diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 5967783c1..9d4333ee5 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -1,10 +1,3 @@
-# YOU MUST SET THESE VARIABLES
-# Resend is an email service used for signing in to Trigger.dev via a Magic Link.
-### Visit https://resend.com, create an account and get your API key. Then insert it below along with your From and Reply To email addresses. Visit https://resend.com/docs for more information.
-RESEND_API_KEY=<api_key>
-FROM_EMAIL=
-REPLY_TO_EMAIL=
-
 # YOU MIGHT LIKE TO MODIFY THESE VARIABLES
 SESSION_SECRET=abcdef1234
 MAGIC_LINK_SECRET=abcdef1234
@@ -16,17 +9,20 @@ APP_ORIGIN=http://localhost:3030
 NODE_ENV=development
 
 # OPTIONAL VARIABLES
-AUTH_GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=
-AUTH_GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=
+# This is used for logging in via GitHub. You can leave these commented out if you don't want to use GitHub for authentication.
+# AUTH_GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=
+# AUTH_GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=
+
+# Resend is an email service used for signing in to Trigger.dev via a Magic Link.
+# Emails will print to the console if you leave these commented out
+### Visit https://resend.com, create an account and get your API key. Then insert it below along with your From and Reply To email addresses. Visit https://resend.com/docs for more information.
+# RESEND_API_KEY=<api_key>
+# FROM_EMAIL=
+# REPLY_TO_EMAIL=
 
 # CLOUD VARIABLES
 POSTHOG_PROJECT_KEY=
 PLAIN_API_KEY= 
-SEED_CLOUD=
-SEED_CLOUD_EMAIL=
-SEED_CLOUD_GITHUB_ACCESS_TOKEN=
-SEED_CLOUD_SLACK_ACCESS_TOKEN=
-SEED_CLOUD_USER_GITHUB_ACCESS_TOKEN=
 CLOUD_AIRTABLE_CLIENT_ID=
 CLOUD_AIRTABLE_CLIENT_SECRET=
 CLOUD_GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=
diff --git a/packages/emails/src/index.tsx b/packages/emails/src/index.tsx
index 0651d40b7..1f32c761b 100644
--- a/packages/emails/src/index.tsx
+++ b/packages/emails/src/index.tsx
@@ -54,7 +54,10 @@ export class EmailClient {
     from: string;
     replyTo: string;
   }) {
-    this.#client = config.apikey ? new Resend(config.apikey) : undefined;
+    this.#client =
+      config.apikey && config.apikey.startsWith("re_")
+        ? new Resend(config.apikey)
+        : undefined;
     this.#imagesBaseUrl = config.imagesBaseUrl;
     this.#from = config.from;
     this.#replyTo = config.replyTo;