diff --git a/src-tauri/src/main.rs b/src-tauri/src/main.rs
index 4e379d9..174c002 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/main.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/main.rs
@@ -95,6 +95,17 @@ fn unix_timestamp_millis() -> u128 {
         .unwrap_or(0)
 }
 
+fn env_truthy(name: &str) -> bool {
+    std::env::var(name)
+        .map(|value| {
+            matches!(
+                value.trim().to_ascii_lowercase().as_str(),
+                "1" | "true" | "yes" | "on"
+            )
+        })
+        .unwrap_or(false)
+}
+
 fn log_slug(prompt: &str) -> String {
     let mut slug = String::new();
     let mut last_was_separator = false;
@@ -377,6 +388,7 @@ async fn generate_map(
     let vae_model = cfg
         .vae_model
         .unwrap_or_else(|| "madebyollin/sdxl-vae-fp16-fix".to_string());
+    let allow_downloads = env_truthy("SKYMAP_ALLOW_DOWNLOADS");
     let active_generation_pid = state.active_generation_pid.clone();
     let cancel_generation_requested = state.cancel_generation_requested.clone();
     let window = window.clone();
@@ -451,10 +463,14 @@ async fn generate_map(
                 &mut log_file,
                 format!("  program: {}", python.to_string_lossy()),
             );
-            write_log_line(
-                &mut log_file,
-                "  env: PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1 HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1 TRANSFORMERS_OFFLINE=1 DIFFUSERS_OFFLINE=1",
-            );
+            if allow_downloads {
+                write_log_line(&mut log_file, "  env: PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1 SKYMAP_ALLOW_DOWNLOADS=1");
+            } else {
+                write_log_line(
+                    &mut log_file,
+                    "  env: PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1 HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1 TRANSFORMERS_OFFLINE=1 DIFFUSERS_OFFLINE=1",
+                );
+            }
             for arg in &args {
                 write_log_line(&mut log_file, format!("  arg: {arg}"));
             }
@@ -463,11 +479,15 @@ async fn generate_map(
             let mut cmd = Command::new(&python);
             cmd.current_dir(&root)
                 .env("PYTHONUNBUFFERED", "1")
-                .env("HF_HUB_OFFLINE", "1")
-                .env("TRANSFORMERS_OFFLINE", "1")
-                .env("DIFFUSERS_OFFLINE", "1")
                 .stdout(Stdio::piped())
                 .stderr(Stdio::piped());
+            if allow_downloads {
+                cmd.env("SKYMAP_ALLOW_DOWNLOADS", "1");
+            } else {
+                cmd.env("HF_HUB_OFFLINE", "1")
+                    .env("TRANSFORMERS_OFFLINE", "1")
+                    .env("DIFFUSERS_OFFLINE", "1");
+            }
             for arg in &args {
                 cmd.arg(arg);
             }