diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index e69de29..728c701 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+prefect/10ksim/**
+**/.env
diff --git a/prefect/README.md b/prefect/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c582a3c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/prefect/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# How to use
+* Install required packages
+  `pip3 install -U prefect --break-system-packages`
+* Inject your key into .env as GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp...
+* Create a GitHub issue with details about your simulation
+* Run `run.py` and collect your results.
diff --git a/prefect/requirements.txt b/prefect/requirements.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..90cacc5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/prefect/requirements.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+requests
+dotenv
+prefect
diff --git a/prefect/run.py b/prefect/run.py
index 4f6e718..fc2c20c 100644
--- a/prefect/run.py
+++ b/prefect/run.py
@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@ import base64
 import requests
 import json
 import os
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+
+# Load environment variables from .env file
+load_dotenv()
 
 AUTHORIZED_USERS = ["zorlin", "AlbertoSoutullo", "michatinkers"]
 
@@ -507,4 +511,8 @@ def deployment_cron_job(repo_name: str, github_token: str):
 
 # Local debug run
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-    deployment_cron_job(repo_name="vacp2p/vaclab", github_token="")
+    github_token = os.getenv("GITHUB_TOKEN")
+    if not github_token:
+        print("Error: GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable not set. Please create a .env file with your GitHub token.")
+        exit(1)
+    deployment_cron_job(repo_name="vacp2p/vaclab", github_token=github_token)