diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 057f9a64f..1e8f3a03a 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ frontendc:
 install_backend:
 	@echo 'Installing backend dependencies'
 	@sh ./scripts/setup/update_poetry.sh 1.8.2
+	@sh ./scripts/setup/setup_env.sh
 	@poetry install --extras deploy
 
 backend:
diff --git a/scripts/setup/setup_env.sh b/scripts/setup/setup_env.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..70f580784
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/setup/setup_env.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Create a .env if it doesn't exist, log all cases
+if [ ! -f .env ]; then
+  echo "Creating .env file"
+  touch .env
+else
+  echo ".env file already exists"
+fi
\ No newline at end of file