secrets.MYSQL_PASSWORD }}'
+            export MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD='${{ secrets.MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD }}'
 
             # Set the image tag to the specific commit SHA for a precise deployment
             export IMAGE_TAG=${{ github.sha }}