diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6e35679
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+GH_ORG=cyprus-developer-community
+GH_GRAPHQL_URL=https://api.github.com/graphql
+
+# https://github.com/settings/tokens?type=beta
+# Create a fine-grained token with the following permissions:
+# Resource owner:           cyprus-developer-community
+# Repository Access:        Public Repositories (read only)
+# Organization permissions: Members (read only)
+GH_PAT=
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 893d066..7d772eb 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ node_modules
 /functions/\[\[path\]\].js
 /public/build
 .env
-.env.*
 keyfile.pem
 build
 .pnpm-debug.log
diff --git a/src/lib/octokit.server.js b/src/lib/octokit.server.js
index b8c7fdf..1e32e01 100644
--- a/src/lib/octokit.server.js
+++ b/src/lib/octokit.server.js
@@ -1,17 +1,32 @@
 import { Octokit } from '@octokit/core'
 import { createAppAuth } from '@octokit/auth-app'
 
-const appOctokit = new Octokit({
-  authStrategy: createAppAuth,
-  auth: {
-    appId: process.env.GH_APP_ID,
-    privateKey: atob(process.env.GH_PRIVATE_KEY)
-  }
-})
+let token = '',
+  octokit = {}
 
-const { token } = await appOctokit.auth({
-  type: 'installation',
-  installationId: process.env.GH_APP_INSTALLATION_ID
-})
+if (process.env.GH_PAT) {
+  // with personal access token (local development)
+  const patOctokit = new Octokit({ auth: process.env.GH_PAT })
 
-export { token, appOctokit as octokit }
+  token = process.env.GH_PAT
+  octokit = patOctokit
+} else {
+  // with GitHub App (production)
+  const appOctokit = new Octokit({
+    authStrategy: createAppAuth,
+    auth: {
+      appId: process.env.GH_APP_ID,
+      privateKey: atob(process.env.GH_PRIVATE_KEY)
+    }
+  })
+
+  const { token: appToken } = await appOctokit.auth({
+    type: 'installation',
+    installationId: process.env.GH_APP_INSTALLATION_ID
+  })
+
+  token = appToken
+  octokit = appOctokit
+}
+
+export { token, octokit }