diff --git a/command/auth.go b/command/auth.go
index 46ea4657a5..f31b2a358a 100644
--- a/command/auth.go
+++ b/command/auth.go
@@ -114,6 +114,15 @@ func (c *AuthCommand) Run(args []string) int {
 		return 0
 	}
 
+	// Warn if the VAULT_TOKEN environment variable is set, as that will take
+	// precedence
+	if os.Getenv("VAULT_TOKEN") != "" {
+		c.Ui.Output("==> WARNING: VAULT_TOKEN environment variable set!\n")
+		c.Ui.Output("  The environment variable takes precedence over the value")
+		c.Ui.Output("  set by the auth command. Either update the value of the")
+		c.Ui.Output("  environment variable or unset it to use the new token.\n")
+	}
+
 	var vars map[string]string
 	if len(args) > 0 {
 		builder := kvbuilder.Builder{Stdin: os.Stdin}
@@ -173,15 +182,6 @@ func (c *AuthCommand) Run(args []string) int {
 		return 1
 	}
 
-	// Warn if the VAULT_TOKEN environment variable is set, as that will take
-	// precedence
-	if os.Getenv("VAULT_TOKEN") != "" {
-		c.Ui.Output("==> WARNING: VAULT_TOKEN environment variable set!\n")
-		c.Ui.Output("  The environment variable takes precedence over the value")
-		c.Ui.Output("  set by the auth command. Either update the value of the")
-		c.Ui.Output("  environment variable or unset it to use the new token.\n")
-	}
-
 	// Get the policies we have
 	policiesRaw, ok := secret.Data["policies"]
 	if !ok {