diff --git a/.env-example b/.env-example
index 0aab883..9fb62a5 100644
--- a/.env-example
+++ b/.env-example
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ VOIPMS_API_USERNAME=
 
 VOIPMS_API_PASSWORD=
 
-DEFAULT_TIMEZONE=-4
+VOIPMS_TIMEZONE=-4
 
 # The default "from" number to be used for sending texts, placing calls, etc
 MY_DEFAULT_DID=
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 70a96f6..6af61db 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -44,6 +44,15 @@ export VOIPMS_API_USERNAME='you@example.com'
 export VOIPMS_API_PASSWORD='your-api-password'
 ```
 
+It also loads a project-root `.env` file when present:
+
+```bash
+cp .env-example .env
+```
+
+Values already exported in the process environment, and values passed with CLI
+options, take precedence over `.env` values.
+
 Credentials can also be passed directly:
 
 ```bash
@@ -51,6 +60,7 @@ Credentials can also be passed directly:
 ```
 
 The endpoint can be overridden with `VOIPMS_API_ENDPOINT` or `--endpoint`.
+CDR timezone defaults can be set with `VOIPMS_TIMEZONE`.
 
 ## CLI Overview
 
@@ -261,9 +271,8 @@ be run behind a trusted network, firewall, VPN, or tunnel.
 Start it with:
 
 ```bash
-export VOIPMS_API_USERNAME='you@example.com'
-export VOIPMS_API_PASSWORD='your-api-password'
-export MCP_AUTH_TOKEN='choose-a-long-random-token'
+cp .env-example .env
+# Edit .env and optionally add MCP_AUTH_TOKEN='choose-a-long-random-token'
 
 ./bin/serve-mcp.sh
 ```
diff --git a/bin/serve-mcp.sh b/bin/serve-mcp.sh
index fdc7eb9..0239a62 100755
--- a/bin/serve-mcp.sh
+++ b/bin/serve-mcp.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,48 @@ HOST="${MCP_HOST:-0.0.0.0}"
 PORT="${MCP_PORT:-8787}"
 ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
 
+load_env_file() {
+  local env_file="$1"
+  local line key value first last comment_start
+
+  [[ -r "${env_file}" ]] || return 0
+
+  while IFS= read -r line || [[ -n "${line}" ]]; do
+    line="${line#"${line%%[![:space:]]*}"}"
+    line="${line%"${line##*[![:space:]]}"}"
+
+    [[ -z "${line}" || "${line}" == \#* || "${line}" != *=* ]] && continue
+
+    key="${line%%=*}"
+    value="${line#*=}"
+    key="${key%"${key##*[![:space:]]}"}"
+    value="${value#"${value%%[![:space:]]*}"}"
+    value="${value%"${value##*[![:space:]]}"}"
+
+    [[ "${key}" =~ ^[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*$ ]] || continue
+    [[ -v "${key}" ]] && continue
+
+    first="${value:0:1}"
+    last="${value: -1}"
+    if [[ "${#value}" -ge 2 && ( ( "${first}" == "'" && "${last}" == "'" ) || ( "${first}" == '"' && "${last}" == '"' ) ) ]]; then
+      value="${value:1:${#value}-2}"
+    else
+      comment_start="${value%%" #"*}"
+      if [[ "${comment_start}" != "${value}" ]]; then
+        value="${comment_start}"
+        value="${value%"${value##*[![:space:]]}"}"
+      fi
+    fi
+
+    export "${key}=${value}"
+  done < "${env_file}"
+}
+
+load_env_file "${ROOT}/.env"
+
+HOST="${MCP_HOST:-${HOST}}"
+PORT="${MCP_PORT:-${PORT}}"
+
 if [[ "${MCP_ALLOW_UNAUTHENTICATED:-}" != "1" && -z "${MCP_AUTH_TOKEN:-}" ]]; then
   MCP_AUTH_TOKEN="$(php -r 'echo bin2hex(random_bytes(24));')"
   export MCP_AUTH_TOKEN
diff --git a/docs/mcp.md b/docs/mcp.md
index 6178c16..c5764b1 100644
--- a/docs/mcp.md
+++ b/docs/mcp.md
@@ -9,13 +9,15 @@ so use a firewall, VPN, or private network when exposing it beyond this machine.
 ## Start The Server
 
 ```bash
-export VOIPMS_API_USERNAME='you@example.com'
-export VOIPMS_API_PASSWORD='your-api-password'
-export MCP_AUTH_TOKEN='choose-a-long-random-token'
+cp .env-example .env
+# Edit .env and optionally add MCP_AUTH_TOKEN='choose-a-long-random-token'
 
 ./bin/serve-mcp.sh
 ```
 
+The launcher reads the project-root `.env` file when present. Already exported
+environment variables take precedence over `.env` values.
+
 Defaults:
 
 ```text
diff --git a/mcp/http-server.php b/mcp/http-server.php
index b70fdfe..780fb4b 100644
--- a/mcp/http-server.php
+++ b/mcp/http-server.php
@@ -3,10 +3,14 @@
 declare(strict_types=1);
 
 require_once __DIR__ . '/../src/VoipMsClient.php';
+require_once __DIR__ . '/../src/EnvLoader.php';
 
+use VoipMs\EnvLoader;
 use VoipMs\VoipMsClient;
 use VoipMs\VoipMsResponse;
 
+EnvLoader::load(__DIR__ . '/../.env');
+
 const MCP_PROTOCOL_VERSION = '2025-06-18';
 const MCP_SESSION_ID = 'voipms-test-session';
 
@@ -229,7 +233,7 @@ function callTool(string $name, array $arguments): array
         'voipms_get_recent_cdr' => responsePayload($client->getCdr(
             requiredStringArg($arguments, 'date_from'),
             requiredStringArg($arguments, 'date_to'),
-            stringArg($arguments, 'timezone', getenv('VOIPMS_TIMEZONE') ?: '-4'),
+            stringArg($arguments, 'timezone', getenv('VOIPMS_TIMEZONE') ?: getenv('DEFAULT_TIMEZONE') ?: '-4'),
             cdrFilters($arguments),
         )),
         'voipms_add_number_to_phonebook_group' => addNumberToPhonebookGroupTool($client, $arguments),
diff --git a/src/EnvLoader.php b/src/EnvLoader.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3d02668
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/EnvLoader.php
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace VoipMs;
+
+final class EnvLoader
+{
+    public static function load(string $path): void
+    {
+        if (!is_file($path) || !is_readable($path)) {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        $lines = file($path, FILE_IGNORE_NEW_LINES);
+        if ($lines === false) {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        foreach ($lines as $line) {
+            $line = trim($line);
+            if ($line === '' || str_starts_with($line, '#')) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            [$key, $value] = self::parseLine($line);
+            if ($key === '' || self::isSet($key)) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            putenv("{$key}={$value}");
+            $_ENV[$key] = $value;
+            $_SERVER[$key] = $value;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @return array{0: string, 1: string}
+     */
+    private static function parseLine(string $line): array
+    {
+        if (!str_contains($line, '=')) {
+            return ['', ''];
+        }
+
+        [$key, $value] = explode('=', $line, 2);
+        $key = trim($key);
+
+        if (!preg_match('/^[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*$/', $key)) {
+            return ['', ''];
+        }
+
+        return [$key, self::normalizeValue(trim($value))];
+    }
+
+    private static function normalizeValue(string $value): string
+    {
+        if ($value === '') {
+            return '';
+        }
+
+        $first = $value[0];
+        $last = $value[strlen($value) - 1];
+
+        if (($first === '"' && $last === '"') || ($first === "'" && $last === "'")) {
+            $value = substr($value, 1, -1);
+
+            return $first === '"' ? stripcslashes($value) : $value;
+        }
+
+        $commentStart = strpos($value, ' #');
+        if ($commentStart !== false) {
+            $value = substr($value, 0, $commentStart);
+        }
+
+        return rtrim($value);
+    }
+
+    private static function isSet(string $key): bool
+    {
+        return getenv($key) !== false
+            || array_key_exists($key, $_ENV)
+            || array_key_exists($key, $_SERVER);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/EnvLoaderTest.php b/tests/EnvLoaderTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..22040d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/EnvLoaderTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+require_once __DIR__ . '/../src/EnvLoader.php';
+
+use VoipMs\EnvLoader;
+
+/**
+ * @param callable(): void $test
+ */
+function runTest(string $name, callable $test): void
+{
+    try {
+        $test();
+        echo "PASS {$name}\n";
+    } catch (Throwable $exception) {
+        fwrite(STDERR, "FAIL {$name}: {$exception->getMessage()}\n");
+        exit(1);
+    }
+}
+
+function assertSameValue(mixed $expected, mixed $actual, string $message): void
+{
+    if ($expected !== $actual) {
+        throw new RuntimeException($message . ' Expected ' . var_export($expected, true) . ', got ' . var_export($actual, true) . '.');
+    }
+}
+
+function clearEnvKey(string $key): void
+{
+    putenv($key);
+    unset($_ENV[$key], $_SERVER[$key]);
+}
+
+/**
+ * @param list<string> $lines
+ */
+function withTempEnvFile(array $lines): string
+{
+    $path = tempnam(sys_get_temp_dir(), 'voipms-env-');
+    if ($path === false) {
+        throw new RuntimeException('Unable to create temp env file.');
+    }
+
+    file_put_contents($path, implode("\n", $lines) . "\n");
+
+    return $path;
+}
+
+runTest('loads simple and quoted .env values', function (): void {
+    foreach (['VOIPMS_TEST_SIMPLE', 'VOIPMS_TEST_SINGLE', 'VOIPMS_TEST_DOUBLE', 'VOIPMS_TEST_EMPTY'] as $key) {
+        clearEnvKey($key);
+    }
+
+    $path = withTempEnvFile([
+        '# comment',
+        '',
+        'VOIPMS_TEST_SIMPLE=value',
+        "VOIPMS_TEST_SINGLE='single quoted value'",
+        'VOIPMS_TEST_DOUBLE="double quoted value"',
+        'VOIPMS_TEST_EMPTY=',
+    ]);
+
+    try {
+        EnvLoader::load($path);
+
+        assertSameValue('value', getenv('VOIPMS_TEST_SIMPLE'), 'Simple value should be available through getenv().');
+        assertSameValue('single quoted value', $_ENV['VOIPMS_TEST_SINGLE'] ?? null, 'Single quoted value should be available through $_ENV.');
+        assertSameValue('double quoted value', $_SERVER['VOIPMS_TEST_DOUBLE'] ?? null, 'Double quoted value should be available through $_SERVER.');
+        assertSameValue('', getenv('VOIPMS_TEST_EMPTY'), 'Empty value should be loaded.');
+    } finally {
+        unlink($path);
+        foreach (['VOIPMS_TEST_SIMPLE', 'VOIPMS_TEST_SINGLE', 'VOIPMS_TEST_DOUBLE', 'VOIPMS_TEST_EMPTY'] as $key) {
+            clearEnvKey($key);
+        }
+    }
+});
+
+runTest('does not override existing process environment', function (): void {
+    clearEnvKey('VOIPMS_TEST_OVERRIDE');
+    putenv('VOIPMS_TEST_OVERRIDE=from-process');
+    $_ENV['VOIPMS_TEST_OVERRIDE'] = 'from-process';
+    $_SERVER['VOIPMS_TEST_OVERRIDE'] = 'from-process';
+
+    $path = withTempEnvFile([
+        'VOIPMS_TEST_OVERRIDE=from-file',
+    ]);
+
+    try {
+        EnvLoader::load($path);
+
+        assertSameValue('from-process', getenv('VOIPMS_TEST_OVERRIDE'), 'Existing getenv() value should win.');
+        assertSameValue('from-process', $_ENV['VOIPMS_TEST_OVERRIDE'] ?? null, 'Existing $_ENV value should win.');
+        assertSameValue('from-process', $_SERVER['VOIPMS_TEST_OVERRIDE'] ?? null, 'Existing $_SERVER value should win.');
+    } finally {
+        unlink($path);
+        clearEnvKey('VOIPMS_TEST_OVERRIDE');
+    }
+});
+
+runTest('ignores missing .env files', function (): void {
+    EnvLoader::load(sys_get_temp_dir() . '/voipms-missing-env-file');
+});
diff --git a/voipms-cli.php b/voipms-cli.php
index 4dd6237..771c315 100755
--- a/voipms-cli.php
+++ b/voipms-cli.php
@@ -5,9 +5,13 @@ declare(strict_types=1);
 
 require_once __DIR__ . '/src/VoipMsResponse.php';
 require_once __DIR__ . '/src/VoipMsClient.php';
+require_once __DIR__ . '/src/EnvLoader.php';
 
+use VoipMs\EnvLoader;
 use VoipMs\VoipMsClient;
 
+EnvLoader::load(__DIR__ . '/.env');
+
 /**
  * @return array<string, array{category: string, description: string, params?: list<string>, examples?: list<string>}>
  */
@@ -624,7 +628,7 @@ function parseCdrArguments(array $args): array
         $params['date_to'] = $positionals[1];
     }
 
-    $envTimezone = getenv('VOIPMS_TIMEZONE');
+    $envTimezone = getenv('VOIPMS_TIMEZONE') ?: getenv('DEFAULT_TIMEZONE');
     if (!isset($params['timezone']) && is_string($envTimezone) && $envTimezone !== '') {
         $params['timezone'] = $envTimezone;
     }