diff --git a/scripts/trigger_coreci.sh b/scripts/trigger_coreci.sh
index 4eb7094..758cf25 100755
--- a/scripts/trigger_coreci.sh
+++ b/scripts/trigger_coreci.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,20 @@
 
 set -uo pipefail
 
+# Source .env if present (provides GITEA_TOKEN)
+# Look in repo root, then cwd, then script dir
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd)"
+for env_file in "$REPO_ROOT/.env" "$PWD/.env" "./.env"; do
+  if [ -f "$env_file" ]; then
+    set -a
+    # shellcheck disable=SC1090
+    . "$env_file"
+    set +a
+    break
+  fi
+done
+
 CORECI_URL="${CORECI_URL:-https://git.cloudinit.dev/coreci/coreci}"
 GITEA_TOKEN="${GITEA_TOKEN:-}"