diff --git a/docs/advanced-reading/fetchers.md b/docs/advanced-reading/fetchers.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..47448f8daec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/advanced-reading/fetchers.md
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+# Working on fetchers
+
+Fetchers are the implementation of the [search using online services](https://docs.jabref.org/collect/import-using-online-bibliographic-database).
+Some fetchers require API keys to get them working.
+To get the fetchers running in a JabRef development setup, the keys need to be placed in the respective enviornment variable.
+The following table lists the respective fetchers, where to get the key from and the environment variable where the key has to be placed.
+
+| Service | Key Source | Environment Variable | Rate Limit |
+| -- | -- | -- | -- |
+| [IEEEXplore](https://docs.jabref.org/collect/import-using-online-bibliographic-database/ieeexplore) | [IEEE Xplore API portal](https://developer.ieee.org/) | `IEEEAPIKey` | 200 calls/day |
+| [MathSciNet](http://www.ams.org/mathscinet) | (none) | (none) | Depending on the current network |
+| [SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System](https://docs.jabref.org/collect/import-using-online-bibliographic-database/ads) | [ADS UI](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/user/settings/token) | `AstrophysicsDataSystemAPIKey` | 5000 calls/day |
+| [Springer Nature](https://docs.jabref.org/collect/import-using-online-bibliographic-database/springer) | [Springer Nature API Portal](https://dev.springernature.com/) | `SpringerNatureAPIKey`| 5000 calls/day |
+| [Zentralblatt Math](https://www.zbmath.org/) | (none) | (none) | Depending on the current network |
+
+"Depending on the current network" means that it depends whether your request is routed through a network having paid access.
+For instance, some universities have subscriptions to MathSciNet.
+
+On Windows, you have to log-off and log-on to let IntelliJ know about the environment variable change.
+Execute the gradle task "processResources" in the group "others" within IntelliJ to ensure the values have been correctly written.
+Now, the fetcher tests should run without issues.
+
+## Background on embedding the keys in JabRef
+
+The keys are placed into the `build.properties` file.
+
+```properties
+springerNatureAPIKey=${springerNatureAPIKey}
+```
+
+In `build.gradle`, these variables are filled:
+
+```groovy
+"springerNatureAPIKey": System.getenv('SpringerNatureAPIKey')
+```
+
+The `BuildInfo` class reads from that file.
+
+```java
+new BuildInfo().springerNatureAPIKey
+```
+
+When executing `./gradlew run`, gradle executes `processResources` and populates `build/build.properties` accordingly.
+However, when working directly in the IDE, Eclipse keeps reading `build.properties` from `src/main/resources`.
+In IntelliJ, the task `JabRef Main` is executing `./gradlew processResources` before running JabRef from the IDE to ensure the `build.properties` is properly populated.
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/jabref/logic/util/BuildInfo.java b/src/main/java/org/jabref/logic/util/BuildInfo.java
index c6f64a0091c..50fc89bbbd5 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/jabref/logic/util/BuildInfo.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/jabref/logic/util/BuildInfo.java
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 import java.io.InputStreamReader;
 import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
 import java.util.Locale;
+import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.Properties;
 
 public final class BuildInfo {
@@ -48,11 +49,22 @@ public BuildInfo(String path) {
         authors = properties.getProperty("authors", "");
         year = properties.getProperty("year", "");
         developers = properties.getProperty("developers", "");
-        azureInstrumentationKey = properties.getProperty("azureInstrumentationKey", "");
-        springerNatureAPIKey = properties.getProperty("springerNatureAPIKey", "");
-        astrophysicsDataSystemAPIKey = properties.getProperty("astrophysicsDataSystemAPIKey", "");
-        ieeeAPIKey = properties.getProperty("ieeeAPIKey", "");
+        azureInstrumentationKey = BuildInfo.getValue(properties, "azureInstrumentationKey", "");
+        springerNatureAPIKey = BuildInfo.getValue(properties, "springerNatureAPIKey", "118d90a519d0fc2a01ee9715400054d4");
+        astrophysicsDataSystemAPIKey = BuildInfo.getValue(properties, "AstrophysicsDataSystemAPIKey", "tAhPRKADc6cC26mZUnAoBt3MAjCvKbuCZsB4lI3c");
+        ieeeAPIKey = BuildInfo.getValue(properties, "ieeeAPIKey", "5jv3wyt4tt2bwcwv7jjk7pc3");
         minRequiredJavaVersion = properties.getProperty("minRequiredJavaVersion", "1.8");
-        allowJava9 = "true".equals(properties.getProperty("allowJava9", ""));
+        allowJava9 = "true".equals(properties.getProperty("allowJava9", "true"));
+    }
+
+    private static String getValue(Properties properties, String key, String defaultValue) {
+        String result = Optional.ofNullable(properties.getProperty(key))
+                                // workaround unprocessed build.properties file --> just remove the reference to some variable used in build.gradle
+                                .map(value -> value.replaceAll("\\$\\{.*\\}", ""))
+                                .orElse("");
+        if (!result.equals("")) {
+            return result;
+        }
+        return defaultValue;
     }
 }