diff --git a/sim/.env.example b/sim/.env.example
index 5a6375afa4..3a340f1e55 100644
--- a/sim/.env.example
+++ b/sim/.env.example
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=your_secret_key  # Use `openssl rand -hex 32` to generate, or
 BETTER_AUTH_URL=http://localhost:3000
 
 # Email Provider (Optional)
-RESEND_API_KEY=your_resend_api_key  # Get from https://resend.com
+# RESEND_API_KEY=  # Uncomment and add your key from https://resend.com to send actual emails
+                   # If left commented out, emails will be logged to console instead
 
 # App URL (Required)
 NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=http://localhost:3000
diff --git a/sim/app/lib/auth.ts b/sim/app/lib/auth.ts
index 08a7d439ef..cf7871e4c5 100644
--- a/sim/app/lib/auth.ts
+++ b/sim/app/lib/auth.ts
@@ -12,13 +12,14 @@ const logger = createLogger('Auth')
 
 // If there is no resend key, it might be a local dev environment
 // In that case, we don't want to send emails and just log them
-const resend = process.env.RESEND_API_KEY
-  ? new Resend(process.env.RESEND_API_KEY)
-  : {
-      emails: {
-        send: async (...args: any[]) => logger.info('Email sent:', args),
-      },
-    }
+const resend =
+  process.env.RESEND_API_KEY && process.env.RESEND_API_KEY.trim() !== ''
+    ? new Resend(process.env.RESEND_API_KEY)
+    : {
+        emails: {
+          send: async (...args: any[]) => logger.info('Email sent:', args),
+        },
+      }
 
 export const auth = betterAuth({
   database: drizzleAdapter(db, {