diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b08736cdf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+# Installation
+INSTALL_PORT=80
+AUTO_INSTALL=false
+
+# Database
+DB_TYPE=
+DB_USERNAME=
+DB_PASSWORD=
+DB_HOST=
+DB_NAME=
+DB_FILE=
+
+# Site
+LANGUAGE=en-US
+SITE_NAME=Apache Answer
+SITE_URL=
+CONTACT_EMAIL=
+
+# Admin
+ADMIN_NAME=
+ADMIN_PASSWORD=
+ADMIN_EMAIL=
+
+# Content
+EXTERNAL_CONTENT_DISPLAY=ask_before_display
+
+# Swagger
+SWAGGER_HOST=
+SWAGGER_ADDRESS_PORT=
+
+# Server
+SITE_ADDR=0.0.0.0:3000
+
+# Logging
+LOG_LEVEL=INFO
+LOG_PATH=
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 257ef31d6..ba66f51a0 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -33,3 +33,6 @@ dist/
 
 # Lint setup generated file
 .husky/
+
+# Environment variables
+.env
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/cmd/main.go b/cmd/main.go
index f166d2309..1f8153001 100644
--- a/cmd/main.go
+++ b/cmd/main.go
@@ -31,12 +31,18 @@ import (
 	"github.com/apache/answer/internal/base/path"
 	"github.com/apache/answer/internal/schema"
 	"github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
+	"github.com/joho/godotenv"
 	"github.com/segmentfault/pacman"
 	"github.com/segmentfault/pacman/contrib/log/zap"
 	"github.com/segmentfault/pacman/contrib/server/http"
 	"github.com/segmentfault/pacman/log"
 )
 
+func init() {
+	// Load .env if present, ignore error to keep backward compatibility
+	_ = godotenv.Load()
+}
+
 // go build -ldflags "-X github.com/apache/answer/cmd.Version=x.y.z"
 var (
 	// Name is the name of the project
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 969d9ebbc..52d64c738 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -117,6 +117,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/hashicorp/golang-lru/v2 v2.0.7 // indirect
 	github.com/hashicorp/hcl v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap v1.1.0 // indirect
+	github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1 // indirect
 	github.com/josharian/intern v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/json-iterator/go v1.1.12 // indirect
 	github.com/klauspost/cpuid/v2 v2.2.8 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 35db004db..69d97751e 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -354,6 +354,8 @@ github.com/jinzhu/copier v0.4.0/go.mod h1:DfbEm0FYsaqBcKcFuvmOZb218JkPGtvSHsKg8S
 github.com/jinzhu/now v1.1.5 h1:/o9tlHleP7gOFmsnYNz3RGnqzefHA47wQpKrrdTIwXQ=
 github.com/jinzhu/now v1.1.5/go.mod h1:d3SSVoowX0Lcu0IBviAWJpolVfI5UJVZZ7cO71lE/z8=
 github.com/jmespath/go-jmespath v0.0.0-20180206201540-c2b33e8439af/go.mod h1:Nht3zPeWKUH0NzdCt2Blrr5ys8VGpn0CEB0cQHVjt7k=
+github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1 h1:7eLL/+HRGLY0ldzfGMeQkb7vMd0as4CfYvUVzLqw0N0=
+github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1/go.mod h1:f4LDr5Voq0i2e/R5DDNOoa2zzDfwtkZa6DnEwAbqwq4=
 github.com/jonboulle/clockwork v0.1.0/go.mod h1:Ii8DK3G1RaLaWxj9trq07+26W01tbo22gdxWY5EU2bo=
 github.com/jonboulle/clockwork v0.3.0 h1:9BSCMi8C+0qdApAp4auwX0RkLGUjs956h0EkuQymUhg=
 github.com/jonboulle/clockwork v0.3.0/go.mod h1:Pkfl5aHPm1nk2H9h0bjmnJD/BcgbGXUBGnn1kMkgxc8=