diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 03e8a15..0ef358b 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -6,9 +6,12 @@ node_modules/
 dist/
 coverage/
 
-# Local environment files (a committed .env.example lands in E00-S04)
+# Local environment files: real .env files are ignored, while the committed
+# .env.example template (E00-S04-T05) is explicitly un-ignored so it stays
+# tracked.
 .env
 .env.*
+!.env.example
 
 # Logs
 *.log