## TL;DR

Set them once and stop debugging auth. DEPOT_ORG_ID is the org ID: cache integrations use it as org context, and Depot CI and runners set it automatically.

## Steps

1. [Depot docs]: DEPOT_TOKEN is the Depot auth token; the CLI reads explicit --token flags first, then DEPOT_TOKEN, then locally stored login credentials. DEPOT_CACHE_TOKEN is the short-lived cache token Depot injects automatically in Depot CI and GitHub Actions runner jobs; the CLI also reads it as a fallback. DEPOT_ORG_ID is the org ID: cache integrations use it as org context, and Depot CI and runners set it automatically. In Depot CI you do not need to set any of these yourself.

## When to use

You are seeing this: [Depot docs]: DEPOT_TOKEN is the Depot auth token; the CLI reads explicit --token flags first, then DEPOT_TOKEN, then locally stored login credentials. Use this skill when you run into "Depot env vars: DEPOT_TOKEN read order and DEPOT_ORG_ID".

## When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

## Versions

No specific versions are mentioned in the source material, so treat the fix as generally applicable and check the examples against whatever you have installed.

## Why this happens

The original report does not dig into a root cause. It documents the symptom and the fix that resolved it.