diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
index caadc1ab..d232721d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ jobs:
           pnpm exec sanity blueprints deploy --organization-id "$ORG_ID" --stack ${{ vars.SANITY_STUDIO_DATASET }}
         env:
           SANITY_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SANITY_AUTH_TOKEN }}
+          SANITY_API_WRITE_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SANITY_API_WRITE_TOKEN }}
           SANITY_STUDIO_PROJECT_ID: ${{ vars.SANITY_STUDIO_PROJECT_ID }}
           SANITY_STUDIO_DATASET: ${{ vars.SANITY_STUDIO_DATASET }}
           YOUTUBE_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.YOUTUBE_API_KEY }}
@@ -123,6 +124,7 @@ jobs:
           pnpm exec sanity blueprints deploy --organization-id "$ORG_ID" --stack ${{ vars.SANITY_STUDIO_DATASET }}
         env:
           SANITY_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SANITY_AUTH_TOKEN }}
+          SANITY_API_WRITE_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SANITY_API_WRITE_TOKEN }}
           SANITY_STUDIO_PROJECT_ID: ${{ vars.SANITY_STUDIO_PROJECT_ID }}
           SANITY_STUDIO_DATASET: ${{ vars.SANITY_STUDIO_DATASET }}
           YOUTUBE_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.YOUTUBE_API_KEY }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/sync-missing-youtube-transcripts.yml b/.github/workflows/sync-missing-youtube-transcripts.yml
index 77389e65..63938b21 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/sync-missing-youtube-transcripts.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/sync-missing-youtube-transcripts.yml
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ jobs:
           pnpm exec sanity functions test sync-missing-youtube-transcripts --dataset ${{ inputs.dataset }}
         env:
           SANITY_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SANITY_AUTH_TOKEN }}
+          SANITY_API_WRITE_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SANITY_API_WRITE_TOKEN }}
           SANITY_STUDIO_PROJECT_ID: ${{ vars.SANITY_STUDIO_PROJECT_ID }}
           SANITY_STUDIO_DATASET: ${{ inputs.dataset }}
           YOUTUBE_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.YOUTUBE_API_KEY }}
diff --git a/apps/sanity/functions/sync-missing-youtube-transcripts/index.ts b/apps/sanity/functions/sync-missing-youtube-transcripts/index.ts
index c9cfd407..7b40124a 100644
--- a/apps/sanity/functions/sync-missing-youtube-transcripts/index.ts
+++ b/apps/sanity/functions/sync-missing-youtube-transcripts/index.ts
@@ -222,12 +222,14 @@ export const handler = scheduledEventHandler(async ({ context }) => {
 		);
 	}
 
-	// 2. Token validation
+	// 2. Token validation: prefer Sanity runtime token, then project write token, then fallback
 	const token =
-		context.clientOptions?.token || process.env.SANITY_AUTH_TOKEN;
+		context.clientOptions?.token ||
+		process.env.SANITY_API_WRITE_TOKEN ||
+		process.env.SANITY_AUTH_TOKEN;
 	if (!token) {
 		throw new Error(
-			"[Sync Missing YouTube Transcripts] Missing Sanity API token (neither context.clientOptions.token nor SANITY_AUTH_TOKEN is present).",
+			"[Sync Missing YouTube Transcripts] Missing Sanity API token (neither context.clientOptions.token nor SANITY_API_WRITE_TOKEN is present).",
 		);
 	}
 
diff --git a/sanity.blueprint.ts b/sanity.blueprint.ts
index 01ce6830..c75de211 100644
--- a/sanity.blueprint.ts
+++ b/sanity.blueprint.ts
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ export default defineBlueprint({
 			env: {
 				YOUTUBE_API_KEY: process.env.YOUTUBE_API_KEY || "",
 				SANITY_AUTH_TOKEN: process.env.SANITY_AUTH_TOKEN || "",
+				SANITY_API_WRITE_TOKEN: process.env.SANITY_API_WRITE_TOKEN || "",
 				SANITY_STUDIO_PROJECT_ID:
 					process.env.SANITY_STUDIO_PROJECT_ID || "hfh83o0w",
 				SANITY_STUDIO_DATASET: