diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index f584e159..dad41ae3 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@ services:
     networks:
       - backend
     environment:
+      LOCAL_DEVELOPMENT: "true"
       DEBUG_TOOLBAR: "false"
     env_file:
       - .env
diff --git a/docs/commands.md b/docs/commands.md
index c54c77da..fddff569 100644
--- a/docs/commands.md
+++ b/docs/commands.md
@@ -307,6 +307,8 @@ If both the `--release` and the `--library-name` are passed, the command will lo
 
 **Purpose**: Execute a chain of commands which are necessary to run during a release. Imports new versions, beta versions, slack messages, github issues, commits, authors, maintainers, etc... Inspect the management command to see exactly which commands are being run.
 
+For this to work `SLACK_BOT_API` must be set in the `.env` file.
+
 **Example**
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/docs/env_vars.md b/docs/env_vars.md
index 87926dc3..13997f7e 100644
--- a/docs/env_vars.md
+++ b/docs/env_vars.md
@@ -79,3 +79,6 @@ This project uses environment variables to configure certain aspects of the appl
 ### `MAX_CELERY_CONNECTIONS`
 
 - If set, will set the maximum number of connections to the Celery in `settings.py`. Defaults to 60.
+
+### `SLACK_BOT_TOKEN`
+- Used to authenticate with the Slack API for pulling data for release reports.
diff --git a/env.template b/env.template
index b66072ce..4cbdf717 100644
--- a/env.template
+++ b/env.template
@@ -54,7 +54,8 @@ GITHUB_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET=
 GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID=
 GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET=
 
-SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=changeme
+# optional, needed to run reports
+SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=
 DEBUG_TOOLBAR=True
 # uncomment whichever is appropriate for your editor
 # currently only pycharm is supported, vscode kept for example of alternative options
diff --git a/libraries/management/commands/release_tasks.py b/libraries/management/commands/release_tasks.py
index 174ee8bf..d54906e1 100644
--- a/libraries/management/commands/release_tasks.py
+++ b/libraries/management/commands/release_tasks.py
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ def progress_message(message: str):
 
 @locked(1138692)
 def run_commands(progress: list[str]):
+    if not settings.SLACK_BOT_TOKEN:
+        raise ValueError("SLACK_BOT_TOKEN is not set.")
     handled_commits = {}
     progress.append(progress_message("Importing versions..."))
     call_command("import_versions", "--new")