diff --git a/apps/api/src/controllers/auth.ts b/apps/api/src/controllers/auth.ts
index 76bacbe..6ae234d 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/controllers/auth.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/controllers/auth.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { getRateLimiter } from "../../src/services/rate-limiter";
 import { RateLimiterMode } from "../../src/types";
 import { supabase_service } from "../../src/services/supabase";
 
+
 export async function authenticateUser(
   req,
   res,
@@ -13,6 +14,16 @@ export async function authenticateUser(
   error?: string;
   status?: number;
 }> {
+
+  console.log(process.env)
+
+  if(process.env.USE_DB_AUTHENTICATION === "false"){
+    console.log("WARNING - YOU'RE bypassing Authentication");
+    return { success: true};
+  }
+
+  console.log("USING SUPABASE AUTH");
+
   const authHeader = req.headers.authorization;
   if (!authHeader) {
     return { success: false, error: "Unauthorized", status: 401 };
diff --git a/apps/api/src/controllers/crawl.ts b/apps/api/src/controllers/crawl.ts
index 17cfa62..36c013e 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/controllers/crawl.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/controllers/crawl.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ import { addWebScraperJob } from "../../src/services/queue-jobs";
 
 export async function crawlController(req: Request, res: Response) {
   try {
+
+    console.log("hello")
     const { success, team_id, error, status } = await authenticateUser(
       req,
       res,
@@ -16,14 +18,15 @@ export async function crawlController(req: Request, res: Response) {
     if (!success) {
       return res.status(status).json({ error });
     }
-
-    const { success: creditsCheckSuccess, message: creditsCheckMessage } =
-      await checkTeamCredits(team_id, 1);
-    if (!creditsCheckSuccess) {
-      return res.status(402).json({ error: "Insufficient credits" });
+   
+    if (process.env.USE_DB_AUTHENTICATION === "true") {
+      const { success: creditsCheckSuccess, message: creditsCheckMessage } =
+        await checkTeamCredits(team_id, 1);
+      if (!creditsCheckSuccess) {
+        return res.status(402).json({ error: "Insufficient credits" });
+      }
     }
 
-    // authenticate on supabase
     const url = req.body.url;
     if (!url) {
       return res.status(400).json({ error: "Url is required" });
diff --git a/apps/api/src/controllers/scrape.ts b/apps/api/src/controllers/scrape.ts
index 632fff5..47b00f0 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/controllers/scrape.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/controllers/scrape.ts
@@ -40,18 +40,22 @@ export async function scrapeHelper(
   if (filteredDocs.length === 0) {
     return { success: true, error: "No page found", returnCode: 200 };
   }
-  const { success, credit_usage } = await billTeam(
-    team_id,
-    filteredDocs.length
-  );
-  if (!success) {
-    return {
-      success: false,
-      error:
-        "Failed to bill team. Insufficient credits or subscription not found.",
-      returnCode: 402,
-    };
+
+  if (process.env.USE_DB_AUTHENTICATION === "true") {
+    const { success, credit_usage } = await billTeam(
+      team_id,
+      filteredDocs.length
+    );
+    if (!success) {
+      return {
+        success: false,
+        error:
+          "Failed to bill team. Insufficient credits or subscription not found.",
+        returnCode: 402,
+      };
+    }
   }
+
   return {
     success: true,
     data: filteredDocs[0],
diff --git a/apps/api/src/services/supabase.ts b/apps/api/src/services/supabase.ts
index 49121fa..9a2366d 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/services/supabase.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/services/supabase.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,49 @@
-import { createClient } from "@supabase/supabase-js";
+import { createClient, SupabaseClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js';
 
-export const supabase_service = createClient<any>(
-  process.env.SUPABASE_URL,
-  process.env.SUPABASE_SERVICE_TOKEN,
-);
+// SupabaseService class initializes the Supabase client conditionally based on environment variables.
+class SupabaseService {
+  private client: SupabaseClient | null = null;
+
+  constructor() {
+    const supabaseUrl = process.env.SUPABASE_URL;
+    const supabaseServiceToken = process.env.SUPABASE_SERVICE_TOKEN;
+
+    // Only initialize the Supabase client if both URL and Service Token are provided.
+    if (process.env.USE_DB_AUTHENTICATION === "false") {
+
+      // Warn the user that Authentication is disabled by setting the client to null
+      console.warn("\x1b[33mAuthentication is disabled. Supabase client will not be initialized.\x1b[0m");
+      this.client = null;
+    } else if (!supabaseUrl || !supabaseServiceToken) {
+      console.error("\x1b[31mSupabase environment variables aren't configured correctly. Supabase client will not be initialized. Fix ENV configuration or disable DB authentication with USE_DB_AUTHENTICATION env variable\x1b[0m");
+    } else {
+      this.client = createClient(supabaseUrl, supabaseServiceToken);
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Provides access to the initialized Supabase client, if available.
+  getClient(): SupabaseClient | null {
+    return this.client;
+  }
+}
+
+// Using a Proxy to handle dynamic access to the Supabase client or service methods.
+// This approach ensures that if Supabase is not configured, any attempt to use it will result in a clear error.
+export const supabase_service: SupabaseClient = new Proxy(new SupabaseService(), {
+  get: function (target, prop, receiver) {
+    const client = target.getClient();
+    // If the Supabase client is not initialized, intercept property access to provide meaningful error feedback.
+    if (client === null) {
+      console.error("Attempted to access Supabase client when it's not configured.");
+      return () => {
+        throw new Error("Supabase client is not configured.");
+      };
+    }
+    // Direct access to SupabaseService properties takes precedence.
+    if (prop in target) {
+      return Reflect.get(target, prop, receiver);
+    }
+    // Otherwise, delegate access to the Supabase client.
+    return Reflect.get(client, prop, receiver);
+  }
+}) as unknown as SupabaseClient;
\ No newline at end of file