zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw · warning · DiagItem

{label}: no api_key set (may rely on env vars or model_provi

Error message

{label}: no api_key set (may rely on env vars or model_provider defaults)

What it means

For every non-ollama provider profile, check_config_semantics verifies that an `api_key` is configured. This warning means none is set on the profile — auth will fall back to environment variables or provider defaults, which may or may not exist when a call is actually made.

Source

Thrown at crates/zeroclaw-runtime/src/doctor/mod.rs:1153

            let label = format!("{family}.{alias}");
            if let Some(reason) = provider_validation_error(config, &label) {
                items.push(DiagItem::error(
                    cat,
                    format!("model_provider \"{label}\" is invalid: {reason}"),
                ));
            } else {
                items.push(DiagItem::ok(
                    cat,
                    format!("model_provider \"{label}\" is valid"),
                ));
            }

            // API key presence
            if family != "ollama" {
                if entry.api_key.as_deref().is_some() {
                    items.push(DiagItem::ok(cat, format!("{label}: API key configured")));
                } else {
                    items.push(DiagItem::warn(
                        cat,
                        format!("{label}: no api_key set (may rely on env vars or model_provider defaults)"),
                    ));
                }
            }

            // Model configured
            if let Some(model) = entry.model.as_deref() {
                items.push(DiagItem::ok(cat, format!("{label}: model: {model}")));
            } else {
                items.push(DiagItem::warn(cat, format!("{label}: no model configured")));
            }

            // A missing value remains unknown until this profile is selected;
            // zero is explicitly invalid because it leaves recovery with no
            // usable model-context budget.
            match entry.context_window {
                Some(0) => items.push(DiagItem::error(

View on GitHub (pinned to 88bb9c8533)

Solutions

1. Set `api_key` on the provider profile if the key is stable
2. Or export the provider's env var (e.g. `OPENAI_API_KEY`) in every environment that runs zeroclaw
3. If the endpoint genuinely needs no key, verify a call succeeds and accept the warning

Example fix

# before
[providers.openai]
family = "openai"
model = "gpt-4o"

# after
[providers.openai]
family = "openai"
model = "gpt-4o"
api_key = "sk-..."
# or: export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-... in the runtime environment

for var in OPENAI_API_KEY ANTHROPIC_API_KEY GEMINI_API_KEY; do
  if [ -z "${!var}" ]; then
    echo "warn: $var unset and no api_key on the profile"
  fi
done

When it happens

Trigger: A `[providers.<name>]` entry omits `api_key` (intending env-var auth); any `zeroclaw doctor` run prints `{label}: no api_key set` for that profile.

Common situations: Env-var-based deployments where the variable is missing in some shells or service units; new provider profiles created from minimal templates; local gateways where the key is optional.

Understand the failure class

Background: "API key is required" / "API key not found" / "No API key was set": the missing-api-key error family across 16 libraries — this error's family across 16 libraries.

Related errors

• model route "{}" uses invalid model_provider "{}": {}
• embedding route "{}" uses invalid model_provider "{}": {}
• agent "{name}" uses invalid model_provider "{provider_ref}":
• config section `{$path}` is malformed and was reset to defau
• {label}: no model configured

AI-assisted analysis of zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw@88bb9c8533 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/97331082baf614ec. Report an issue: GitHub.