diff --git a/tools/publisher/README.md b/tools/publisher/README.md
index c8b45cb..d13ee81 100644
--- a/tools/publisher/README.md
+++ b/tools/publisher/README.md
@@ -41,6 +41,16 @@ The tool uses GitHub device flow authentication:
 3. After successful authentication, the tool saves the token locally for future use
 4. The token is sent in the HTTP Authorization header with the Bearer scheme
 
+### Required Environment Variable
+
+Before using the GitHub authentication, you need to set the following environment variable:
+
+```bash
+export MCP_REGISTRY_GITHUB_CLIENT_ID="your_github_client_id"
+```
+
+This environment variable is required for the GitHub device flow authentication. If not set, the authentication will fail.
+
 _NOTE_ : Authentication is made on behalf of a OAuth App which you must authorize for respective resources (e.g `org`)
 
 ## Example
@@ -91,6 +101,10 @@ _NOTE_ : Authentication is made on behalf of a OAuth App which you must authoriz
 2. Run the publisher tool:
 
 ```bash
+# First, set the required environment variable
+export MCP_REGISTRY_GITHUB_CLIENT_ID="your_github_client_id"
+
+# Then run the publisher tool
 ./bin/mcp-publisher --registry-url "https://mcp-registry.example.com" --mcp-file "./mcp.json"
 ```
 
@@ -100,6 +114,7 @@ _NOTE_ : Authentication is made on behalf of a OAuth App which you must authoriz
 
 ## Important Notes
 
+- The `MCP_REGISTRY_GITHUB_CLIENT_ID` environment variable must be set for GitHub authentication
 - The authentication token is saved in a file named `.mcpregistry_token` in the current directory
 - The tool requires an active internet connection to authenticate with GitHub and communicate with the registry
 - Make sure the repository and package mentioned in your `mcp.json` file exist and are accessible
diff --git a/tools/publisher/main.go b/tools/publisher/main.go
index db77484..80b006a 100644
--- a/tools/publisher/main.go
+++ b/tools/publisher/main.go
@@ -15,12 +15,12 @@ import (
 const (
 	tokenFilePath = ".mcpregistry_token"
 
-	// TODO: Replace this with the official owned OAuth client ID
-	GithubClientID = "Ov23ct0x1531TPL3WJ9h"
-
 	// GitHub OAuth URLs
 	GitHubDeviceCodeURL  = "https://github.com/login/device/code"
 	GitHubAccessTokenURL = "https://github.com/login/oauth/access_token"
+
+	// Environment variable for GitHub Client ID
+	EnvGithubClientID = "MCP_REGISTRY_GITHUB_CLIENT_ID"
 )
 
 // DeviceCodeResponse represents the response from GitHub's device code endpoint
@@ -58,6 +58,19 @@ func main() {
 		return
 	}
 
+	// Check for GitHub client ID in environment if we're going to need it for authentication
+	if providedToken == "" && os.Getenv(EnvGithubClientID) == "" {
+		fmt.Printf("Warning: Environment variable %s is not set. This is required for GitHub authentication.\n", EnvGithubClientID)
+		fmt.Println("You can set it with: export " + EnvGithubClientID + "=your_github_client_id")
+		fmt.Println("Or provide a token directly with the --token flag.")
+
+		// Only return if we'll need to do GitHub auth
+		_, statErr := os.Stat(tokenFilePath)
+		if forceLogin || os.IsNotExist(statErr) {
+			return
+		}
+	}
+
 	var token string
 
 	// If a token is provided via the command line, use it
@@ -101,6 +114,11 @@ func main() {
 }
 
 func performDeviceFlowLogin() error {
+	// Check if the environment variable is set
+	if os.Getenv(EnvGithubClientID) == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("environment variable %s must be set for GitHub authentication", EnvGithubClientID)
+	}
+
 	// Device flow login logic using GitHub's device flow
 	// First, request a device code
 	deviceCode, userCode, verificationURI, err := requestDeviceCode()
@@ -133,8 +151,13 @@ func performDeviceFlowLogin() error {
 
 // requestDeviceCode initiates the device authorization flow
 func requestDeviceCode() (string, string, string, error) {
+	clientID := os.Getenv(EnvGithubClientID)
+	if clientID == "" {
+		return "", "", "", fmt.Errorf("environment variable %s is not set", EnvGithubClientID)
+	}
+
 	payload := map[string]string{
-		"client_id": GithubClientID,
+		"client_id": clientID,
 		"scope":     "read:org read:user",
 	}
 
@@ -177,8 +200,13 @@ func requestDeviceCode() (string, string, string, error) {
 
 // pollForToken polls for access token after user completes authorization
 func pollForToken(deviceCode string) (string, error) {
+	clientID := os.Getenv(EnvGithubClientID)
+	if clientID == "" {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("environment variable %s is not set", EnvGithubClientID)
+	}
+
 	payload := map[string]string{
-		"client_id":   GithubClientID,
+		"client_id":   clientID,
 		"device_code": deviceCode,
 		"grant_type":  "urn:ietf:params:oauth:grant-type:device_code",
 	}