add environment variables section to readme

README.md

@@ -3,16 +3,15 @@
 > Tested on Node v6 and above
 
 ## Features
-- [x] ES6 for javascript awesomeness
+- [x] ES6 for the latest & greatest javascript awesomeness
 - [x] [MongoDB](https://www.mongodb.com/) w/ [Mongoose](http://mongoosejs.com/) for data layer
-- [x] Username/Email registration and authentication
 - [x] Testing via [Mocha](https://mochajs.org/) & [Chai](http://chaijs.com/)
 - [x] Test coverage via [Isparta](https://github.com/douglasduteil/isparta)
+- [x] Username/Email registration and authentication
 
 ## Getting Started
 First, ensure you have node and mongo installed on your system.
 
-
 ```sh
 # clone it
 git clone [email protected]:kylealwyn/node-rest-api-boilerplate.git
@@ -31,28 +30,28 @@ npm start
 curl -H "Content-Type: application/json" -X POST -d '{"username":"jamesdean", "email": "[email protected]", "password":"password1"}' http://localhost:4567/users
 ```
 
-## Commands
+## Environment Variables
+Place a `.env` file in the top level of the directory you've cloned. These variables will be automatically assigned to `process.env` when the application boots. It is gitignored by default as it's not good practice to store your environment variables in your remote repository.
+Your `.env` file can look something like this:
 
-- `npm start`
-  - Start live-reloading development server
-
-- `npm test`
-  - Run test suite
+```shell
+MONGO_URI=mongo://somewhere:27017
+SESSION_SECRET=lolthisissecret
+```
 
-- `npm run test:watch`
-  - Run test suite with auto-reloading
+Now we can access one of these variables with something like `process.env.MONGO_URI`!
 
-- `npm run coverage`
-  - Run test coverage
+## NPM Scripts
 
-- `npm run build`
-  - Generates production ready application in `./build`
+- **`npm start`** - Start live-reloading development server
+- **`npm test`** - Run test suite
+- **`npm run test:watch`** - Run test suite with auto-reloading
+- **`npm run coverage`** - Generate test coverage
+- **`npm run build`** - Generate production ready application in `./build`
 
 ## Todo
 - [ ] Add OAuth Login Support (Facebook, Twitter, Google)
 - [ ] Add support for MySql or PostgreSQL (Possibly with sequelize)
-- [x] Write tests to exemplify Mongo interactions
-- [ ] Move all data retrieval logic into services to remove Mongo dependences in controllers
 - [ ] Reset password functionality
 
 ## License