diff --git a/gns3server/api/routes/compute/dependencies/authentication.py b/gns3server/api/routes/compute/dependencies/authentication.py
index 377a89dc6..5e725b3d8 100644
--- a/gns3server/api/routes/compute/dependencies/authentication.py
+++ b/gns3server/api/routes/compute/dependencies/authentication.py
@@ -26,12 +26,29 @@ from gns3server.config import Config
 from typing import Optional, Union
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
-security = HTTPBasic()
+security = HTTPBasic(auto_error=False)
 
 
 def compute_authentication(credentials: Optional[HTTPBasicCredentials] = Depends(security)) -> None:
+    """
+    Authenticate compute requests.
+    
+    Returns None if authentication is disabled or if authentication succeeds
+    Raises HTTPException if authentication is required but credentials are invalid
+    """
 
     server_settings = Config.instance().settings.Server
+
+    if not server_settings.enable_http_auth:
+        return None
+
+    if credentials is None:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED,
+            detail="Invalid compute username or password",
+            headers={"WWW-Authenticate": "Basic"},
+        )
+
     username = secrets.compare_digest(credentials.username, server_settings.compute_username)
     password = secrets.compare_digest(credentials.password, server_settings.compute_password.get_secret_value())
     if not (username and password):
@@ -44,6 +61,12 @@ def compute_authentication(credentials: Optional[HTTPBasicCredentials] = Depends
 async def ws_compute_authentication(websocket: WebSocket) -> Union[None, WebSocket]:
     """
     """
+    
+    server_settings = Config.instance().settings.Server
+
+    if not server_settings.enable_http_auth:
+        await websocket.accept()
+        return websocket
 
     await websocket.accept()
 
@@ -68,7 +91,6 @@ async def ws_compute_authentication(websocket: WebSocket) -> Union[None, WebSock
         if not separator:
             raise invalid_user_credentials_exc
 
-        server_settings = Config.instance().settings.Server
         username = secrets.compare_digest(username, server_settings.compute_username)
         password = secrets.compare_digest(password, server_settings.compute_password.get_secret_value())
         if not (username and password):
diff --git a/gns3server/config_samples/gns3_server.conf b/gns3server/config_samples/gns3_server.conf
index 0a99ea338..92142bab5 100644
--- a/gns3server/config_samples/gns3_server.conf
+++ b/gns3server/config_samples/gns3_server.conf
@@ -91,6 +91,9 @@ udp_end_port_range = 30000
 ; uBridge executable location, default: search in PATH
 ;ubridge_path = ubridge
 
+; Option to enable or disable compute HTTP authentication
+enable_http_auth = True
+
 ; Username for compute HTTP authentication, "gns3" is the default if not specified
 compute_username = gns3
 ; Password for compute HTTP authentication, a randomly generated password is used if not specified
diff --git a/gns3server/schemas/config.py b/gns3server/schemas/config.py
index 34ea90690..4d0426b0e 100644
--- a/gns3server/schemas/config.py
+++ b/gns3server/schemas/config.py
@@ -114,6 +114,7 @@ class BuiltinSymbolTheme(str, Enum):
 class ServerSettings(BaseModel):
 
     local: bool = False
+    enable_http_auth: bool = True
     name: str = f"{socket.gethostname()} (controller)"
     protocol: ServerProtocol = ServerProtocol.http
     host: str = "0.0.0.0"
diff --git a/gns3server/server.py b/gns3server/server.py
index 6ae18fdfb..be2b62564 100644
--- a/gns3server/server.py
+++ b/gns3server/server.py
@@ -240,7 +240,10 @@ class Server:
 
         self._set_config_defaults_from_command_line(args)
         config = Config.instance().settings
-        if not config.Server.compute_password.get_secret_value():
+
+        if not config.Server.enable_http_auth:
+            log.info("Compute authentication is disabled")
+        elif not config.Server.compute_password.get_secret_value():
             alphabet = string.ascii_letters + string.digits + string.punctuation
             generated_password = ''.join(secrets.choice(alphabet) for _ in range(16))
             config.Server.compute_password = SecretStr(generated_password)
diff --git a/tests/api/routes/compute/test_compute.py b/tests/api/routes/compute/test_compute.py
index aa70ff6b9..04a38b2b8 100644
--- a/tests/api/routes/compute/test_compute.py
+++ b/tests/api/routes/compute/test_compute.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 # You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 # along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 
+from unittest.mock import patch, MagicMock
 import pytest
 
 from fastapi import FastAPI, status
@@ -22,6 +23,8 @@ from httpx import AsyncClient
 
 from gns3server.version import __version__
 from gns3server.compute.project import Project
+from gns3server.config import Config
+from gns3server.schemas.config import ServerSettings
 
 pytestmark = pytest.mark.asyncio
 
@@ -71,3 +74,20 @@ class TestComputeRoutes:
 
         response = await compute_client.get(app.url_path_for("compute:compute_statistics"))
         assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+
+
+    async def test_compute_auth_disabled(self, app: FastAPI, compute_client: AsyncClient) -> None:
+
+        mock_settings = MagicMock()
+        mock_server_settings = MagicMock()
+        mock_server_settings.enable_http_auth = False
+        mock_server_settings.compute_username = "gns3"
+        mock_server_settings.compute_password.get_secret_value.return_value = "testpass"
+        mock_settings.settings.Server = mock_server_settings
+
+        with patch("gns3server.api.routes.compute.dependencies.authentication.Config.instance", return_value=mock_settings):
+            response = await compute_client.get(
+                app.url_path_for("compute:compute_version"),
+                auth=("wrong_user", "wrong_password")
+            )
+            assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK