diff --git a/direnv/flake.nix b/direnv/flake.nix
index 7b5b8d9..1df77ea 100644
--- a/direnv/flake.nix
+++ b/direnv/flake.nix
@@ -19,7 +19,10 @@
       devShells = forAllSystems (pkgs: {
         default = pkgs.mkShellNoCC {
           packages = [ pkgs.hello ];
-          IN_SHELL = "yes!";
+          EXAMPLE_VAR = "inside the direnv template";
+          shellHook = ''
+            echo "Hello from $EXAMPLE_VAR, $(whoami)!"
+          '';
         };
       });
     };