diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index e69de29bb..88aeba84d 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# Example environment variables for FraudGuard
+# Copy this file to .env and fill in your actual values
+# NEVER commit the .env file to Git!
+
+# Google Gemini API Key
+GEMINI_API_KEY=your_gemini_api_key_here
+
+# OpenAI API Key (optional)
+OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here
+
+# Anthropic API Key (optional)
+ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_api_key_here
+
+# Other configuration
+DEBUG=False
+FLASK_ENV=production
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index ef75ff2f4..8e096b15a 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+
 flask==2.3.2
 pandas==2.1.4
 numpy>=1.23,<1.26
diff --git a/setup_git_hooks.py b/setup_git_hooks.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3ae6a08cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/setup_git_hooks.py
@@ -0,0 +1,201 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""
+Pre-commit hook to prevent API keys from being committed
+Install: python setup_git_hooks.py
+"""
+
+import os
+import subprocess
+import sys
+
+def setup_git_hooks():
+    """Set up Git hooks to prevent committing secrets"""
+    
+    # Check if we're in a git repository
+    if not os.path.exists(".git"):
+        print("❌ Not a git repository")
+        return False
+    
+    print("🔐 Setting up Git hooks to prevent secret leaks...")
+    print()
+    
+    # Create pre-commit hook
+    hook_path = os.path.join(".git", "hooks", "pre-commit")
+    
+    hook_content = """#!/usr/bin/env python3
+import re
+import sys
+import subprocess
+
+# Patterns to detect
+PATTERNS = [
+    (r'AIza[0-9A-Za-z\\-_]{35}', 'Google API Key'),
+    (r'sk-[a-zA-Z0-9]{48}', 'OpenAI API Key'),
+    (r'sk-ant-[a-zA-Z0-9\\-_]{95}', 'Anthropic API Key'),
+    (r'["\\'](api[_-]?key|apikey)["\\']\s*[:=]\s*["\\'"][^"\\'']+["\\'']', 'Generic API Key'),
+    (r'["\\'](secret[_-]?key|secretkey)["\\']\s*[:=]\s*["\\''][^"\\'']+["\\'']', 'Secret Key'),
+]
+
+def check_staged_files():
+    # Get staged files
+    result = subprocess.run(['git', 'diff', '--cached', '--name-only'], 
+                          capture_output=True, text=True)
+    files = result.stdout.strip().split('\\n')
+    
+    violations = []
+    
+    for file in files:
+        if not file or file.startswith('.env'):
+            continue
+        
+        try:
+            # Get file content
+            result = subprocess.run(['git', 'show', f':{file}'], 
+                                  capture_output=True, text=True)
+            content = result.stdout
+            
+            # Check each pattern
+            for pattern, name in PATTERNS:
+                matches = re.finditer(pattern, content, re.IGNORECASE)
+                for match in matches:
+                    violations.append((file, name, match.group()))
+        except:
+            continue
+    
+    return violations
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    print("🔍 Checking for exposed secrets...")
+    
+    violations = check_staged_files()
+    
+    if violations:
+        print("\\n❌ COMMIT BLOCKED - Potential secrets detected:\\n")
+        for file, secret_type, match in violations:
+            print(f"  {file}: {secret_type}")
+            print(f"    Found: {match[:20]}...")
+        print("\\n🔒 Please remove secrets and use environment variables instead.")
+        print("   Add secrets to .env file (which is in .gitignore)\\n")
+        sys.exit(1)
+    
+    print("✅ No secrets detected")
+    sys.exit(0)
+"""
+    
+    # Write hook
+    with open(hook_path, "w", newline="\n") as f:
+        f.write(hook_content)
+    
+    # Make executable (on Unix-like systems)
+    try:
+        os.chmod(hook_path, 0o755)
+    except:
+        pass
+    
+    print("✅ Pre-commit hook installed!")
+    print()
+    print("📋 The hook will now:")
+    print("   • Check for API keys before each commit")
+    print("   • Block commits containing secrets")
+    print("   • Protect against accidental leaks")
+    print()
+    
+    return True
+
+def setup_gitignore():
+    """Ensure .env is in .gitignore"""
+    
+    gitignore_path = ".gitignore"
+    
+    # Read existing .gitignore
+    if os.path.exists(gitignore_path):
+        with open(gitignore_path, "r") as f:
+            content = f.read()
+    else:
+        content = ""
+    
+    # Check if .env is already there
+    if ".env" in content:
+        print("✅ .env already in .gitignore")
+        return True
+    
+    # Add .env patterns
+    env_patterns = """
+# Environment variables (NEVER commit these!)
+.env
+.env.local
+.env.production
+.env.staging
+.env.*.local
+"""
+    
+    with open(gitignore_path, "a") as f:
+        f.write(env_patterns)
+    
+    print("✅ Added .env to .gitignore")
+    return True
+
+def install_git_secrets():
+    """Try to install git-secrets if available"""
+    
+    print()
+    print("📦 Checking for git-secrets (advanced protection)...")
+    
+    # Check if git-secrets is installed
+    result = subprocess.run(['git', 'secrets', '--list'], 
+                          capture_output=True, text=True)
+    
+    if result.returncode != 0:
+        print("   git-secrets not installed (optional)")
+        print("   Install from: https://github.com/awslabs/git-secrets")
+        return False
+    
+    # Add patterns for API keys
+    patterns = [
+        'AIza[0-9A-Za-z\\-_]{35}',  # Google API keys
+        'sk-[a-zA-Z0-9]{48}',  # OpenAI
+        'sk-ant-[a-zA-Z0-9\\-_]{95}',  # Anthropic
+    ]
+    
+    for pattern in patterns:
+        subprocess.run(['git', 'secrets', '--add', pattern], 
+                      capture_output=True)
+    
+    print("✅ git-secrets configured")
+    return True
+
+def main():
+    print("=" * 60)
+    print("🔐 Git Security Setup")
+    print("=" * 60)
+    print()
+    
+    success = True
+    
+    # Setup .gitignore
+    if not setup_gitignore():
+        success = False
+    
+    print()
+    
+    # Setup Git hooks
+    if not setup_git_hooks():
+        success = False
+    
+    # Try to setup git-secrets
+    install_git_secrets()
+    
+    print()
+    print("=" * 60)
+    if success:
+        print("✅ Git security setup complete!")
+        print()
+        print("🛡️  Your repository is now protected from secret leaks")
+    else:
+        print("⚠️  Some steps failed - please review")
+    
+    print("=" * 60)
+    return 0 if success else 1
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())