diff --git a/docs/search-quality-eval.md b/docs/search-quality-eval.md
index 7a1d91c..574ae48 100644
--- a/docs/search-quality-eval.md
+++ b/docs/search-quality-eval.md
@@ -34,7 +34,8 @@ uv run python scripts/evaluate_search_quality.py \
 
 Gemini configuration:
 
-- set `GEMINI_API_KEY` to enable LLM judging
+- preferred on this workspace: set `GOOGLE_API_KEY`
+- also accepted: `GEMINI_API_KEY` or `GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY`
 - optional: set `GEMINI_MODEL`
 - default model is `gemini-3-pro-preview` for the direct Gemini API
 
diff --git a/scripts/evaluate_search_quality.py b/scripts/evaluate_search_quality.py
index ee8a3bc..fa86393 100644
--- a/scripts/evaluate_search_quality.py
+++ b/scripts/evaluate_search_quality.py
@@ -276,6 +276,22 @@ def extract_gemini_text(payload: Dict[str, Any]) -> str:
     raise ValueError("Gemini response did not contain text")
 
 
+def resolve_google_judge_api_key(config: Dict[str, Any]) -> Optional[str]:
+    """Resolve the local canonical Google API key name.
+
+    This workspace conventionally uses GOOGLE_API_KEY. We also accept the
+    more Gemini-specific aliases for portability.
+    """
+    return (
+        os.environ.get("GOOGLE_API_KEY")
+        or config.get("GOOGLE_API_KEY")
+        or os.environ.get("GEMINI_API_KEY")
+        or config.get("GEMINI_API_KEY")
+        or os.environ.get("GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY")
+        or config.get("GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY")
+    )
+
+
 def call_gemini_judge(api_key: str, model: str, prompt: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
     body = {
         "contents": [{"parts": [{"text": prompt}]}],
@@ -497,7 +513,7 @@ def main() -> int:
 
     judge_config = envlib.get_config()
     judge_provider = args.judge_provider
-    gemini_api_key = judge_config.get("GEMINI_API_KEY")
+    gemini_api_key = resolve_google_judge_api_key(judge_config)
     judge_model = args.judge_model or judge_config.get("GEMINI_MODEL") or DEFAULT_JUDGE_MODEL
     if judge_provider == "auto":
         judge_provider = "gemini" if gemini_api_key else "none"
diff --git a/scripts/lib/env.py b/scripts/lib/env.py
index 0fd9599..54812df 100644
--- a/scripts/lib/env.py
+++ b/scripts/lib/env.py
@@ -243,7 +243,9 @@ def get_config() -> Dict[str, Any]:
 
     keys = [
         ('XAI_API_KEY', None),
+        ('GOOGLE_API_KEY', None),
         ('GEMINI_API_KEY', None),
+        ('GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY', None),
         ('OPENROUTER_API_KEY', None),
         ('PARALLEL_API_KEY', None),
         ('BRAVE_API_KEY', None),
diff --git a/tests/test_env_project.py b/tests/test_env_project.py
index c3a4353..c9bb85f 100644
--- a/tests/test_env_project.py
+++ b/tests/test_env_project.py
@@ -96,6 +96,21 @@ class TestConfigPrecedence(unittest.TestCase):
                 self.assertEqual(config['GEMINI_API_KEY'], 'gem-key')
                 self.assertEqual(config['GEMINI_MODEL'], 'gemini-3-pro-preview')
 
+    def test_google_api_key_loads_from_project_env(self):
+        import tempfile
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
+            project_dir = Path(tmpdir) / ".claude"
+            project_dir.mkdir()
+            project_env = project_dir / "last30days.env"
+            project_env.write_text("GOOGLE_API_KEY=google-key\n")
+
+            with patch.object(Path, 'cwd', return_value=Path(tmpdir)), \
+                 patch.object(env, 'CONFIG_FILE', None), \
+                 patch.dict(os.environ, {}, clear=False):
+                os.environ.pop('GOOGLE_API_KEY', None)
+                config = env.get_config()
+                self.assertEqual(config['GOOGLE_API_KEY'], 'google-key')
+
 
 class TestConfigSource(unittest.TestCase):
     """Tests for _CONFIG_SOURCE tracking."""
diff --git a/tests/test_evaluate_search_quality.py b/tests/test_evaluate_search_quality.py
index 7922f49..7471a52 100644
--- a/tests/test_evaluate_search_quality.py
+++ b/tests/test_evaluate_search_quality.py
@@ -77,5 +77,25 @@ class TestPathWithoutNode(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(filtered, "/usr/bin:/opt/homebrew/bin")
 
 
+class TestJudgeKeyResolution(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_prefers_google_api_key(self):
+        config = {
+            "GOOGLE_API_KEY": "google-key",
+            "GEMINI_API_KEY": "gem-key",
+            "GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY": "genai-key",
+        }
+        self.assertEqual(evalsq.resolve_google_judge_api_key(config), "google-key")
+
+    def test_falls_back_to_gemini_aliases(self):
+        self.assertEqual(
+            evalsq.resolve_google_judge_api_key({"GEMINI_API_KEY": "gem-key"}),
+            "gem-key",
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(
+            evalsq.resolve_google_judge_api_key({"GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY": "genai-key"}),
+            "genai-key",
+        )
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()