diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index afde510b..ecd55e4d 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ In this guide, you will get an overview of the project structure and setup, as w
     - [Environment Variables](#environment-variables)
       - [Configuring your Database](#configuring-your-database)
       - [Configuring Clerk](#configuring-clerk)
-      - [Configuring Upstash](#configuring-upstash)
+      - [Configuring Upstash (optional)](#configuring-upstash-optional)
     - [Running stuff](#running-stuff)
   - [Closing notes](#closing-notes)
 
@@ -171,6 +171,8 @@ And now you got Auth!
 
 #### Configuring Upstash (optional)
 
+> **Note** Upstash is used to provide rate-limiting capabilities to Noodle, which is optional locally as that it's really only needed in the production version.
+
 1. Create your account through [Upstash's dashboard](https://console.upstash.com)
 2. Click on "Create database"
 3. Give it a name and a region
@@ -179,7 +181,6 @@ And now you got Auth!
 6. In the "Connect to your database" section, select "@upstash/redis"
 7. Copy the url into your `.env` file as `REDIS_URL` key
 8. Copy the token into your `.env` file as `REDIS_TOKEN` key
-9. Upstash is only used for ratelimiting, if left empty then ratelimiting will be disabled
 
 And that's all for the redis part!
 
diff --git a/src/env.mjs b/src/env.mjs
index 7aeebf6c..fe0e9517 100644
--- a/src/env.mjs
+++ b/src/env.mjs
@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@ export const env = createEnv({
     NODE_ENV: z
       .enum(["development", "test", "production"])
       .default("development"),
-    UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL: z.string().min(1).optional(),
-    UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN: z.string().min(0).optional(),
+    UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL: z.string().optional(),
+    UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN: z.string().optional(),
     CLERK_SECRET_KEY: z.string().min(1),
     OPENWEATHER_API_KEY: z.string().min(1),
   },