Remove tracked env template and tighten ignores

Author: biru-codeastromer

.gitignore

@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ __pycache__/
 .venv/
 venv/
 .env
+.env.*
+**/.env
+**/.env.*
 .pytest_cache/
 .ruff_cache/
 .mypy_cache/

README.md

@@ -19,11 +19,12 @@ WorldModel Gym is a production-ready benchmark platform for long-horizon plannin
 ## Quickstart
 
 ```bash
-cp .env.example .env
 make setup
 make demo
 ```
 
+Local development uses built-in defaults. If you need overrides, export environment variables in your shell instead of committing env files to the repo.
+
 `make demo` will:
 
 - start the API + web stack with Docker when available

docs/DEPLOYMENT.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Deployment
 
-Before deploying, copy `.env.example` and replace the default upload token.
+Before deploying, set environment variables directly in Render/Vercel or in your shell. Do not commit env files to the repository.
 
 ## Recommended Production Combo: Render (API) + Vercel (Web)