diff --git a/.github/workflows/integration.yml b/.github/workflows/integration.yml
index f3d360b18e..8f7ba48a11 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/integration.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/integration.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,8 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-20.04
     env:
       DOCKER_BUILDKIT: 1
-      INTEGRATION_DB_FLAVOR: ${{ matrix.db }} 
+      INTEGRATION_DB_FLAVOR: ${{ matrix.db }}
+      ZITADEL_MASTERKEY: MasterkeyNeedsToHave32Characters
     steps:
       - name: Set up Go
         uses: actions/setup-go@v3
@@ -40,7 +41,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Run zitadel init and setup
         run: |
           go run main.go init --config internal/integration/config/zitadel.yaml --config internal/integration/config/${INTEGRATION_DB_FLAVOR}.yaml
-          go run main.go setup --masterkey MasterkeyNeedsToHave32Characters --config internal/integration/config/zitadel.yaml --config internal/integration/config/${INTEGRATION_DB_FLAVOR}.yaml
+          go run main.go setup --masterkeyFromEnv --config internal/integration/config/zitadel.yaml --config internal/integration/config/${INTEGRATION_DB_FLAVOR}.yaml
       - name: Run integration tests
         run: go test -tags=integration -race -parallel 1 -v -coverprofile=profile.cov -coverpkg=./... ./internal/integration ./internal/api/grpc/...
       - name: Publish go coverage
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 3e47e7e4d0..b17d42c0ab 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -201,13 +201,13 @@ docker compose --file ./e2e/config/host.docker.internal/docker-compose.yaml down
 
 #### Integration tests
 
-In order to run the integrations tests for the gRPC API, PostgreSQL and CockroachDB must be running and initialized.
+In order to run the integrations tests for the gRPC API, PostgreSQL and CockroachDB must be started and initialized:
 
 ```bash
-export INTEGRATION_DB_FLAVOR="cockroach"
+export INTEGRATION_DB_FLAVOR="cockroach" ZITADEL_MASTERKEY="MasterkeyNeedsToHave32Characters"
 docker compose -f internal/integration/config/docker-compose.yaml up --wait ${INTEGRATION_DB_FLAVOR}
 go run main.go init --config internal/integration/config/zitadel.yaml --config internal/integration/config/${INTEGRATION_DB_FLAVOR}.yaml
-go run main.go setup --masterkey MasterkeyNeedsToHave32Characters --config internal/integration/config/zitadel.yaml --config internal/integration/config/${INTEGRATION_DB_FLAVOR}.yaml
+go run main.go setup --masterkeyFromEnv --config internal/integration/config/zitadel.yaml --config internal/integration/config/${INTEGRATION_DB_FLAVOR}.yaml
 go test -tags=integration -race -parallel 1 ./internal/integration ./internal/api/grpc/...
 docker compose -f internal/integration/config/docker-compose.yaml down
 ```
diff --git a/internal/integration/integration.go b/internal/integration/integration.go
index 39873f3533..67ef9d60b2 100644
--- a/internal/integration/integration.go
+++ b/internal/integration/integration.go
@@ -72,10 +72,14 @@ type Tester struct {
 	wg             sync.WaitGroup // used for shutdown
 }
 
-const commandLine = `start --masterkey MasterkeyNeedsToHave32Characters`
+const commandLine = `start --masterkeyFromEnv`
+
+func (s *Tester) Host() string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%s:%d", s.Config.ExternalDomain, s.Config.Port)
+}
 
 func (s *Tester) createClientConn(ctx context.Context) {
-	target := fmt.Sprintf("localhost:%d", s.Config.Port)
+	target := s.Host()
 	cc, err := grpc.DialContext(ctx, target,
 		grpc.WithBlock(), grpc.WithTransportCredentials(insecure.NewCredentials()),
 	)
@@ -126,7 +130,7 @@ const (
 func (s *Tester) createSystemUser(ctx context.Context) {
 	var err error
 
-	s.Instance, err = s.Queries.InstanceByHost(ctx, "localhost:8080")
+	s.Instance, err = s.Queries.InstanceByHost(ctx, s.Host())
 	logging.OnError(err).Fatal("query instance")
 	ctx = authz.WithInstance(ctx, s.Instance)