Support .env for non-Docker environments

.env.example

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Application environment (dev, test, prod)
+APP_ENV=dev
+
+# Enable debug mode in development
+APP_DEBUG=true

.gitignore

@@ -22,5 +22,8 @@ Thumbs.db
 # composer vendor dir
 /vendor
 
+# environment configuration
+.env
+
 # Codeception C3
 c3.php

README.md

@@ -45,8 +45,23 @@ composer create-project yiisoft/app-api myproject
 cd myproject
 ```
 
+Copy the `.env.example` file to `.env`:
+
+```shell
+cp .env.example .env
+```
+
+The `.env` file contains environment-specific configuration. By default, it sets `APP_ENV=dev` for development.
+You can customize it as needed.
+
 To run the app:
 
+```shell
+./yii serve
+```
+
+Alternatively, you can still use the `APP_ENV` environment variable directly:
+
 ```shell
 APP_ENV=dev ./yii serve
 ```
@@ -111,10 +126,28 @@ tests/                      A set of Codeception tests for the application.
     Functional/             Functional tests.
     Unit/                   Unit tests.
 vendor/                     Installed Composer packages.
+.env.example                Example environment configuration (copy to .env for local dev).
 Makefile                    Config for make command.
 yii                         Console application entry point.
 ```
 
+## Environment Configuration
+
+For local development (non-Docker), you can use a `.env` file to configure the environment:
+
+1. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`:
+   ```shell
+   cp .env.example .env
+   ```
+
+2. The `.env` file is automatically loaded and sets environment variables like `APP_ENV`.
+
+3. The `.env` file is excluded from git, so each environment can have its own configuration.
+
+4. If no `.env` file exists and no `APP_ENV` is set, the application defaults to `prod` environment.
+
+For Docker environments, use the `.env` files in the `docker/` directory as before.
+
 ## Testing
 
 The template comes with ready to use [Codeception](https://codeception.com/) configuration.

composer.json

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
         "psr/http-server-middleware": "^1.0.2",
         "psr/log": "^3.0.2",
         "symfony/console": "^7.3.4",
+        "vlucas/phpdotenv": "^5.6",
         "yiisoft/aliases": "^3.1",
         "yiisoft/config": "^1.6",
         "yiisoft/data": "^1.0.1",