diff --git a/giskard/client/giskard_client.py b/giskard/client/giskard_client.py
index 4d4bcaad21..12aa908c9f 100644
--- a/giskard/client/giskard_client.py
+++ b/giskard/client/giskard_client.py
@@ -126,9 +126,9 @@ def _limit_str_size(json, field, limit=255):
 
 
 class GiskardClient:
-    def __init__(self, url: str, key: str, hf_token: str = None):
+    def __init__(self, url: str, key: str = None, hf_token: str = None):
         self.host_url = url
-        self.key = key
+        self.key = key or os.getenv("GSK_API_KEY")
         self.hf_token = hf_token
         base_url = urljoin(url, "/api/v2/")
 
@@ -138,6 +138,9 @@ def __init__(self, url: str, key: str, hf_token: str = None):
 
         self._session.mount(url, adapter)
 
+        if self.key is None:
+            raise RuntimeError("You must provide an API key for the client to connect to the hub")
+
         self._session.auth = BearerAuth(key)
 
         if hf_token: