diff --git a/.env b/.env
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..08bef7d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# Environment variables go here, these will be automatically read when using "pipenv run python 'file.py'"
+
+# Location where data is backed up to. Should be able to copy a set of the data from here.
+DATA_BACKUP_DIR="J:/Coastal/Temp/CKL/nsw_2016_storm_impact/data"
+
+# Location where the matlab interpreter is located. Required for a couple of data processing scripts.
+MATLAB_PATH="C:/Program Files/MATLAB/R2016b/bin/win64/MATLAB.exe"
+
+
+# The settings below should be left as is unless you know what you're doing.
+
+# We want to create the pipenv virtualenv in the current folder
+PIPENV_VENV_IN_PROJECT=1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 156fcca..1dadcb9 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 *.asv
 
 # DotEnv configuration
-.env
+# .env
 
 # Python
 __pycache__/