diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 8331c5c8..ee9739f8 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -40,3 +40,4 @@ docker-compose.override.yml
 .buildconfig
 osem_development
 osem_test
+config/local_env.yml
diff --git a/config/application.rb b/config/application.rb
index e3483d4a..874f4456 100644
--- a/config/application.rb
+++ b/config/application.rb
@@ -65,5 +65,12 @@ module Osem
     config.public_file_server.headers = { 'Cache-Control' => 'public, max-age=31536000' }
 
     config.active_job.queue_adapter = :delayed_job
+
+    config.before_configuration do
+      env_file = File.join(Rails.root, 'config', 'local_env.yml')
+      YAML.load(File.open(env_file)).each do |key, value|
+        ENV[key.to_s] = value
+      end if File.exists?(env_file)
+    end
   end
 end