While .env.sample is dominant, some alternatives exist:
Use .env.sample unless:
# .env.sample
DJANGO_SECRET_KEY=change-me-in-production
DEBUG=on
ALLOWED_HOSTS=localhost,127.0.0.1
DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///db.sqlite3
Some teams keep .env.defaults (committed) with safe fallbacks, then .env (ignored) overrides. .env.sample