diff --git a/hfutils/operate/base.py b/hfutils/operate/base.py
index 4059742bde..bea4b6b7a8 100644
--- a/hfutils/operate/base.py
+++ b/hfutils/operate/base.py
@@ -21,27 +21,33 @@ def _get_hf_token() -> Optional[str]:
 
 
 @lru_cache()
-def get_hf_client() -> HfApi:
+def get_hf_client(hf_token: Optional[str] = None) -> HfApi:
     """
     Get the Hugging Face API client.
 
+    :param hf_token: Huggingface token for API client, use ``HF_TOKEN`` variable if not assigned.
+    :type hf_token: str, optional
+
     :return: The Hugging Face API client.
     :rtype: HfApi
     """
-    return HfApi(token=_get_hf_token())
+    return HfApi(token=hf_token or _get_hf_token())
 
 
 @lru_cache()
-def get_hf_fs() -> HfFileSystem:
+def get_hf_fs(hf_token: Optional[str] = None) -> HfFileSystem:
     """
     Get the Hugging Face file system.
 
+    :param hf_token: Huggingface token for API client, use ``HF_TOKEN`` variable if not assigned.
+    :type hf_token: str, optional
+
     :return: The Hugging Face file system.
     :rtype: HfFileSystem
     """
     # use_listings_cache=False is necessary
     # or the result of glob and ls will be cached, the unittest will down
-    return HfFileSystem(token=_get_hf_token(), use_listings_cache=False)
+    return HfFileSystem(token=hf_token or _get_hf_token(), use_listings_cache=False)
 
 
 _DEFAULT_IGNORE_PATTERNS = ['.git*']
@@ -70,7 +76,8 @@ def _is_file_ignored(file_segments: List[str], ignore_patterns: List[str]) -> bo
 
 def list_files_in_repository(repo_id: str, repo_type: RepoTypeTyping = 'dataset',
                              subdir: str = '', revision: str = 'main',
-                             ignore_patterns: List[str] = _IGNORE_PATTERN_UNSET) -> List[str]:
+                             ignore_patterns: List[str] = _IGNORE_PATTERN_UNSET,
+                             hf_token: Optional[str] = None) -> List[str]:
     """
     List files in a Hugging Face repository based on the given parameters.
 
@@ -84,13 +91,15 @@ def list_files_in_repository(repo_id: str, repo_type: RepoTypeTyping = 'dataset'
     :type revision: str
     :param ignore_patterns: List of file patterns to ignore.
     :type ignore_patterns: List[str]
+    :param hf_token: Huggingface token for API client, use ``HF_TOKEN`` variable if not assigned.
+    :type hf_token: str, optional
 
     :return: A list of file paths.
     :rtype: List[str]
     """
     if ignore_patterns is _IGNORE_PATTERN_UNSET:
         ignore_patterns = _DEFAULT_IGNORE_PATTERNS
-    hf_fs = get_hf_fs()
+    hf_fs = get_hf_fs(hf_token)
     if repo_type == 'model':
         repo_root_path = repo_id
     elif repo_type == 'dataset':
diff --git a/hfutils/operate/download.py b/hfutils/operate/download.py
index a15b3500f3..35af1a02e0 100644
--- a/hfutils/operate/download.py
+++ b/hfutils/operate/download.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 
 def download_file_to_file(local_file: str, repo_id: str, file_in_repo: str,
                           repo_type: RepoTypeTyping = 'dataset', revision: str = 'main',
-                          resume_download: bool = True):
+                          resume_download: bool = True, hf_token: Optional[str] = None):
     """
     Download a file from a Hugging Face repository and save it to a local file.
 
@@ -26,8 +26,10 @@ def download_file_to_file(local_file: str, repo_id: str, file_in_repo: str,
     :type revision: str
     :param resume_download: Resume the existing download.
     :type resume_download: bool
+    :param hf_token: Huggingface token for API client, use ``HF_TOKEN`` variable if not assigned.
+    :type hf_token: str, optional
     """
-    hf_client = get_hf_client()
+    hf_client = get_hf_client(hf_token)
     relative_filename = os.path.join(*file_in_repo.split("/"))
     with TemporaryDirectory() as td:
         temp_path = os.path.join(td, relative_filename)
@@ -51,7 +53,7 @@ def download_file_to_file(local_file: str, repo_id: str, file_in_repo: str,
 
 def download_archive_as_directory(local_directory: str, repo_id: str, file_in_repo: str,
                                   repo_type: RepoTypeTyping = 'dataset', revision: str = 'main',
-                                  password: Optional[str] = None):
+                                  password: Optional[str] = None, hf_token: Optional[str] = None):
     """
     Download an archive file from a Hugging Face repository and extract it to a local directory.
 
@@ -67,17 +69,20 @@ def download_archive_as_directory(local_directory: str, repo_id: str, file_in_re
     :type revision: str
     :param password: The password of the archive file.
     :type password: str, optional
+    :param hf_token: Huggingface token for API client, use ``HF_TOKEN`` variable if not assigned.
+    :type hf_token: str, optional
     """
     with TemporaryDirectory() as td:
         archive_file = os.path.join(td, os.path.basename(file_in_repo))
-        download_file_to_file(archive_file, repo_id, file_in_repo, repo_type, revision)
+        download_file_to_file(archive_file, repo_id, file_in_repo, repo_type, revision, hf_token=hf_token)
         archive_unpack(archive_file, local_directory, password=password)
 
 
 def download_directory_as_directory(local_directory: str, repo_id: str, dir_in_repo: str = '.',
                                     repo_type: RepoTypeTyping = 'dataset', revision: str = 'main',
                                     silent: bool = False, ignore_patterns: List[str] = _IGNORE_PATTERN_UNSET,
-                                    resume_download: bool = True, max_workers: int = 8):
+                                    resume_download: bool = True, max_workers: int = 8,
+                                    hf_token: Optional[str] = None):
     """
     Download all files in a directory from a Hugging Face repository to a local directory.
 
@@ -99,6 +104,8 @@ def download_directory_as_directory(local_directory: str, repo_id: str, dir_in_r
     :type max_workers: int
     :param resume_download: Resume the existing download.
     :type resume_download: bool
+    :param hf_token: Huggingface token for API client, use ``HF_TOKEN`` variable if not assigned.
+    :type hf_token: str, optional
     """
     files = list_files_in_repository(repo_id, repo_type, dir_in_repo, revision, ignore_patterns)
     progress = tqdm(files, silent=silent, desc=f'Downloading {dir_in_repo!r} ...')
@@ -111,6 +118,7 @@ def _download_one_file(rel_file):
             repo_type=repo_type,
             revision=revision,
             resume_download=resume_download,
+            hf_token=hf_token,
         )
         progress.update()
 
diff --git a/hfutils/operate/upload.py b/hfutils/operate/upload.py
index aaa6a04cf9..70f64d1bf2 100644
--- a/hfutils/operate/upload.py
+++ b/hfutils/operate/upload.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 
 def upload_file_to_file(local_file, repo_id: str, file_in_repo: str,
                         repo_type: RepoTypeTyping = 'dataset', revision: str = 'main',
-                        message: Optional[str] = None):
+                        message: Optional[str] = None, hf_token: Optional[str] = None):
     """
     Upload a local file to a specified path in a Hugging Face repository.
 
@@ -28,8 +28,10 @@ def upload_file_to_file(local_file, repo_id: str, file_in_repo: str,
     :type revision: str
     :param message: The commit message for the upload.
     :type message: Optional[str]
+    :param hf_token: Huggingface token for API client, use ``HF_TOKEN`` variable if not assigned.
+    :type hf_token: str, optional
     """
-    hf_client = get_hf_client()
+    hf_client = get_hf_client(hf_token)
     hf_client.upload_file(
         repo_id=repo_id,
         repo_type=repo_type,
@@ -42,7 +44,8 @@ def upload_file_to_file(local_file, repo_id: str, file_in_repo: str,
 
 def upload_directory_as_archive(local_directory, repo_id: str, archive_in_repo: str,
                                 repo_type: RepoTypeTyping = 'dataset', revision: str = 'main',
-                                message: Optional[str] = None, silent: bool = False):
+                                message: Optional[str] = None, silent: bool = False,
+                                hf_token: Optional[str] = None):
     """
     Upload a local directory as an archive file to a specified path in a Hugging Face repository.
 
@@ -60,12 +63,15 @@ def upload_directory_as_archive(local_directory, repo_id: str, archive_in_repo:
     :type message: Optional[str]
     :param silent: If True, suppress progress bar output.
     :type silent: bool
+    :param hf_token: Huggingface token for API client, use ``HF_TOKEN`` variable if not assigned.
+    :type hf_token: str, optional
     """
     archive_type = get_archive_type(archive_in_repo)
     with TemporaryDirectory() as td:
         local_archive_file = os.path.join(td, os.path.basename(archive_in_repo))
         archive_pack(archive_type, local_directory, local_archive_file, silent=silent)
-        upload_file_to_file(local_archive_file, repo_id, archive_in_repo, repo_type, revision, message)
+        upload_file_to_file(local_archive_file, repo_id, archive_in_repo,
+                            repo_type, revision, message, hf_token=hf_token)
 
 
 _PATH_SEP = re.compile(r'[/\\]+')
@@ -74,7 +80,8 @@ def upload_directory_as_archive(local_directory, repo_id: str, archive_in_repo:
 def upload_directory_as_directory(local_directory, repo_id: str, path_in_repo: str,
                                   repo_type: RepoTypeTyping = 'dataset', revision: str = 'main',
                                   message: Optional[str] = None, time_suffix: bool = True,
-                                  clear: bool = False, ignore_patterns: List[str] = _IGNORE_PATTERN_UNSET):
+                                  clear: bool = False, ignore_patterns: List[str] = _IGNORE_PATTERN_UNSET,
+                                  hf_token: Optional[str] = None):
     """
     Upload a local directory and its files to a specified path in a Hugging Face repository.
 
@@ -96,8 +103,10 @@ def upload_directory_as_directory(local_directory, repo_id: str, path_in_repo: s
     :type clear: bool
     :param ignore_patterns: List of file patterns to ignore.
     :type ignore_patterns: List[str]
+    :param hf_token: Huggingface token for API client, use ``HF_TOKEN`` variable if not assigned.
+    :type hf_token: str, optional
     """
-    hf_client = get_hf_client()
+    hf_client = get_hf_client(hf_token)
     if clear:
         pre_exist_files = {
             tuple(file.split('/')) for file in