API key prompt cancelled — leaving existing configuration un

Error message

API key prompt cancelled — leaving existing configuration untouched.

What it means

In the interactive Claude-access flow, when an Anthropic API key is already configured the installer asks keep-or-rotate. Pressing Esc or Ctrl-C at that select prompt (p.isCancel) triggers this warning and the function returns with the existing configuration completely untouched — nothing is read, overwritten, or cleared.

Source

Thrown at src/npx-cli/commands/install.ts:1039

      ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL: '',
      ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN: '',
    });
    log.info('Configured claude-mem to use your logged-in Claude SDK account.');
  };

  const configureDirectApiKey = async (): Promise<void> => {
    const existing = loadClaudeMemEnv().ANTHROPIC_API_KEY || '';
    if (existing.trim().length > 0) {
      const choice = await p.select<'keep' | 'replace'>({
        message: 'An Anthropic API key is already configured. Keep it or enter a new one?',
        options: [
          { value: 'keep', label: 'Keep existing key' },
          { value: 'replace', label: 'Enter a new key (rotate)' },
        ],
        initialValue: 'keep',
      });
      if (p.isCancel(choice)) {
        log.warn('API key prompt cancelled — leaving existing configuration untouched.');
        return;
      }
      if (choice === 'keep') {
        saveClaudeMemEnv({
          ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: existing.trim(),
          ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL: '',
          ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN: '',
        });
        persistClaudeProvider('api-key');
        return;
      }
    }

    const apiKeyResult = await p.password({
      message: 'Paste your Anthropic API key:',
      mask: '*',
      validate: (v?: string) => (!v || v.trim().length === 0) ? 'API key required' : undefined,
    });

View on GitHub (pinned to e2d1df569a)

Solutions

Nothing is broken — rerun `npx claude-mem install` and make a selection to change the key.
To rotate without prompts, edit ~/.claude-mem/.env directly (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY) or rerun and choose 'replace'.
To keep the current key permanently, no action is needed: cancellation already preserved it.

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Scripting the installer? Treat cancel as a first-class outcome:
// (user-facing flows: check p.isCancel on EVERY prompt result before use)

Type guard

// clack's own guard — always narrow before using the value:
import * as p from '@clack/prompts';
const isCancelled = (r: unknown): r is symbol => p.isCancel(r);

Prevention

Check p.isCancel immediately after every prompt and return early — never let a cancel symbol flow into string handling.
In automation, pre-set values (env/settings) instead of driving interactive prompts.
Remember cancellation here is safe by design: existing config is never modified.

When it happens

Trigger: User presses the cancel key (Esc / Ctrl-C in the clack prompt) on the 'Keep existing key / Enter a new key (rotate)' select. This is the designed graceful-exit branch, not an exception.

Common situations: Users who entered the provider flow by accident and want out; muscle-memory Esc while tabbing through prompts; CI harnesses that send Ctrl-C bytes to stdin.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of thedotmack/claude-mem@e2d1df569a (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fc1fc044e2307ce3. Report an issue: GitHub.