diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 805e15d..9668d36 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -53,12 +53,44 @@ Add to Claude Desktop or VSCode (including Cursor/Windsurf) config:
 }
 ```
 
+Also supports Azure deployments:
+
+```json
+{
+  "mcpServers": {
+    "openai-gpt-image-mcp": {
+      "command": "node",
+      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/dist/index.js"],
+      "env": { 
+        "AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY": "sk-...",
+        "AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT": "my.endpoint.com",
+        "OPENAI_API_VERSION": "2024-12-01-preview"
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+Also supports supplying an environment files:
+
+```json
+{
+  "mcpServers": {
+    "openai-gpt-image-mcp": {
+      "command": "node",
+      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/dist/index.js", "--env-file", "./deployment/.env"]
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
 ---
 
 ## ⚡ Advanced
 
 - For `create-image`, set `n` to generate up to 10 images at once.
 - For `edit-image`, provide a mask image (file path or base64) to control where edits are applied.
+- Provide an environment file with `--env-file path/to/file/.env`
 - See `src/index.ts` for all options.
 
 ---
@@ -110,4 +142,5 @@ MIT
 
 - Built with [@modelcontextprotocol/sdk](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@modelcontextprotocol/sdk)
 - Uses [openai](https://www.npmjs.com/package/openai) Node.js SDK 
-- Built by [SureScale.ai](https://surescale.ai)
\ No newline at end of file
+- Built by [SureScale.ai](https://surescale.ai)
+- Contributions from [Axle Research and Technology](https://axleinfo.com/)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index 7b5cb13..2e766c4 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -4,10 +4,44 @@
 import { McpServer } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js";
 import { StdioServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/stdio.js";
 import { z } from "zod";
-import { OpenAI, toFile } from "openai";
+import { OpenAI, AzureOpenAI, toFile } from "openai";
 import fs from "fs";
 import path from "path";
 
+// Function to load environment variables from a file
+const loadEnvFile = (filePath: string) => {
+  try {
+    const envConfig = fs.readFileSync(filePath, "utf8");
+    envConfig.split("\n").forEach((line) => {
+      const trimmedLine = line.trim();
+      if (trimmedLine && !trimmedLine.startsWith("#")) {
+        const [key, ...valueParts] = trimmedLine.split("=");
+        const value = valueParts.join("=").trim();
+        if (key) {
+          // Remove surrounding quotes if present
+          process.env[key.trim()] = value.startsWith("'") && value.endsWith("'") || value.startsWith("\"") && value.endsWith("\"")
+            ? value.slice(1, -1)
+            : value;
+        }
+      }
+    });
+    console.log(`Loaded environment variables from ${filePath}`);
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.warn(`Warning: Could not read environment file at ${filePath}:`, error);
+  }
+};
+
+// Parse command line arguments for --env-file
+const cmdArgs = process.argv.slice(2);
+const envFileArgIndex = cmdArgs.findIndex(arg => arg === "--env-file");
+if (envFileArgIndex !== -1 && cmdArgs[envFileArgIndex + 1]) {
+  console.log("Loading environment variables from file:", cmdArgs[envFileArgIndex + 1]);
+  const envFilePath = cmdArgs[envFileArgIndex + 1];
+  loadEnvFile(envFilePath);
+} else {
+  console.log("No environment file provided");
+}
+
 (async () => {
   const server = new McpServer({
     name: "openai-gpt-image-mcp",
@@ -60,7 +94,9 @@ import path from "path";
     "create-image",
     (createImageSchema as any)._def.schema.shape,
     async (args, _extra) => {
-      const openai = new OpenAI();
+      // If AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY is defined, use the AzureOpenAI class
+      const openai = process.env.AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY ? new AzureOpenAI() : new OpenAI();
+
       // Only allow gpt-image-1
       const {
         prompt,
@@ -217,7 +253,7 @@ import path from "path";
         throw new Error("Invalid 'mask' input: Must be an absolute path or a base64-encoded string.");
       }
 
-      const openai = new OpenAI();
+      const openai = process.env.AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY ? new AzureOpenAI() : new OpenAI();
       const {
         image: imageInput,
         prompt,