diff --git a/.vercelignore b/.vercelignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..81a38be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.vercelignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+.env*
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 56b7da7..689757e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -35,10 +35,10 @@ npx vercel link
 
 # create DATABASE_URL environment variable, remote and local
 npx vercel env add DATABASE_URL  # paste in the connection string: postgres://...
-npx vercel env pull .env.local  # now bring it down into ./.env.local for local use
+npx vercel env pull .env  # now bring it down into ./.env for local use
 
 # create the schema and copy data to DB
-(source .env.local \
+(source .env \
  && curl -s https://gist.githubusercontent.com/jawj/a8d53ff339707c65128af83b4783f4fe/raw/45dbcc819b00ecb72f80b0cf91e01b3d055662b5/whc-sites-2021.psql \
  | psql $DATABASE_URL)