diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 656a0019..4397c05d 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -46,3 +46,4 @@ prometheus*
 .idea
 volumes
 *.egg-info/
+.env
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index fcfaf6c9..dff9ab85 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -144,6 +144,8 @@ RUN_TESTS_WITH_T4C_SERVER ?= 0
 # correct locations (as described in the README)
 RUN_TESTS_WITH_T4C_CLIENT ?= 0
 
+include .env
+
 export DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1
 export MAKE_CURRENT_TARGET=$@