diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index 2c4db005c..173321cd2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ jobs:
       env:
         # Use the CPU only version of torch when building/running the code
         PIP_EXTRA_INDEX_URL: https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cpu
+        HUGGINGFACE_TOKEN_METATRAIN: ${{ secrets.HUGGINGFACE_TOKEN }}
 
     - name: upload to codecov.io
       uses: codecov/codecov-action@v4
diff --git a/docs/src/getting-started/checkpoints.rst b/docs/src/getting-started/checkpoints.rst
index 05cd5f3e8..e5c2dfaae 100644
--- a/docs/src/getting-started/checkpoints.rst
+++ b/docs/src/getting-started/checkpoints.rst
@@ -46,6 +46,9 @@ a file path.
 
     mtt export experimental.soap_bpnn https://my.url.com/model.ckpt --output model.pt
 
+Downloading private HuggingFace models is also supported, by specifying the
+corresponding API token with the ``--huggingface_api_token`` flag.
+
 Keep in mind that a checkpoint (``.ckpt``) is only a temporary file, which can have
 several dependencies and may become unusable if the corresponding architecture is
 updated. In constrast, exported models (``.pt``) act as standalone files. For long-term
diff --git a/src/metatrain/cli/export.py b/src/metatrain/cli/export.py
index a375a5e13..a27b617e4 100644
--- a/src/metatrain/cli/export.py
+++ b/src/metatrain/cli/export.py
@@ -53,14 +53,30 @@ def _add_export_model_parser(subparser: argparse._SubParsersAction) -> None:
         default="exported-model.pt",
         help="Filename of the exported model (default: %(default)s).",
     )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--huggingface_api_token",
+        dest="huggingface_api_token",
+        type=str,
+        required=False,
+        default="",
+        help="API token to download a private model from HuggingFace.",
+    )
 
 
 def _prepare_export_model_args(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
     """Prepare arguments for export_model."""
+    path = args.__dict__.pop("path")
+    architecture_name = args.__dict__.pop("architecture_name")
     args.model = load_model(
-        path=args.__dict__.pop("path"),
-        architecture_name=args.__dict__.pop("architecture_name"),
+        path=path,
+        architecture_name=architecture_name,
+        **args.__dict__,
     )
+    keys_to_keep = ["model", "output"]  # only these are needed for `export_model``
+    original_keys = list(args.__dict__.keys())
+    for key in original_keys:
+        if key not in keys_to_keep:
+            args.__dict__.pop(key)
 
 
 def export_model(model: Any, output: Union[Path, str] = "exported-model.pt") -> None:
diff --git a/src/metatrain/utils/io.py b/src/metatrain/utils/io.py
index bb3c046fe..440bfdc1c 100644
--- a/src/metatrain/utils/io.py
+++ b/src/metatrain/utils/io.py
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import logging
+import shutil
 import warnings
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any, Optional, Union
@@ -9,6 +11,9 @@
 from .architectures import import_architecture
 
 
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
 def check_file_extension(
     filename: Union[str, Path], extension: str
 ) -> Union[str, Path]:
@@ -65,6 +70,7 @@ def load_model(
     path: Union[str, Path],
     extensions_directory: Optional[Union[str, Path]] = None,
     architecture_name: Optional[str] = None,
+    **kwargs,
 ) -> Any:
     """Load checkpoints and exported models from an URL or a local file.
 
@@ -99,15 +105,64 @@ def load_model(
         )
 
     if Path(path).suffix in [".yaml", ".yml"]:
-        raise ValueError(f"path '{path}' seems to be a YAML option file and no model")
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"path '{path}' seems to be a YAML option file and not a model"
+        )
 
-    if urlparse(str(path)).scheme:
+    # Download from HuggingFace with a private token
+    if kwargs.get("huggingface_api_token"):
+        try:
+            from huggingface_hub import hf_hub_download
+        except ImportError:
+            raise ImportError(
+                "To download a model from HuggingFace, please install the "
+                "`huggingface_hub` package with pip (`pip install "
+                "huggingface_hub`)."
+            )
+        path = str(path)
+        if not path.startswith("https://huggingface.co/"):
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"Invalid URL '{path}'. HuggingFace models should start with "
+                "'https://huggingface.co/'."
+            )
+        # get repo_id and filename
+        split_path = path.split("/")
+        repo_id = f"{split_path[3]}/{split_path[4]}"  # org/repo
+        filename = ""
+        for i in range(5, len(split_path)):
+            filename += split_path[i] + "/"
+        filename = filename[:-1]
+        if filename.startswith("resolve"):
+            if not filename[8:].startswith("main/"):
+                raise ValueError(
+                    f"Invalid URL '{path}'. metatrain only supports models from the "
+                    "'main' branch."
+                )
+            filename = filename[13:]
+        if filename.startswith("blob/"):
+            if not filename[5:].startswith("main/"):
+                raise ValueError(
+                    f"Invalid URL '{path}'. metatrain only supports models from the "
+                    "'main' branch."
+                )
+            filename = filename[10:]
+        path = hf_hub_download(repo_id, filename, token=kwargs["huggingface_api_token"])
+        # make sure to copy the checkpoint to the current directory
+        shutil.copy(path, Path.cwd() / filename)
+        logger.info(f"Downloaded model from HuggingFace to {filename}")
+
+    elif urlparse(str(path)).scheme:
         path, _ = urlretrieve(str(path))
+        # make sure to copy the checkpoint to the current directory
+        shutil.copy(path, Path.cwd() / str(path).split("/")[-1])
+        logger.info(f"Downloaded model to {str(path).split('/')[-1]}")
 
-    if is_exported_file(str(path)):
-        return load_atomistic_model(
-            str(path), extensions_directory=extensions_directory
-        )
+    else:
+        pass
+
+    path = str(path)
+    if is_exported_file(path):
+        return load_atomistic_model(path, extensions_directory=extensions_directory)
     else:  # model is a checkpoint
         if architecture_name is None:
             raise ValueError(
@@ -117,7 +172,7 @@ def load_model(
         architecture = import_architecture(architecture_name)
 
         try:
-            return architecture.__model__.load_checkpoint(str(path))
+            return architecture.__model__.load_checkpoint(path)
         except Exception as err:
             raise ValueError(
                 f"path '{path}' is not a valid model file for the {architecture_name} "
diff --git a/tests/cli/test_export_model.py b/tests/cli/test_export_model.py
index 10feab713..8c005b5f2 100644
--- a/tests/cli/test_export_model.py
+++ b/tests/cli/test_export_model.py
@@ -5,9 +5,11 @@
 
 import glob
 import logging
+import os
 import subprocess
 from pathlib import Path
 
+import huggingface_hub
 import pytest
 import torch
 
@@ -104,3 +106,42 @@ def test_reexport(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
     export_model(model_loaded, "exported_new.pt")
 
     assert Path("exported_new.pt").is_file()
+
+
+def test_private_huggingface(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    """Test that the export cli succeeds when exporting a private
+    model from HuggingFace."""
+    monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
+
+    HF_TOKEN = os.getenv("HUGGINGFACE_TOKEN_METATRAIN")
+    if HF_TOKEN is None:
+        pytest.skip("HuggingFace token not found in environment.")
+    assert len(HF_TOKEN) > 0
+
+    huggingface_hub.upload_file(
+        path_or_fileobj=str(RESOURCES_PATH / "model-32-bit.ckpt"),
+        path_in_repo="model.ckpt",
+        repo_id="metatensor/metatrain-test",
+        commit_message="Overwrite test model with new version",
+        token=HF_TOKEN,
+    )
+
+    command = [
+        "mtt",
+        "export",
+        "experimental.soap_bpnn",
+        "https://huggingface.co/metatensor/metatrain-test/resolve/main/model.ckpt",
+        f"--huggingface_api_token={HF_TOKEN}",
+    ]
+
+    output = "exported-model.pt"
+
+    subprocess.check_call(command)
+    assert Path(output).is_file()
+
+    # Test if extensions are saved
+    extensions_glob = glob.glob("extensions/")
+    assert len(extensions_glob) == 1
+
+    # Test that the model can be loaded
+    load_model(output, extensions_directory="extensions/")
diff --git a/tests/utils/test_io.py b/tests/utils/test_io.py
index e50a425a9..a864bf7e3 100644
--- a/tests/utils/test_io.py
+++ b/tests/utils/test_io.py
@@ -47,6 +47,9 @@ def test_is_exported_file():
 def test_load_model_checkpoint(path):
     model = load_model(path, architecture_name="experimental.soap_bpnn")
     assert type(model) is SoapBpnn
+    if str(path).startswith("file:"):
+        # test that the checkpoint is also copied to the current directory
+        assert Path("model-32-bit.ckpt").exists()
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
@@ -64,7 +67,7 @@ def test_load_model_exported(path):
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("suffix", [".yml", ".yaml"])
 def test_load_model_yaml(suffix):
-    match = f"path 'foo{suffix}' seems to be a YAML option file and no model"
+    match = f"path 'foo{suffix}' seems to be a YAML option file and not a model"
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match=match):
         load_model(
             f"foo{suffix}",
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index 8302cbc6b..9694d7fba 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ deps =
     pytest
     pytest-cov
     pytest-xdist
+    huggingface_hub
 changedir = tests
 extras =  # architectures used in the package tests
     soap-bpnn