diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 15ac016..c05805e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -23,6 +23,20 @@ hosted within CodeArtifact. It will use any appropriate AWS credentials provided
 --index-url https://${DOMAIN}-${ACCOUNT}.d.codeartifact.${REGION}.amazonaws.com/pypi/${REPOSITORY}/simple/
 ```
 
+### Environment Variable
+
+You can bypass AWS API calls by setting the `CODEARTIFACT_AUTH_TOKEN` environment variable:
+
+```bash
+# Set the environment variable with a valid token
+export CODEARTIFACT_AUTH_TOKEN=your-auth-token-here
+
+# Then use pip/twine as usual, and the token will be used automatically
+pip install package-name --index-url https://${DOMAIN}-${ACCOUNT}.d.codeartifact.${REGION}.amazonaws.com/pypi/${REPOSITORY}/simple/
+```
+
+This is especially useful in CI/CD environments or when you want to avoid making AWS API calls.
+
 Config
 ------
 This backend provides a number of configuration options to modify the behaviour of the AWS client.
diff --git a/keyrings/codeartifact.py b/keyrings/codeartifact.py
index 907333d..54ff795 100644
--- a/keyrings/codeartifact.py
+++ b/keyrings/codeartifact.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 # codeartifact.py -- keyring backend
 
+import os
 import re
 import logging
 
@@ -144,6 +145,21 @@ def get_credential(self, service, username):
             return credentials.SimpleCredential("aws", authorization_token)
 
     def get_password(self, service, username):
+
+        # Get the environment variable name from config defaults (if provided),
+        # otherwise fall back to the standard CODEARTIFACT_AUTH_TOKEN.
+        # Note: self.config is a CodeArtifactKeyringConfig, not a dict.
+        env_variable_name = (
+            getattr(self.config, "defaults", {})
+            .get("env_variable", "CODEARTIFACT_AUTH_TOKEN")
+        )
+
+        # Check for token in environment variable
+        token_from_env = os.getenv(env_variable_name)
+        if token_from_env:
+            logging.info(f"Using token from environment variable: {env_variable_name}")
+            return token_from_env
+        
         url = urlparse(service)
 
         # Do a quick check to see if this service URL applies to us.
diff --git a/tests/test_backend.py b/tests/test_backend.py
index 549ac1b..d52eebb 100644
--- a/tests/test_backend.py
+++ b/tests/test_backend.py
@@ -170,4 +170,24 @@ def make_client(options):
         config = CodeArtifactKeyringConfig(config_file=config_file.name)
         backend = CodeArtifactBackend(config=config, make_client=make_client)
         url = codeartifact_pypi_url("domain", "000000000000", "region", "name")
-        credentials = backend.get_credential(url, None)
+        backend.get_credential(url, None)
+
+
+def test_get_credential_from_env(monkeypatch):
+    """
+    Tests that the backend can retrieve a token from an environment variable.
+    """
+    monkeypatch.setenv("CODEARTIFACT_AUTH_TOKEN", "ENV_TOKEN")
+
+    def make_client(options):
+        # This should not be called when token is in env
+        pytest.fail("make_client should not be called when token is in env")
+
+    config = CodeArtifactKeyringConfig(config_file=StringIO())
+    backend = CodeArtifactBackend(config=config, make_client=make_client)
+
+    url = codeartifact_pypi_url("domain", "000000000000", "region", "name")
+    credentials = backend.get_credential(url, None)
+
+    assert credentials.username == "aws"
+    assert credentials.password == "ENV_TOKEN"