diff --git a/notify.sh b/notify.sh
index 697a22f..695dfb5 100755
--- a/notify.sh
+++ b/notify.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,18 @@
 API_HOST="https://api.ssh.surf"
 API_KEY=$(cat .api-key)
 
+if [ ! $API_KEY ]; then
+  notif "API key not found. Please re-run \`/enable-expire-notifs\`"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+hello=$(curl -w %{http_code} -sH "x-ssh-auth: $API_KEY" $API_HOST/hello -o /dev/null)
+
+if [[ hello -ne 200 ]]; then
+  notif "API key not valid. Please re-run \`/enable-expire-notifs\`"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
 notif "Hello, your container at SSH.SURF has hit its expire date, if not extended before 6PM EST the container will be removed automatically. Use /extend to gain another 7 days."
 
 date=$(curl -sH "x-ssh-auth: $API_KEY" $API_HOST/time | grep -o '"expireDate":"[^"]*' | grep -o '[^"]*$')