diff --git a/.github/workflows/self-index.yml b/.github/workflows/self-index.yml
index 5fa3bcc..5c51dad 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/self-index.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/self-index.yml
@@ -14,13 +14,26 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     if: ${{ github.repository_owner != '' }}
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v3
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v6
         with:
           enable-cache: true
       - run: uv sync --extra dev
 
+      - name: Check for GROQ_API_KEY
+        id: key
+        env:
+          GROQ_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.GROQ_API_KEY }}
+        run: |
+          if [ -z "$GROQ_API_KEY" ]; then
+            echo "GROQ_API_KEY is not configured; skipping the smoke test." >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
+            echo "present=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "present=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
+
       - name: Index self and ask a smoke-test question
+        if: steps.key.outputs.present == 'true'
         env:
           GROQ_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.GROQ_API_KEY }}
           REPOLENS_DATA_DIR: ${{ runner.temp }}/repolens-data