diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 8f03c8d450e..45ac2a721cb 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -14,3 +14,6 @@ SANITY_E2E_BASE_URL=http://localhost:3339
 # Whether or not to run the end to end tests in headless mode. Defaults to true, but sometimes
 # you might want to see the browser in action, in which case you can set this to `false`.
 HEADLESS=true
+
+# Token for running CLI tests locally
+SANITY_CI_CLI_AUTH_TOKEN_STAGING=
diff --git a/packages/@sanity/cli/vitest.config.mts b/packages/@sanity/cli/vitest.config.mts
index 8266470689a..b48d657579f 100644
--- a/packages/@sanity/cli/vitest.config.mts
+++ b/packages/@sanity/cli/vitest.config.mts
@@ -1,4 +1,10 @@
 import {defineConfig} from '@repo/test-config/vitest'
+// needed for globalSetup
+import dotenv from 'dotenv'
+
+dotenv.config({
+  path: [`${__dirname}/../../../.env.local`, `${__dirname}/../../../.env`],
+})
 
 export default defineConfig({
   test: {