diff --git a/packages/mono-repo-publish/src/bin/mono-repo-publish.ts b/packages/mono-repo-publish/src/bin/mono-repo-publish.ts
index 8a787144407..19c5ad72f68 100755
--- a/packages/mono-repo-publish/src/bin/mono-repo-publish.ts
+++ b/packages/mono-repo-publish/src/bin/mono-repo-publish.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 import * as yargs from 'yargs';
 import * as core from '../main';
+import {Octokit} from '@octokit/rest';
 
 interface CommonArgs {
   'pr-url': string;
@@ -46,7 +47,6 @@ function parseCommonArgs(yargs: yargs.Argv): yargs.Argv<CommonArgs> {
         return process.env.APP_ID_PATH;
         // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
       }) as any,
-      demand: true,
     })
     .option('private-key-path', {
       describe: 'path to a file containing the GitHub private key',
@@ -55,7 +55,6 @@ function parseCommonArgs(yargs: yargs.Argv): yargs.Argv<CommonArgs> {
         return process.env.GITHUB_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH;
         // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
       }) as any,
-      demand: true,
     })
     .option('installation-id-path', {
       describe: 'path to a file containing the GitHub installation ID',
@@ -64,7 +63,6 @@ function parseCommonArgs(yargs: yargs.Argv): yargs.Argv<CommonArgs> {
         return process.env.INSTALLATION_ID_PATH;
         // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
       }) as any,
-      demand: true,
     })
     .option('exclude-files', {
       describe: 'glob of paths to exclude',
@@ -84,21 +82,8 @@ const publishCommand: yargs.CommandModule<{}, PublishArgs> = {
     });
   },
   async handler(argv) {
-    const appIdPath = argv['app-id-path'];
-    const privateKeyPath = argv['private-key-path'];
-    const installationIdPath = argv['installation-id-path'];
-
-    if (!appIdPath || !privateKeyPath || !installationIdPath) {
-      throw Error(
-        'Need to set all of APP_ID_PATH, GITHUB_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH, INSTALLATION_ID_PATH'
-      );
-    }
+    const octokit = buildOctokit(argv);
     const pr = core.parseURL(argv['pr-url']);
-    const octokit = core.getOctokitInstance(
-      appIdPath,
-      privateKeyPath,
-      installationIdPath
-    );
     if (!pr) {
       throw Error(`Could not find PR from ${argv.prUrl}`);
     }
@@ -122,21 +107,8 @@ const publishCustomCommand: yargs.CommandModule<{}, PublishCustomArgs> = {
     });
   },
   async handler(argv) {
-    const appIdPath = argv['app-id-path'];
-    const privateKeyPath = argv['private-key-path'];
-    const installationIdPath = argv['installation-id-path'];
-
-    if (!appIdPath || !privateKeyPath || !installationIdPath) {
-      throw Error(
-        'Need to set all of APP_ID_PATH, GITHUB_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH, INSTALLATION_ID_PATH'
-      );
-    }
+    const octokit = buildOctokit(argv);
     const pr = core.parseURL(argv['pr-url']);
-    const octokit = core.getOctokitInstance(
-      appIdPath,
-      privateKeyPath,
-      installationIdPath
-    );
     if (!pr) {
       throw Error(`Could not find PR from ${argv.prUrl}`);
     }
@@ -149,6 +121,24 @@ const publishCustomCommand: yargs.CommandModule<{}, PublishCustomArgs> = {
   },
 };
 
+function buildOctokit(argv: CommonArgs): Octokit {
+  const appIdPath = argv['app-id-path'];
+  const privateKeyPath = argv['private-key-path'];
+  const installationIdPath = argv['installation-id-path'];
+  if (!appIdPath || !privateKeyPath || !installationIdPath) {
+    console.warn(
+      'Missing one of APP_ID_PATH, GITHUB_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH, INSTALLATION_ID_PATH. Using unauthenticated client.'
+    );
+    return new Octokit();
+  } else {
+    return core.getOctokitInstance(
+      appIdPath,
+      privateKeyPath,
+      installationIdPath
+    );
+  }
+}
+
 // Get testing repo that touches submodules that we would want to publish
 // Once we have the list, actually calling npm publish on those modules
 export const parser = yargs