diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f61b850..3b7cc3f 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,48 +1,46 @@
-.venv
-.env
-__pycache__
-.pytest_cache
-.pypirc
-*.db
-test
-test_state.json
-task_flow.egg-info
-example_repo
-signature.js
-git-filter-repo
-task/orca/
-**/dist/
-# yarn.lock
-package-lock.json
-node_modules
-build
-migrate.sh
-*/dev.js
-executables/*
-namespace/*
-config/*
-.env.local
-taskStateInfoKeypair.json
-localKOIIDB.db
-metadata.json
-.npmrc
-*.pem
-.vscode
-.cursor
-data/chunks
-data/process
-test_state.csv
-todos-example.csv
-
-
-# Ignore auto-generated repository directories
-repos/
+# Python
+__pycache__/
+*.py[cod]
+*$py.class
+*.so
+.Python
+build/
+develop-eggs/
+dist/
+downloads/
+eggs/
+.eggs/
+lib/
+lib64/
+parts/
+sdist/
+var/
+wheels/
+*.egg-info/
+.installed.cfg
+*.egg
+MANIFEST
 
+# Environment and configuration
+.env
+.venv
+env/
+venv/
+ENV/
+env.bak/
+venv.bak/
 
-# Ignore Data
-data/*
-
+# Testing
+.pytest_cache/
+.coverage
+htmlcov/
 
-venv
+# IDE
+.vscode/
+.idea/
+*.swp
+*.swo
 
-**/venv/
+# OS
+.DS_Store
+Thumbs.db
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/config.py b/src/config.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..43150c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/config.py
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+import os
+from typing import Optional, Dict, Any
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+
+
+class ConfigurationError(Exception):
+    """Custom exception for configuration loading errors."""
+    pass
+
+
+def load_config(config_file: Optional[str] = None) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    """
+    Load configuration from environment variables or a specified config file.
+
+    Args:
+        config_file (Optional[str]): Path to an optional configuration file.
+
+    Returns:
+        Dict[str, Any]: Loaded configuration dictionary.
+
+    Raises:
+        ConfigurationError: If required configuration is missing or invalid.
+    """
+    # Load .env file if specified or default .env exists
+    if config_file:
+        load_dotenv(config_file)
+    else:
+        load_dotenv()
+
+    # Configuration dictionary to store loaded settings
+    config = {
+        'api_base_url': os.getenv('COINGECKO_API_BASE_URL', 'https://api.coingecko.com/api/v3'),
+        'api_key': os.getenv('COINGECKO_API_KEY', ''),
+        'request_timeout': int(os.getenv('COINGECKO_REQUEST_TIMEOUT', 30)),
+        'max_retries': int(os.getenv('COINGECKO_MAX_RETRIES', 3)),
+        'rate_limit_delay': int(os.getenv('COINGECKO_RATE_LIMIT_DELAY', 1))
+    }
+
+    # Validate critical configuration
+    _validate_config(config)
+
+    return config
+
+
+def _validate_config(config: Dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+    """
+    Validate the loaded configuration.
+
+    Args:
+        config (Dict[str, Any]): Configuration dictionary to validate.
+
+    Raises:
+        ConfigurationError: If configuration is invalid.
+    """
+    # Basic validation rules
+    if not config['api_base_url']:
+        raise ConfigurationError("Invalid or missing API base URL")
+
+    if config['request_timeout'] <= 0:
+        raise ConfigurationError("Request timeout must be a positive integer")
+
+    if config['max_retries'] < 0:
+        raise ConfigurationError("Max retries cannot be negative")
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/test_config.py b/tests/test_config.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0dd7ddb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_config.py
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+import os
+import pytest
+from src.config import load_config, ConfigurationError
+
+
+def test_default_config(monkeypatch):
+    """Test default configuration loading."""
+    monkeypatch.delenv('COINGECKO_API_BASE_URL', raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.delenv('COINGECKO_API_KEY', raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.delenv('COINGECKO_REQUEST_TIMEOUT', raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.delenv('COINGECKO_MAX_RETRIES', raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.delenv('COINGECKO_RATE_LIMIT_DELAY', raising=False)
+
+    config = load_config()
+    assert config['api_base_url'] == 'https://api.coingecko.com/api/v3'
+    assert config['api_key'] == ''
+    assert config['request_timeout'] == 30
+    assert config['max_retries'] == 3
+    assert config['rate_limit_delay'] == 1
+
+
+def test_custom_config(monkeypatch):
+    """Test loading custom configuration from environment variables."""
+    monkeypatch.setenv('COINGECKO_API_BASE_URL', 'https://custom-api.com')
+    monkeypatch.setenv('COINGECKO_API_KEY', 'test_key')
+    monkeypatch.setenv('COINGECKO_REQUEST_TIMEOUT', '60')
+    monkeypatch.setenv('COINGECKO_MAX_RETRIES', '5')
+    monkeypatch.setenv('COINGECKO_RATE_LIMIT_DELAY', '2')
+
+    config = load_config()
+    assert config['api_base_url'] == 'https://custom-api.com'
+    assert config['api_key'] == 'test_key'
+    assert config['request_timeout'] == 60
+    assert config['max_retries'] == 5
+    assert config['rate_limit_delay'] == 2
+
+
+def test_invalid_timeout_config(monkeypatch):
+    """Test configuration validation for negative timeout."""
+    monkeypatch.setenv('COINGECKO_REQUEST_TIMEOUT', '-10')
+
+    with pytest.raises(ConfigurationError, match="Request timeout must be a positive integer"):
+        load_config()
+
+
+def test_empty_base_url_config(monkeypatch):
+    """Test configuration validation for empty base URL."""
+    monkeypatch.setenv('COINGECKO_API_BASE_URL', '')
+
+    with pytest.raises(ConfigurationError, match="Invalid or missing API base URL"):
+        load_config()
+
+
+def test_negative_retries_config(monkeypatch):
+    """Test configuration validation for negative retries."""
+    monkeypatch.setenv('COINGECKO_MAX_RETRIES', '-3')
+
+    with pytest.raises(ConfigurationError, match="Max retries cannot be negative"):
+        load_config()
\ No newline at end of file