diff --git a/.changeset/soft-files-smash.md b/.changeset/soft-files-smash.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b87c555da0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/soft-files-smash.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/plugin-azure-devops-backend': patch
+---
+
+Fixed a bug where the `azureDevOps.token` was not truly optional
diff --git a/plugins/azure-devops-backend/config.d.ts b/plugins/azure-devops-backend/config.d.ts
index 7b85aad6be..b79cd1d058 100644
--- a/plugins/azure-devops-backend/config.d.ts
+++ b/plugins/azure-devops-backend/config.d.ts
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ export interface Config {
      * @visibility secret
      * @deprecated Use `integrations.azure` instead, see {@link https://backstage.io/docs/integrations/azure/locations}
      */
-    token: string;
+    token?: string;
     /**
      * The organization of the given Azure instance
      */
diff --git a/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/service/router.ts b/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/service/router.ts
index d81f4ff686..0697481e36 100644
--- a/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/service/router.ts
+++ b/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/service/router.ts
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ export async function createRouter(
 ): Promise<express.Router> {
   const { logger, reader, config, permissions } = options;
 
-  if (config.getString('azureDevOps.token')) {
+  if (config.getOptionalString('azureDevOps.token')) {
     logger.warn(
       "The 'azureDevOps.token' has been deprecated, use 'integrations.azure' instead, for more details see: https://backstage.io/docs/integrations/azure/locations",
     );