diff --git a/packages/core/installMachine/installSteps/vercel/deploy.ts b/packages/core/installMachine/installSteps/vercel/deploy.ts
index 1e0c573..60ae1db 100644
--- a/packages/core/installMachine/installSteps/vercel/deploy.ts
+++ b/packages/core/installMachine/installSteps/vercel/deploy.ts
@@ -8,12 +8,17 @@ export const deployVercelProject = async () => {
   });
 
   logWithColoredPrefix('vercel', 'Creating production deployment...');
-
   const productionUrl = execSync('vercel --prod', {
     stdio: ['inherit', 'pipe', 'inherit'],
     encoding: 'utf8',
   });
 
+  logWithColoredPrefix('vercel', 'Setting up environment variables...');
+  execSync("grep PAYLOAD_SECRET apps/web/.env | cut -d '=' -f2 | vercel env add PAYLOAD_SECRET production", {
+    stdio: 'inherit',
+    encoding: 'utf8',
+  });
+
   if (productionUrl) {
     logWithColoredPrefix('vercel', `You can access your production deployment at: \x1b[36m${productionUrl}\x1b[0m`);
   } else {