diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ebd2584..937693e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -164,6 +164,10 @@ compile({
     - default: `false`
   - #### `fakeArgv: boolean`
     - fake the entry point file name (`process.argv[1]`). If nexe was used with stdin this will be `'[stdin]'`. 
+ - #### `ghToken: string`
+    - Provide a Github Token for accessing nexe releases
+    - This is usually needed in CI environments
+    - default: `process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN`
  - #### `sourceUrl: string`
     - Provide an alternate url for the node source code
     - Note: temporary files will still be created for this under the specified version
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 26a9c23..ccdb8c8 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "name": "nexe",
   "description": "Create a single executable out of your Node.js application",
   "license": "MIT",
-  "version": "2.0.0-rc.20",
+  "version": "2.0.0-rc.21",
   "contributors": [
     "Craig Condon <craig.j.condon@gmail.com> (http://crcn.io)",
     "Jared Allard <jaredallard@outlook.com>",
diff --git a/src/compiler.ts b/src/compiler.ts
index 3718400..6a486ac 100644
--- a/src/compiler.ts
+++ b/src/compiler.ts
@@ -185,6 +185,9 @@ export class NexeCompiler<T extends NexeOptions = NexeOptions> {
         'User-Agent': 'nexe (https://www.npmjs.com/package/nexe)'
       }
     }
+    if (this.options.ghToken) {
+      downloadOptions.headers.Authorization =  'token ' + this.options.ghToken
+    }
     const githubRelease = await getLatestGitRelease(downloadOptions)
     const assetName = target.toString()
     const asset = githubRelease.assets.find(x => x.name === assetName)
diff --git a/src/options.ts b/src/options.ts
index 77be0a6..7a7f958 100644
--- a/src/options.ts
+++ b/src/options.ts
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ export interface NexeOptions {
   plugins: (string | NexePatch)[]
   native: any
   empty: boolean
+  ghToken: string
   sourceUrl?: string
   enableStdIn?: boolean
   python?: string
@@ -81,7 +82,8 @@ const alias = {
   m: 'make',
   h: 'help',
   l: 'loglevel',
-  'fake-argv': 'fakeArgv'
+  'fake-argv': 'fakeArgv',
+  'gh-token': 'ghToken',
 }
 const argv = parseArgv(process.argv, { alias, default: { ...defaults, enableStdIn: true } })
 const g = c.gray
@@ -221,6 +223,7 @@ function normalizeOptions(input?: Partial<NexeOptions>): NexeOptions {
   if (!options.targets.length) {
     options.targets.push(getTarget())
   }
+  options.ghToken = options.ghToken || process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN || ''
   options.make = flatten(options.vcBuild, options.make)
   options.configure = flatten(options.configure)
   options.resources = flatten(opts.resource, options.resources)