diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 9944156..e75059e 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-# Copy to .env for local use; .env is git-ignored and must never be committed.
+# Reference list of the environment variables this CLI reads. Nothing loads a
+# .env file automatically: the settings layer reads os.environ directly, so
+# export these in your shell (or copy this file to a git-ignored .env and load
+# it yourself, e.g. `set -a; . ./.env; set +a`). Values here are placeholders.
 # These variables belong to the optional model-provider layer; delete this
 # file if you remove that layer.
 
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c5b5c5a..b9d58fd 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ All notable changes to this project are documented here. The format is based on
 - README now leads the "Using the template" section with the rename step the
   GitHub "Use this template" button cannot run, and describes the owner,
   contact, and version resets `rename-project` performs.
+- `.env.example` now states that nothing loads `.env` automatically and shows
+  how to export or source the variables, since the settings layer reads
+  `os.environ` directly.
 
 ## [0.2.0] - 2026-07-17