diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 95e3e23..e91463f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -266,6 +266,9 @@ Then gist-vim will ask for your password in order to create an access
 token. If you have two-factor authentication enabled, gist-vim will also
 prompt you to enter the two-factor key you receive.
 
+NOTE:
+If you want you can set it directly to `g:github_user` and `g:gist_token`.
+
 Whichever type of authentication you use, your GitHub password will not be
 stored, only a OAuth access token produced specifically for gist-vim. The
 token is stored in `~/.gist-vim`. If you stop using the plugin, you can
diff --git a/autoload/gist.vim b/autoload/gist.vim
index 50d8842..afe797e 100644
--- a/autoload/gist.vim
+++ b/autoload/gist.vim
@@ -961,7 +961,9 @@ function! s:GistGetAuthHeader() abort
     return printf('basic %s', webapi#base64#b64encode(g:github_user.':'.password))
   endif
   let auth = ''
-  if filereadable(s:gist_token_file)
+  if !empty(get(g:, 'gist_token', $GITHUB_TOKEN))
+    let auth = 'token ' . get(g:, 'gist_token', $GITHUB_TOKEN)
+  elseif filereadable(s:gist_token_file)
     let str = join(readfile(s:gist_token_file), '')
     if type(str) == 1
       let auth = str