diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4d7f9cb..00d24a5 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -86,9 +86,10 @@ Follow these steps to set up and run the application on your local machine.
    Set your API keys for Google Gemini and OpenAI GPT-4:
 
    ```bash
-   export GENAI_API_KEY='your_genai_api_key'
-   export OPENAI_API_KEY='your_openai_api_key'
-   export GROQ_API_KEY='your_groq_api_key'
+    export APP_SECRET_KEY='your_app_secret_key'
+    export OPENAI_API_KEY='your_openai_api_key'
+    export GROQ_API_KEY='your_groq_api_key'
+    export GOOGLE_API_KEY='your_google_api_key'
    ```
 
    On Windows Command Prompt:
diff --git a/app.py b/app.py
index 7121f6f..010dd41 100644
--- a/app.py
+++ b/app.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 
 # Initialize the Flask application
 app = Flask(__name__)
-app.secret_key = 'your_secret_key'  # Replace with a secure secret key
+app.secret_key = os.getenv('APP_SECRET_KEY', 'localgpt')  # Replace with a secure secret key
 
 logger = get_logger(__name__)
 
diff --git a/example.env b/example.env
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..13a352b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/example.env
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+APP_SECRET_KEY='your_app_secret_key'
+OPENAI_API_KEY='your_openai_api_key'
+GROQ_API_KEY='your_groq_api_key'
+GOOGLE_API_KEY='your_google_api_key'
\ No newline at end of file