diff --git a/packages/tba/index.ts b/packages/tba/index.ts
index 7ce4f91..fe425a4 100644
--- a/packages/tba/index.ts
+++ b/packages/tba/index.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 // docs: https://www.thebluealliance.com/apidocs/v3
 export const tpaApiUrl = 'https://www.thebluealliance.com/api/v3';
 export const statboticsApiUrl = 'https://api.statbotics.io/v2';
-export const apiKey =
-  process.env.TBA_API_KEY || 'euL6KYqI7bQU4QFj5HWTxmg46fhTp9CM1nM4IPGTNDbBNoog2HejA8HUn9enJMRf';
+export const apiKey = process.env.TBA_API_KEY || "whoops! shouldn't see this!";
+if (!apiKey || apiKey.includes('whoops')) {
+  throw new Error('no TBA API key found');
+}