diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 101a2a3..de5ed05 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -20,9 +20,9 @@ docker compose up
 
 ## Development Installation
 
-### 1. Backend Environment Setup
+### 1. Environment Setup
 
-Copy the .env.example to .env, add the required environment variables.
+Copy the .env.example to .env in both `frontend/` and `backend/`, fill in the required environment variables.
 
 ### 2. Backend Setup
 
diff --git a/backend/.env.example b/backend/.env.example
index 0a6cea2..25b5cab 100644
--- a/backend/.env.example
+++ b/backend/.env.example
@@ -12,7 +12,24 @@ CORS_ALLOW_ORIGINS=*
 
 # OIDC Configuration
 # Get these from your OIDC provider
+OIDC_AUTHORITY=your-oidc-authority
 OIDC_CLIENT_ID=your-oidc-client-id
-OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET=your-oidc-client-secret
+
+# URLs
 SITE_URL=http://localhost:3000
-FRONTEND_REDIRECT_URI=http://localhost:5173/auth/callback
\ No newline at end of file
+FRONTEND_REDIRECT_URI=http://localhost:5173/auth/callback
+
+# Azure OpenAI Configuration
+OPENAI_API_ENDPOINT=your-openai-api-endpoint
+OPENAI_API_KEY=your-openai-api-key
+AZURE_DEPLOYMENT=gpt-5-mini # ensure these are deployed on azure
+AZURE_EVAL_DEPLOYMENT=gpt-4o-mini
+
+# Real-Time STT Configuration
+AZURE_SPEECH_KEY=azure-speech-key
+AZURE_SPEECH_REGION=azure-speech-region # e.g., westus, eastus, etc.
+
+# Optional
+#LANGFUSE_SECRET_KEY=your-langfuse-secret-key
+#LANGFUSE_PUBLIC_KEY=your-langfuse-public-key
+#LANGFUSE_BASE_URL=your-langfuse-base-url
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/backend/data/.gitkeep b/backend/data/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29