diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index ffe6b33..0abf9bb 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -160,4 +160,4 @@ cython_debug/
 #  and can be added to the global gitignore or merged into this file.  For a more nuclear
 #  option (not recommended) you can uncomment the following to ignore the entire idea folder.
 #.idea/
-OS/01/conversations/user.json
+
diff --git a/OS/01/.env.example b/OS/01/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d55c875
--- /dev/null
+++ b/OS/01/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+### SETTINGS
+# Copy this file and rename it to ".env" to use it.
+
+# If ALL_LOCAL is False, we'll use OpenAI's services
+# If setting ALL_LOCAL to true, set the path to the WHISPER local model
+ALL_LOCAL=False
+# WHISPER_MODEL_PATH=...
+# OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
+
+# For TTS, we use the en_US-lessac-medium voice model by default
+# Please change the voice URL and voice name if you wish to use another voice
+export PIPER_VOICE_URL="https://huggingface.co/rhasspy/piper-voices/resolve/main/en/en_US/lessac/medium/"
+export PIPER_VOICE_NAME="en_US-lessac-medium.onnx"
+
+# If SERVER_START, this is where we'll serve the server.
+# If DEVICE_START, this is where the device expects the server to be.
+SERVER_URL=ws://localhost:8000/
+SERVER_START=True
+DEVICE_START=True
+
+# Control where various operations happen— can be `device` or `server`.
+CODE_RUNNER=server
+TTS_RUNNER=server # If device, audio will be sent over websocket.
+STT_RUNNER=device # If server, audio will be sent over websocket.
+
+# Will expose the server publically and display that URL.
+SERVER_EXPOSE_PUBLICALLY=False
+
+# Debug level
+# LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG
+LOG_LEVEL="INFO"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/OS/01/.gitignore b/OS/01/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..731ab70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/OS/01/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+conversations/user.json
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/OS/01/device.py b/OS/01/device.py
index 6a1e24f..eb03cdd 100644
--- a/OS/01/device.py
+++ b/OS/01/device.py
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+load_dotenv()  # take environment variables from .env.
+
 import asyncio
 import threading
 import os
diff --git a/OS/01/i.py b/OS/01/i.py
index 339298f..0c24c49 100644
--- a/OS/01/i.py
+++ b/OS/01/i.py
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+load_dotenv()  # take environment variables from .env.
+
 import os
 import glob
 import json
diff --git a/OS/01/llm.py b/OS/01/llm.py
index 49a39bc..ba761a3 100644
--- a/OS/01/llm.py
+++ b/OS/01/llm.py
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+load_dotenv()  # take environment variables from .env.
+
 import os
 import subprocess
 from pathlib import Path
diff --git a/OS/01/run.py b/OS/01/run.py
index 44a365b..f3a558e 100644
--- a/OS/01/run.py
+++ b/OS/01/run.py
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 Exposes a SSE streaming server endpoint at /run, which recieves language and code,
 and streams the output.
 """
+
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+load_dotenv()  # take environment variables from .env.
+
 import os
 import json
 from interpreter import interpreter
diff --git a/OS/01/server.py b/OS/01/server.py
index 5986c48..cc6cbc9 100644
--- a/OS/01/server.py
+++ b/OS/01/server.py
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+load_dotenv()  # take environment variables from .env.
+
 from starlette.websockets import WebSocketDisconnect
 import ast
 import json
diff --git a/OS/01/start.sh b/OS/01/start.sh
index 8a4dcc6..95ce705 100755
--- a/OS/01/start.sh
+++ b/OS/01/start.sh
@@ -1,33 +1,10 @@
-### SETTINGS
-
-# If ALL_LOCAL is False, we'll use OpenAI's services
-# If setting ALL_LOCAL to true, set the path to the WHISPER local model
-export ALL_LOCAL=False
-# export WHISPER_MODEL_PATH=...
-# export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
-
-# For TTS, we use the en_US-lessac-medium voice model by default
-# Please change the voice URL and voice name if you wish to use another voice
-export PIPER_VOICE_URL="https://huggingface.co/rhasspy/piper-voices/resolve/main/en/en_US/lessac/medium/"
-export PIPER_VOICE_NAME="en_US-lessac-medium.onnx"
-
-# If SERVER_START, this is where we'll serve the server.
-# If DEVICE_START, this is where the device expects the server to be.
-export SERVER_URL=ws://localhost:8000/
-export SERVER_START=True
-export DEVICE_START=True
-
-# Control where various operations happen— can be `device` or `server`.
-export CODE_RUNNER=server
-export TTS_RUNNER=server # If device, audio will be sent over websocket.
-export STT_RUNNER=device # If server, audio will be sent over websocket.
-
-# Will expose the server publically and display that URL.
-export SERVER_EXPOSE_PUBLICALLY=False
-
-# Debug level
-# export LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG
-export LOG_LEVEL="INFO"
+### Import Environment Variables from .env
+if [ ! -f ".env" ]; then
+    echo "Error: .env file does not exist. To create one, see .env.example for an example."
+    exit 1
+fi
+set -a; source .env; set +a
+
 
 ### SETUP
 
diff --git a/OS/01/stt.py b/OS/01/stt.py
index aa14e24..48a6494 100644
--- a/OS/01/stt.py
+++ b/OS/01/stt.py
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
 Defines a function which takes a path to an audio file and turns it into text.
 """
 
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+load_dotenv()  # take environment variables from .env.
+
 from datetime import datetime
 import os
 import contextlib
diff --git a/OS/01/tts.py b/OS/01/tts.py
index e51972a..9093c51 100644
--- a/OS/01/tts.py
+++ b/OS/01/tts.py
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
 Defines a function which takes text and returns a path to an audio file.
 """
 
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+load_dotenv()  # take environment variables from .env.
+
 import tempfile
 from openai import OpenAI
 from pydub import AudioSegment
diff --git a/OS/01/utils/kernel.py b/OS/01/utils/kernel.py
index 7f1bb3c..994e6fb 100644
--- a/OS/01/utils/kernel.py
+++ b/OS/01/utils/kernel.py
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+load_dotenv()  # take environment variables from .env.
+
 import asyncio
 import subprocess
 import platform
diff --git a/OS/01/utils/logs.py b/OS/01/utils/logs.py
index a73dea1..5aca8bb 100644
--- a/OS/01/utils/logs.py
+++ b/OS/01/utils/logs.py
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+load_dotenv()  # take environment variables from .env.
+
 import os
 import logging
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5350605..74a97c3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -8,7 +8,11 @@ Official repository for [The 01 Project](https://twitter.com/hellokillian/status
 
 <br>
 
-## Setup
+## Configuration:
+
+Copy the OS/01/.env.example file to OS/01/.env and then configure the environment variables within the file.
+
+## Install Required Libraries:
 
 ```bash
 # MacOS