diff --git a/surfsense_desktop/.env b/surfsense_desktop/.env
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c797d207b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/surfsense_desktop/.env
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# Placeholders — replaced at app startup with real values (see src/env-replace.ts)
+
+NEXT_PUBLIC_FASTAPI_BACKEND_URL=__NEXT_PUBLIC_FASTAPI_BACKEND_URL__
+NEXT_PUBLIC_FASTAPI_BACKEND_AUTH_TYPE=__NEXT_PUBLIC_FASTAPI_BACKEND_AUTH_TYPE__
+NEXT_PUBLIC_ETL_SERVICE=__NEXT_PUBLIC_ETL_SERVICE__
+NEXT_PUBLIC_ELECTRIC_URL=__NEXT_PUBLIC_ELECTRIC_URL__
+NEXT_PUBLIC_ELECTRIC_AUTH_MODE=__NEXT_PUBLIC_ELECTRIC_AUTH_MODE__
+NEXT_PUBLIC_DEPLOYMENT_MODE=__NEXT_PUBLIC_DEPLOYMENT_MODE__
+NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY=
+NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_HOST=