zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw · error

Brave API key not configured (decrypted value is empty)

Error message

Brave API key not configured (decrypted value is empty)

What it means

Error "Brave API key not configured (decrypted value is empty)" thrown in zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw.

Source

Thrown at crates/zeroclaw-tools/src/web_search_tool.rs:166

            .ok_or_else(|| {
                ::zeroclaw_log::record!(
                    ERROR,
                    ::zeroclaw_log::Event::new(module_path!(), ::zeroclaw_log::Action::Reject)
                        .with_outcome(::zeroclaw_log::EventOutcome::Failure)
                        .with_attrs(::serde_json::json!({"search_provider": "brave"})),
                    "web_search: Brave API key not configured"
                );
                anyhow::Error::msg("Brave API key not configured")
            })?;

        // Decrypt if necessary.
        if zeroclaw_config::secrets::SecretStore::is_encrypted(&raw_key) {
            let zeroclaw_dir = self.config_path.parent().unwrap_or_else(|| Path::new("."));
            let store =
                zeroclaw_config::secrets::SecretStore::new(zeroclaw_dir, self.secrets_encrypt);
            let plaintext = store.decrypt(&raw_key)?;
            if plaintext.is_empty() {
                anyhow::bail!("Brave API key not configured (decrypted value is empty)");
            }
            Ok(plaintext)
        } else {
            Ok(raw_key)
        }
    }

    async fn search_duckduckgo(&self, query: &str) -> anyhow::Result<String> {
        self.search_duckduckgo_at("https://html.duckduckgo.com/html/", query)
            .await
    }

    /// Inner DuckDuckGo request implementation, parameterized on the endpoint URL
    /// so request-flow tests can target a local mock server. Production calls
    /// always go through [`Self::search_duckduckgo`].
    async fn search_duckduckgo_at(
        &self,
        endpoint_url: &str,

View on GitHub (pinned to 88bb9c8533)

Solutions

1. Set the Brave Search API key: `zeroclaw config set tools.web_search.brave.api_key <key>` or re-run `zeroclaw quickstart`.
2. Verify the configured encrypted secret decrypts to a non-empty value; re-enter the key if it was stored empty.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at crates/zeroclaw-tools/src/web_search_tool.rs:166 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw@88bb9c8533 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/686baa9d1644a2de. Report an issue: GitHub.