no providers configured - please run 'crush' to set up a pro

Error message

no providers configured - please run 'crush' to set up a provider interactively

What it means

Returned by `crush run` when the loaded config has no providers configured (Config.IsConfigured() is false). Non-interactive mode cannot open the setup wizard, so it directs the user to run interactive `crush` once to configure a provider/model and credentials.

Source

Thrown at internal/cmd/run.go:108

		switch {
		case sessionID != "":
			event.SetContinueBySessionID(true)
		case useLast:
			event.SetContinueLastSession(true)
		}

		if useClientServer() {
			c, ws, cleanup, err := connectToServer(cmd)
			if err != nil {
				return err
			}
			defer cleanup()

			event.AppInitialized()

			if !ws.Config.IsConfigured() {
				return fmt.Errorf("no providers configured - please run 'crush' to set up a provider interactively")
			}

			clientWs := workspace.NewClientWorkspace(c, *ws)
			if err := clientWs.InitCoderAgentNonInteractive(ctx); err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("failed to initialize agent: %w", err)
			}

			if sessionID != "" {
				sess, err := resolveSessionByID(ctx, c, ws.ID, sessionID)
				if err != nil {
					return err
				}
				sessionID = sess.ID
			}

			if verbose {
				slog.SetDefault(slog.New(log.New(os.Stderr)))
			}

View on GitHub (pinned to 7944b8e522)

Solutions

Run `crush` interactively once to complete provider setup
Or create a crushrc/crush.json manually with a provider, model, and API key env var
Export the required API key environment variable in your shell or CI secrets
Verify the config is discovered by running from the project root

Example fix

# before: no providers configured
crush run "task"   # error
# after: configure a provider
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-...
crush          # interactive setup, writes crush config
crush run "task"

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

cfg, err := config.Load(...)
if err != nil {
	return err
}
if !cfg.IsConfigured() {
	return fmt.Errorf("no providers configured; run 'crush' to set one up")
}

Try / catch

if err := runCmd.Execute(); err != nil {
	if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "no providers configured") {
		slog.Error("Run 'crush' interactively once, or export the provider API key")
	}
	return err
}

Prevention

Complete interactive `crush` setup before using `run` in CI
Export provider API keys in shell profiles or CI secrets
Run from the project root so the config file is discovered
Keep the config file present after migrating between formats

When it happens

Trigger: Fresh machine or repo with no crush.json/crushrc and no provider keys; config exists but defines no providers; running in CI where interactive setup was never completed.

Common situations: CI pipelines missing ANTHROPIC_API_KEY/OPENAI_API_KEY secrets; running crush outside the project directory so the config isn't discovered; deleted config files after a migration to crushrc.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of charmbracelet/crush@7944b8e522 (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fbdf8b32ec3f87b1. Report an issue: GitHub.