diff --git a/libs/community/langchain_community/document_loaders/needle.py b/libs/community/langchain_community/document_loaders/needle.py
index 4bad8f67685ba..94023826bb8b3 100644
--- a/libs/community/langchain_community/document_loaders/needle.py
+++ b/libs/community/langchain_community/document_loaders/needle.py
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ def add_files(self, files: dict) -> None:
             ValueError: If the collection is not properly initialized.
         """
         self._get_collection()
+        assert self.client is not None, "NeedleClient must be initialized."
 
         files_to_add = []
         for name, url in files.items():
@@ -113,6 +114,7 @@ def _fetch_documents(self) -> List[Document]:
             ValueError: If the collection is not properly initialized.
         """
         self._get_collection()
+        assert self.client is not None, "NeedleClient must be initialized."
 
         files = self.client.collections.files.list(self.collection_id)
         docs = []
@@ -129,6 +131,7 @@ def _fetch_documents(self) -> List[Document]:
                 docs.append(doc)
         return docs
 
+
     def load(self) -> List[Document]:
         """
         Loads all documents from the Needle collection.
diff --git a/libs/community/langchain_community/retrievers/needle.py b/libs/community/langchain_community/retrievers/needle.py
index 190305b88f876..6c31cad4ab3de 100644
--- a/libs/community/langchain_community/retrievers/needle.py
+++ b/libs/community/langchain_community/retrievers/needle.py
@@ -66,6 +66,9 @@ def _search_collection(self, query: str) -> List[Document]:
             List[Document]: A list of documents matching the search query.
         """
         self._initialize_client()
+        if self.client is None:
+            raise ValueError("Provide a valid API key.")
+
         results = self.client.collections.search(
             collection_id=self.collection_id, text=query
         )
diff --git a/libs/community/tests/unit_tests/document_loaders/test_needle.py b/libs/community/tests/unit_tests/document_loaders/test_needle.py
index e6bd56d0f1f0b..ac3888d6fd00e 100644
--- a/libs/community/tests/unit_tests/document_loaders/test_needle.py
+++ b/libs/community/tests/unit_tests/document_loaders/test_needle.py
@@ -36,9 +36,9 @@ def list(self, collection_id: str):
         ]
 
 
-# Need to pass real API key and collection ID to test this function, otherwise fails
-@pytest.mark.usefixtures("socket_enabled")
+@pytest.mark.requires("needle-python")
 def test_add_and_fetch_files(mocker: MockerFixture):
+    """Test adding and fetching files using the NeedleLoader with a mock NeedleClient."""
     # Mock the NeedleClient to use the mock implementation
     mocker.patch("needle.v1.NeedleClient", new=MockNeedleClient)
 
diff --git a/libs/community/tests/unit_tests/retrievers/test_needle.py b/libs/community/tests/unit_tests/retrievers/test_needle.py
index 1fefd66a67402..2d505f1f5ee24 100644
--- a/libs/community/tests/unit_tests/retrievers/test_needle.py
+++ b/libs/community/tests/unit_tests/retrievers/test_needle.py
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ def search(self, collection_id: str, text: str):
             ]
 
 
+@pytest.mark.requires("needle-python")
 def test_needle_retriever_initialization() -> None:
     """Test that the NeedleRetriever is initialized correctly."""
     retriever = NeedleRetriever(
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@ def test_needle_retriever_initialization() -> None:
     assert retriever.collection_id == "mock_collection_id"
 
 
-@pytest.mark.usefixtures("socket_enabled")
+@pytest.mark.requires("needle-python")
 def test_get_relevant_documents(mocker: MockerFixture) -> None:
     """Test that the retriever correctly fetches documents."""
     # Patch NeedleClient with the mock