diff --git a/.github/workflows/hamilton-ui-backend.yml b/.github/workflows/hamilton-ui-backend.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d4971c16a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/hamilton-ui-backend.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+name: Backend Test Workflow
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main  # or any specific branches you want to include
+  pull_request:
+    branches:
+      - main
+
+
+jobs:
+  check-changes:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      changes: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.changes }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 2 # fetch previous commit for comparison
+      - id: filter
+        run: |
+          echo "Checking for changes in the backend directory and branch..."
+          # Check if the current branch is not main
+          if [[ "${{ github.ref }}" != "refs/heads/main" ]]; then
+            # Check for changes in the backend directory
+            if git diff --quiet HEAD^ HEAD -- ui/backend/; then
+              echo "::set-output name=skip::true"
+              echo "No changes in backend/ or not on main branch, skipping subsequent jobs."
+            else
+              echo "::set-output name=skip::false"
+              echo "Changes detected in backend/ and not on main branch."
+            fi
+          else
+            echo "::set-output name=skip::false"
+            echo "On main branch, proceeding with subsequent jobs."
+          fi
+  test-backend:
+    needs: check-changes
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        testdir: [test_lifecycle, test_db_methods]  # Specify your test directories
+    services:
+      postgres:
+        image: postgres:14
+        env:
+          POSTGRES_USER: postgres
+          POSTGRES_DB: circleci_test
+          POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD: trust
+        ports:
+          - 5432:5432
+        options: >-
+          --health-cmd pg_isready
+          --health-interval 10s
+          --health-timeout 100s
+          --health-retries 10
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v4
+        with:
+          python-version: '3.9'
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: |
+          cd ui/backend/server
+          pip install -r requirements-base.txt
+          pip install -r requirements-test.txt
+      - name: Run migrations
+        env:
+          DB_HOST: localhost
+          DB_USER: postgres
+          DB_PASSWORD: "postgres"
+          DB_NAME: ${{ matrix.testdir }}
+          DB_PORT: 5432
+          HAMILTON_ENV: integration_tests
+          DJANGO_SECRET_KEY: test
+          PGPASSWORD: postgres
+          PGHOST: localhost
+          PGUSER: postgres
+          HAMILTON_BLOB_STORE: local
+          HAMILTON_LOCAL_BLOB_DIR: ./blob_data
+        run: |
+          cd ui/backend/server
+          python manage.py sqlcreate
+          echo $(python manage.py sqlcreate) | psql -U postgres
+          python manage.py migrate
+      - name: Run tests
+        env:
+          DB_HOST: localhost
+          DB_USER: postgres
+          DB_PASSWORD: "postgres"
+          DB_NAME: ${{ matrix.testdir }}
+          DB_PORT: 5432
+          HAMILTON_ENV: integration_tests
+          DJANGO_SECRET_KEY: test
+          PGPASSWORD: postgres
+          PGHOST: localhost
+          PGUSER: postgres
+          HAMILTON_BLOB_STORE: local
+          HAMILTON_LOCAL_BLOB_DIR: ./blob_data
+        run: |
+          cd backend/server
+          python -m pytest tests/${{ matrix.testdir }} -vvvvv
diff --git a/ui/backend/server/server/settings.py b/ui/backend/server/server/settings.py
index a5476a0e8..86e4de5d5 100644
--- a/ui/backend/server/server/settings.py
+++ b/ui/backend/server/server/settings.py
@@ -30,8 +30,6 @@ def get_from_env(
 
 HAMILTON_ENV = get_from_env("HAMILTON_ENV", ["integration_tests", "local", "dev", "prod"])
 
-AUTH_PROVIDER = get_from_env("HAMILTON_AUTH_PROVIDER", ["propel", "local"])
-
 PROPEL_AUTH_API_KEY = get_from_env("PROPEL_AUTH_API_KEY", allow_missing=True)
 PROPEL_AUTH_URL = get_from_env("PROPEL_AUTH_URL", allow_missing=True)
 
diff --git a/ui/deployment/docker-compose-prod.yml b/ui/deployment/docker-compose-prod.yml
index 09e0c5cc9..e0e1c23d0 100644
--- a/ui/deployment/docker-compose-prod.yml
+++ b/ui/deployment/docker-compose-prod.yml
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ services:
       - DB_PASSWORD=password # TODO: Change this to a secret
       - HAMILTON_BLOB_STORE=local
       - HAMILTON_ENV=local # local env
-      - HAMILTON_AUTH_PROVIDER=local # local authentication means unauthenticated -- TODO: enable auth for prod
       - HAMILTON_LOCAL_BLOB_DIR=/data/blobs # TODO -- set this up to be a better one
       - DJANGO_SECRET_KEY=do_not_use_in_production
       - HAMILTON_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=${HAMILTON_TELEMETRY_ENABLED-true}
diff --git a/ui/deployment/docker-compose.yml b/ui/deployment/docker-compose.yml
index e6a5df279..ec987c591 100644
--- a/ui/deployment/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/ui/deployment/docker-compose.yml
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ services:
       - DB_PASSWORD=password # Purely for local! Do not deploy to production!
       - HAMILTON_BLOB_STORE=local
       - HAMILTON_ENV=local # local env
-      - HAMILTON_AUTH_PROVIDER=local # local authentication means unauthenticated -- do not use in production!!
       - HAMILTON_LOCAL_BLOB_DIR=/data/blobs # TODO -- set this up to be a better one
       - DJANGO_SECRET_KEY=do_not_use_in_production
       - HAMILTON_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=${HAMILTON_TELEMETRY_ENABLED}