diff --git a/.env.sample b/.env.sample
index e8f51e43..9b6365ba 100644
--- a/.env.sample
+++ b/.env.sample
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ GITHUB_WEBHOOK_SECRET=MUST_BE_CONFIGURED
 # ZULIP_API_TOKEN=yyy
 
 # Authenticates inbound webhooks from Github
-# ZULIP_TOKEN=xxx
+# ZULIP_WEBHOOK_SECRET=xxx
 
 # Use another endpoint to retrieve teams of the Rust project (useful for local testing)
 # default: https://team-api.infra.rust-lang.org/v1
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c4060dae..811a77e7 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ curl http://localhost:8000/zulip-hook \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{
         "data": "<CMD>",
-        "token": "<ZULIP_TOKEN>",
+        "token": "<ZULIP_WEBHOOK_SECRET>",
         "message": {
             "sender_id": <YOUR_ID>,
             "recipient_id": <YOUR_ID>,
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ curl http://localhost:8000/zulip-hook \
 Where:
 - `CMD` is the exact command you would issue @triagebot on Zulip (ex. open a direct chat with the
   bot and send "work show")
-- `ZULIP_TOKEN`: can be anything. Must correspond to the env var `$ZULIP_TOKEN` on your workstation
+- `ZULIP_WEBHOOK_SECRET`: can be anything. Must correspond to the env var `$ZULIP_WEBHOOK_SECRET` on your workstation
 - `YOUR_ID`: your GitHub user ID. Must be existing in your local triagebot database (table `users` and as
   foreign key also in `review_prefs`)
 
diff --git a/src/zulip.rs b/src/zulip.rs
index 7bf33b11..a80aef8a 100644
--- a/src/zulip.rs
+++ b/src/zulip.rs
@@ -125,12 +125,29 @@ pub async fn respond(ctx: &Context, req: Request) -> String {
     serde_json::to_string(&Response { content }).unwrap()
 }
 
+pub fn get_token_from_env() -> Result<String, anyhow::Error> {
+    // ZULIP_WEBHOOK_SECRET is preferred, ZULIP_TOKEN is kept for retrocompatibility but will be deprecated
+    match std::env::var("ZULIP_WEBHOOK_SECRET") {
+        Ok(v) => return Ok(v),
+        Err(_) => (),
+    }
+
+    match std::env::var("ZULIP_TOKEN") {
+        Ok(v) => return Ok(v),
+        Err(_) => (),
+    }
+
+    log::error!(
+        "Cannot communicate with Zulip: neither ZULIP_WEBHOOK_SECRET or ZULIP_TOKEN are set."
+    );
+    anyhow::bail!("Cannot communicate with Zulip.");
+}
+
 /// Processes a Zulip webhook.
 ///
 /// Returns a string of the response, or None if no response is needed.
 async fn process_zulip_request(ctx: &Context, req: Request) -> anyhow::Result<Option<String>> {
-    let expected_token = std::env::var("ZULIP_TOKEN").expect("`ZULIP_TOKEN` set for authorization");
-
+    let expected_token = get_token_from_env()?;
     if !bool::from(req.token.as_bytes().ct_eq(expected_token.as_bytes())) {
         anyhow::bail!("Invalid authorization.");
     }