diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d1905037b..ca6c76380 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ For iOS and OS X use of the demo apps in Xcode, setup the access token by editin
 
 For Linux, set the environment variable `MAPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN` to your token.
 
-For Android, create the file `android/java/app/src/main/res/raw/token.txt` and insert the token as a single line.
+For Android, gradle will take the value of `MAPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN` and save it to `android/java/app/src/main/res/raw/token.txt` where the app will read it from.
 
 # Style
 
diff --git a/android/java/app/build.gradle b/android/java/app/build.gradle
index 96b8f0d1e..1bc65f6fa 100644
--- a/android/java/app/build.gradle
+++ b/android/java/app/build.gradle
@@ -1,5 +1,14 @@
 apply plugin: 'com.android.application'
 
+task accessToken {
+    def tokenFile = new File("app/src/main/res/raw/token.txt")
+    tokenFile.write(System.getenv('MAPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN'))
+}
+
+gradle.projectsEvaluated {
+    preBuild.dependsOn('accessToken')
+}
+
 android {
     compileSdkVersion 21
     buildToolsVersion "21.1.2"