diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f45972ab..29d60950 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -63,13 +63,13 @@ Also, check the [example](example) directory.
 | Option             | Type                                                                                | Required | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
 | ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
 | include            | `string`/`array`/`object`                                                           | required | One or more paths that Sentry CLI should scan recursively for sources. It will upload all `.map` files and match associated `.js` files. Each path can be given as an object with path-specific options. See [table below](#include) for details.                                                                                                                               |
-| org                | `string`                                                                            | optional | The slug of the Sentry organization associated with the app.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
-| project            | `string`                                                                            | optional | The slug of the Sentry project associated with the app.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
+| org                | `string`                                                                            | optional | The slug of the Sentry organization associated with the app. Can also be specified via `process.env.SENTRY_ORG`.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
+| project            | `string`                                                                            | optional | The slug of the Sentry project associated with the app. Can also be specified via `process.env.SENTRY_PROJECT`.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
 | authToken          | `string`                                                                            | optional | The authentication token to use for all communication with Sentry. Can be obtained from https://sentry.io/settings/account/api/auth-tokens/. Required scopes: `project:releases` (and `org:read` if `setCommits` option is used).                                                                                                                                               |
 | url                | `string`                                                                            | optional | The base URL of your Sentry instance. Defaults to https://sentry.io/, which is the correct value for SAAS customers.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
 | customHeader       | `string`                                                                            | optional | A header added to all outgoing requests. A string in the format `header-key: header-value`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
 | vcsRemote          | `string`                                                                            | optional | The name of the remote in the version control system. Defaults to `origin`.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
-| release            | `string`                                                                            | optional | Unique identifier for the release. Defaults to the output of the `sentry-cli releases propose-version` command, which automatically detects values for Cordova, Heroku, AWS CodeBuild, CircleCI, Xcode, and Gradle, and otherwise uses `HEAD`'s commit SHA. (**For `HEAD` option, requires access to `git` CLI and for the root directory to be a valid repository**).          |
+| release            | `string`                                                                            | optional | Unique identifier for the release. Can also be specified via `process.env.SENTRY_RELEASE`. Defaults to the output of the `sentry-cli releases propose-version` command, which automatically detects values for Cordova, Heroku, AWS CodeBuild, CircleCI, Xcode, and Gradle, and otherwise uses `HEAD`'s commit SHA. (**For `HEAD` option, requires access to `git` CLI and for the root directory to be a valid repository**).          |
 | dist               | `string`                                                                            | optional | Unique identifier for the distribution, used to further segment your release. Usually your build number.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
 | entries            | `array`/`RegExp`/`function(key: string): bool`                                      | optional | Filter for entry points that should be processed. By default, the release will be injected into all entry points.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
 | ignoreFile         | `string`                                                                            | optional | Path to a file containing list of files/directories to ignore. Can point to `.gitignore` or anything with the same format.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
diff --git a/src/index.js b/src/index.js
index 5e4e6879..67cc9c81 100644
--- a/src/index.js
+++ b/src/index.js
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ function attachAfterCodeGenerationHook(compiler, options) {
             sourceMap.set(
               'javascript',
               new RawSource(
-                `${rawSource.source()} 
+                `${rawSource.source()}
   (function (){
   var globalThis = (typeof window !== 'undefined' ? window : typeof global !== 'undefined' ? global : typeof self !== 'undefined' ? self : {});
   globalThis.SENTRY_RELEASES = globalThis.SENTRY_RELEASES || {};
@@ -260,8 +260,10 @@ class SentryCliPlugin {
    * Returns undefined if proposeVersion failed.
    */
   getReleasePromise() {
-    return (this.options.release
-      ? Promise.resolve(this.options.release)
+    const userSpecifiedRelease =
+      this.options.release || process.env.SENTRY_RELEASE;
+    return (userSpecifiedRelease
+      ? Promise.resolve(userSpecifiedRelease)
       : this.cli.releases.proposeVersion()
     )
       .then(version => `${version}`.trim())
@@ -398,6 +400,9 @@ class SentryCliPlugin {
         {
           loader: SENTRY_LOADER,
           options: {
+            // We check for `process.env.SENTRY_RELEASE` earlier, which is why
+            // it's not used here the way `process.env.SENTRY_ORG` and
+            // `process.env.SENTRY_PROJECT` are
             releasePromise: this.release,
             org: this.options.org || process.env.SENTRY_ORG,
             project: this.options.project || process.env.SENTRY_PROJECT,
@@ -570,6 +575,9 @@ class SentryCliPlugin {
     }
 
     attachAfterCodeGenerationHook(compiler, {
+      // We check for `process.env.SENTRY_RELEASE` earlier, which is why it's
+      // not used here the way `process.env.SENTRY_ORG` and
+      // `process.env.SENTRY_PROJECT` are
       releasePromise: this.release,
       org: this.options.org || process.env.SENTRY_ORG,
       project: this.options.project || process.env.SENTRY_PROJECT,