diff --git a/control_plane/src/safekeeper.rs b/control_plane/src/safekeeper.rs
index 948e3c8c93..eec2c997e6 100644
--- a/control_plane/src/safekeeper.rs
+++ b/control_plane/src/safekeeper.rs
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ impl SafekeeperNode {
     }
 
     /// Initializes a safekeeper node by creating all necessary files,
-    /// e.g. SSL certificates.
+    /// e.g. SSL certificates and JWT token file.
     pub fn initialize(&self) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         if self.env.generate_local_ssl_certs {
             self.env.generate_ssl_cert(
@@ -120,6 +120,17 @@ impl SafekeeperNode {
                 &self.datadir_path().join("server.key"),
             )?;
         }
+
+        // Generate a token file for authentication with other safekeepers
+        if self.conf.auth_enabled {
+            let token = self
+                .env
+                .generate_auth_token(&Claims::new(None, Scope::SafekeeperData))?;
+
+            let token_path = self.datadir_path().join("peer_jwt_token");
+            std::fs::write(token_path, token)?;
+        }
+
         Ok(())
     }
 
@@ -218,14 +229,26 @@ impl SafekeeperNode {
             args.push(format!("--ssl-ca-file={}", ssl_ca_file.to_str().unwrap()));
         }
 
+        if self.conf.auth_enabled {
+            let token_path = self.datadir_path().join("peer_jwt_token");
+            let token_path_str = token_path
+                .to_str()
+                .with_context(|| {
+                    format!("Token path {token_path:?} cannot be represented as a unicode string")
+                })?
+                .to_owned();
+            args.extend(["--auth-token-path".to_owned(), token_path_str]);
+        }
+
         args.extend_from_slice(extra_opts);
 
+        let env_variables = Vec::new();
         background_process::start_process(
             &format!("safekeeper-{id}"),
             &datadir,
             &self.env.safekeeper_bin(),
             &args,
-            self.safekeeper_env_variables()?,
+            env_variables,
             background_process::InitialPidFile::Expect(self.pid_file()),
             retry_timeout,
             || async {
@@ -239,18 +262,6 @@ impl SafekeeperNode {
         .await
     }
 
-    fn safekeeper_env_variables(&self) -> anyhow::Result<Vec<(String, String)>> {
-        // Generate a token to connect from safekeeper to peers
-        if self.conf.auth_enabled {
-            let token = self
-                .env
-                .generate_auth_token(&Claims::new(None, Scope::SafekeeperData))?;
-            Ok(vec![("SAFEKEEPER_AUTH_TOKEN".to_owned(), token)])
-        } else {
-            Ok(Vec::new())
-        }
-    }
-
     ///
     /// Stop the server.
     ///
diff --git a/safekeeper/src/bin/safekeeper.rs b/safekeeper/src/bin/safekeeper.rs
index dd71420efb..c267a55cb6 100644
--- a/safekeeper/src/bin/safekeeper.rs
+++ b/safekeeper/src/bin/safekeeper.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 //
 // Main entry point for the safekeeper executable
 //
-use std::env::{VarError, var};
 use std::fs::{self, File};
 use std::io::{ErrorKind, Write};
 use std::str::FromStr;
@@ -354,29 +353,13 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     };
 
     // Load JWT auth token to connect to other safekeepers for pull_timeline.
-    // First check if the env var is present, then check the arg with the path.
-    // We want to deprecate and remove the env var method in the future.
-    let sk_auth_token = match var("SAFEKEEPER_AUTH_TOKEN") {
-        Ok(v) => {
-            info!("loaded JWT token for authentication with safekeepers");
-            Some(SecretString::from(v))
-        }
-        Err(VarError::NotPresent) => {
-            if let Some(auth_token_path) = args.auth_token_path.as_ref() {
-                info!(
-                    "loading JWT token for authentication with safekeepers from {auth_token_path}"
-                );
-                let auth_token = tokio::fs::read_to_string(auth_token_path).await?;
-                Some(SecretString::from(auth_token.trim().to_owned()))
-            } else {
-                info!("no JWT token for authentication with safekeepers detected");
-                None
-            }
-        }
-        Err(_) => {
-            warn!("JWT token for authentication with safekeepers is not unicode");
-            None
-        }
+    let sk_auth_token = if let Some(auth_token_path) = args.auth_token_path.as_ref() {
+        info!("loading JWT token for authentication with safekeepers from {auth_token_path}");
+        let auth_token = tokio::fs::read_to_string(auth_token_path).await?;
+        Some(SecretString::from(auth_token.trim().to_owned()))
+    } else {
+        info!("no JWT token for authentication with safekeepers detected");
+        None
     };
 
     let ssl_ca_certs = match args.ssl_ca_file.as_ref() {