diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 923b5cbe..3522fc3f 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -3762,7 +3762,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "text-generation-benchmark"
-version = "2.1.2-dev0"
+version = "2.2.1-dev0"
 dependencies = [
  "average",
  "clap",
@@ -3783,7 +3783,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "text-generation-client"
-version = "2.1.2-dev0"
+version = "2.2.1-dev0"
 dependencies = [
  "async-trait",
  "base64 0.22.1",
@@ -3801,7 +3801,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "text-generation-launcher"
-version = "2.1.2-dev0"
+version = "2.2.1-dev0"
 dependencies = [
  "clap",
  "ctrlc",
@@ -3820,7 +3820,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "text-generation-router"
-version = "2.1.2-dev0"
+version = "2.2.1-dev0"
 dependencies = [
  "async-stream",
  "axum 0.7.5",
diff --git a/launcher/src/main.rs b/launcher/src/main.rs
index 19e3440f..be7ae4b0 100644
--- a/launcher/src/main.rs
+++ b/launcher/src/main.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 use clap::{Parser, ValueEnum};
-use hf_hub::{api::sync::Api, Repo, RepoType};
+use hf_hub::{
+    api::sync::{Api, ApiBuilder},
+    Repo, RepoType,
+};
 use nix::sys::signal::{self, Signal};
 use nix::unistd::Pid;
 use serde::Deserialize;
@@ -1401,7 +1404,13 @@ fn main() -> Result<(), LauncherError> {
         let mut path = std::path::Path::new(&args.model_id).to_path_buf();
         let filename = if !path.exists() {
             // Assume it's a hub id
-            let api = Api::new()?;
+
+            let api = if let Ok(token) = std::env::var("HF_TOKEN") {
+                // env variable has precedence over on file token.
+                ApiBuilder::new().with_token(Some(token)).build()?
+            } else {
+                Api::new()?
+            };
             let repo = if let Some(ref revision) = args.revision {
                 api.repo(Repo::with_revision(
                     model_id,