diff --git a/app/api/keys/[id]/route.ts b/app/api/keys/[id]/route.ts
index 7eb5cc1..b3d6a0a 100644
--- a/app/api/keys/[id]/route.ts
+++ b/app/api/keys/[id]/route.ts
@@ -11,10 +11,11 @@
  *
  * DELETE: gone from the file always; the env copy goes only when it was
  * the store's own reflection (a real env var stays — env wins). Idempotent
- * (absent key = success). Unknown ids are 404 — the curated catalog is
- * the writable surface; unknown file vars are preserved, not editable.
+ * (absent key = success). Writable ids are the CURATED CATALOG ∪ THE
+ * MODEL-PROVIDER env vars (provider-keys interlude); anything else is 404
+ * — unknown file vars are preserved, not editable.
  */
-import { isKnownAuthKey } from "@/src/core";
+import { isWritableAuthKey } from "@/src/server";
 import { deleteKey, saveKey } from "@/src/server";
 
 export const dynamic = "force-dynamic";
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ type Params = { params: Promise<{ id: string }> };
 
 export async function PUT(req: Request, { params }: Params) {
 	const { id } = await params;
-	if (!isKnownAuthKey(id)) {
+	if (!isWritableAuthKey(id)) {
 		return Response.json({ error: `unknown key "${id}"` }, { status: 404 });
 	}
 	let body: unknown;
@@ -42,7 +43,7 @@ export async function PUT(req: Request, { params }: Params) {
 
 export async function DELETE(_req: Request, { params }: Params) {
 	const { id } = await params;
-	if (!isKnownAuthKey(id)) {
+	if (!isWritableAuthKey(id)) {
 		return Response.json({ error: `unknown key "${id}"` }, { status: 404 });
 	}
 	return Response.json({ status: deleteKey(id) });
diff --git a/app/api/keys/route.ts b/app/api/keys/route.ts
index 454526b..9446d47 100644
--- a/app/api/keys/route.ts
+++ b/app/api/keys/route.ts
@@ -1,17 +1,25 @@
 /**
- * GET /api/keys — the auth page's key list (auth-keys wave, 2026-09-19).
+ * GET /api/keys — the auth page's key list (auth-keys wave, 2026-09-19;
+ * providers added by the provider-keys interlude same wave).
  *
  * Every curated key (present or not) plus unknown file vars surfaced as
- * generic rows. Masked only — last 4 + length; PLAINTEXT NEVER LEAVES THE
- * STORE THROUGH THIS API (owner decision). `source` tells the page whether
- * the live value comes from the environment (dev .env.local / launch env)
- * or the file, and `shadowedByEnv` explains why a saved key is not the
- * live one (env always wins).
+ * generic rows — ABSENT provider keys deliberately do NOT spam status
+ * rows; the provider dropdown is the discovery surface. `providers`
+ * carries it: {id, envVar, label} for every pi-ai plain-key provider,
+ * derived from pi-ai's own provider→env-var table (no-drift pin in
+ * tests/auth-provider-keys.test.ts) — the settings UI reads it optionally
+ * with a graceful fallback.
+ *
+ * Masked only — last 4 + length; PLAINTEXT NEVER LEAVES THE STORE THROUGH
+ * THIS API (owner decision). `source` tells the page whether the live
+ * value comes from the environment (dev .env.local / launch env) or the
+ * file, and `shadowedByEnv` explains why a saved key is not the live one
+ * (env always wins).
  */
-import { keyStatuses } from "@/src/server";
+import { keyStatuses, providerKeyList } from "@/src/server";
 
 export const dynamic = "force-dynamic";
 
 export async function GET() {
-	return Response.json({ keys: keyStatuses() });
+	return Response.json({ keys: keyStatuses(), providers: providerKeyList() });
 }
diff --git a/src/core/auth-keys.ts b/src/core/auth-keys.ts
index afe3fd9..84ed016 100644
--- a/src/core/auth-keys.ts
+++ b/src/core/auth-keys.ts
@@ -30,12 +30,6 @@ export interface AuthKeyInfo {
 }
 
 export const AUTH_KEYS: readonly AuthKeyInfo[] = [
-	{
-		id: "OPENROUTER_API_KEY",
-		label: "OpenRouter",
-		description: "The main model key — every teacher, prober and sub-agent call goes through it.",
-		docsUrl: "https://openrouter.ai/settings/keys",
-	},
 	{
 		id: "DEEPGRAM_API_KEY",
 		label: "Deepgram",
@@ -62,6 +56,80 @@ export function isKnownAuthKey(id: string): boolean {
 	return AUTH_KEY_IDS.has(id);
 }
 
+/** One model-provider key row for the settings page's dropdown: which
+ *  pi-ai provider, the env var its key rides in, and the human label
+ *  (pi's own Provider.name). */
+export interface AuthProviderInfo {
+	id: string;
+	envVar: string;
+	label: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * THE MODEL-PROVIDER KEY TABLE (provider-keys interlude, 2026-09-19):
+ * every pi-ai provider that takes a PLAIN api-key env var — derived from
+ * pi-ai's own provider→env-var table at generation time, so it can never
+ * drift from what pi actually reads: tests/auth-provider-keys.test.ts
+ * re-derives the truth from pi-ai (builtinProviders + findEnvKeys via a
+ * truthy-for-every-var proxy env) and asserts EXACT equality with this
+ * table — a pi-ai upgrade that adds/renames a provider key fails the gate
+ * loudly instead of drifting silently.
+ *
+ * EXCLUDED by owner spec — providers whose auth is not a plain key this
+ * wave: github-copilot (OAuth), amazon-bedrock (AWS creds), google-vertex
+ * (ADC), azure-openai-responses (needs a base URL), the cloudflare
+ * account-scoped pair. Anthropic keeps ANTHROPIC_API_KEY only — its
+ * AUTH_TOKEN/OAUTH_TOKEN alternates stay env-only. openai-codex exposes
+ * no env-key (naturally absent). Providers sharing one env var (moonshotai
+ * / moonshotai-cn, opencode / opencode-go, the qwen-token-plan pair,
+ * xiaomi variants) each keep their own row — the UI groups as it wishes.
+ */
+export const AUTH_PROVIDER_KEYS: readonly AuthProviderInfo[] = [
+	{ id: "ant-ling", envVar: "ANT_LING_API_KEY", label: "Ant Ling" },
+	{ id: "anthropic", envVar: "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY", label: "Anthropic" },
+	{ id: "baseten", envVar: "BASETEN_API_KEY", label: "Baseten" },
+	{ id: "cerebras", envVar: "CEREBRAS_API_KEY", label: "Cerebras" },
+	{ id: "deepseek", envVar: "DEEPSEEK_API_KEY", label: "DeepSeek" },
+	{ id: "fireworks", envVar: "FIREWORKS_API_KEY", label: "Fireworks" },
+	{ id: "google", envVar: "GEMINI_API_KEY", label: "Google" },
+	{ id: "groq", envVar: "GROQ_API_KEY", label: "Groq" },
+	{ id: "huggingface", envVar: "HF_TOKEN", label: "Hugging Face" },
+	{ id: "kimi-coding", envVar: "KIMI_API_KEY", label: "Kimi For Coding" },
+	{ id: "minimax", envVar: "MINIMAX_API_KEY", label: "MiniMax" },
+	{ id: "minimax-cn", envVar: "MINIMAX_CN_API_KEY", label: "MiniMax CN" },
+	{ id: "mistral", envVar: "MISTRAL_API_KEY", label: "Mistral" },
+	{ id: "moonshotai", envVar: "MOONSHOT_API_KEY", label: "Moonshot AI" },
+	{ id: "moonshotai-cn", envVar: "MOONSHOT_API_KEY", label: "Moonshot AI CN" },
+	{ id: "nvidia", envVar: "NVIDIA_API_KEY", label: "NVIDIA" },
+	{ id: "openai", envVar: "OPENAI_API_KEY", label: "OpenAI" },
+	{ id: "opencode", envVar: "OPENCODE_API_KEY", label: "OpenCode Zen" },
+	{ id: "opencode-go", envVar: "OPENCODE_API_KEY", label: "OpenCode Go" },
+	{ id: "openrouter", envVar: "OPENROUTER_API_KEY", label: "OpenRouter" },
+	{ id: "qwen-token-plan", envVar: "QWEN_TOKEN_PLAN_API_KEY", label: "Qwen Token Plan" },
+	{ id: "qwen-token-plan-cn", envVar: "QWEN_TOKEN_PLAN_CN_API_KEY", label: "Qwen Token Plan CN" },
+	{ id: "qwen-token-plan-individual", envVar: "QWEN_TOKEN_PLAN_API_KEY", label: "Qwen Token Plan Individual" },
+	{ id: "radius", envVar: "RADIUS_API_KEY", label: "Radius" },
+	{ id: "together", envVar: "TOGETHER_API_KEY", label: "Together" },
+	{ id: "vercel-ai-gateway", envVar: "AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY", label: "Vercel AI Gateway" },
+	{ id: "xai", envVar: "XAI_API_KEY", label: "xAI" },
+	{ id: "xiaomi", envVar: "XIAOMI_API_KEY", label: "Xiaomi" },
+	{ id: "xiaomi-token-plan-ams", envVar: "XIAOMI_TOKEN_PLAN_AMS_API_KEY", label: "Xiaomi Token Plan AMS" },
+	{ id: "xiaomi-token-plan-cn", envVar: "XIAOMI_TOKEN_PLAN_CN_API_KEY", label: "Xiaomi Token Plan CN" },
+	{ id: "xiaomi-token-plan-sgp", envVar: "XIAOMI_TOKEN_PLAN_SGP_API_KEY", label: "Xiaomi Token Plan SGP" },
+	{ id: "zai", envVar: "ZAI_API_KEY", label: "Z.AI" },
+	{ id: "zai-coding-cn", envVar: "ZAI_CODING_CN_API_KEY", label: "Z.AI Coding CN" },
+] as const;
+
+/** Every distinct env var a model-provider key rides in (the write side's
+ *  writability check — see isProviderEnvVar below; also drives which
+ *  PRESENT provider vars surface as status rows). */
+export const AUTH_PROVIDER_ENV_VARS: ReadonlySet<string> = new Set(AUTH_PROVIDER_KEYS.map((p) => p.envVar));
+
+/** Is this env-var name the key of SOME pi-ai model provider? */
+export function isProviderEnvVar(envVar: string): boolean {
+	return AUTH_PROVIDER_ENV_VARS.has(envVar);
+}
+
 /** Shape-check result: ok, or a 400-ready message naming the expectation. */
 export type KeyShapeResult = { ok: true } | { ok: false; error: string };
 
@@ -70,10 +138,12 @@ export type KeyShapeResult = { ok: true } | { ok: false; error: string };
  * a truncated or wrong-family key can never land in the store). Values are
  * TRIMMED first (paste hygiene); empty-after-trim always fails.
  *
- * Families: OpenRouter keys are `sk-or-…`; Google API keys are `AIza…`;
- * Programmable Search Engine IDs are either the legacy `digits:digits`
- * form or a plain alphanumeric token; Deepgram publishes no key format, so
- * the check is a truncation guard (non-empty, ≥ 20 chars, no whitespace).
+ * CURATED keys carry family rules (Google AIza…, the CSE forms,
+ * Deepgram's length floor — a truncation guard; it publishes no format).
+ * MODEL-PROVIDER keys use genericProviderKeyGuard below instead (families
+ * vary by provider — only paste hygiene applies; owner spec: min length
+ * ~12, no whitespace). OPENROUTER_API_KEY moved to the generic guard with
+ * the provider-keys interlude — no sk-or family check anymore.
  */
 export function validateKeyShape(id: string, rawValue: string): KeyShapeResult {
 	const value = rawValue.trim();
@@ -82,10 +152,6 @@ export function validateKeyShape(id: string, rawValue: string): KeyShapeResult {
 			? { ok: true as const }
 			: { ok: false as const, error: `${id} must be at least ${min} characters with no whitespace` };
 	switch (id) {
-		case "OPENROUTER_API_KEY":
-			return value.startsWith("sk-or-")
-				? nonEmpty(12)
-				: { ok: false, error: `${id} must start with "sk-or-" (OpenRouter's key format)` };
 		case "GOOGLE_SEARCH_API_KEY":
 			return value.startsWith("AIza")
 				? nonEmpty(10)
@@ -104,6 +170,14 @@ export function validateKeyShape(id: string, rawValue: string): KeyShapeResult {
 	}
 }
 
+/** The generic truncation guard for MODEL-PROVIDER keys (families vary —
+ *  only paste hygiene applies; owner spec: trim, no whitespace, min 12). */
+export function genericProviderKeyGuard(id: string, rawValue: string): KeyShapeResult {
+	const value = rawValue.trim();
+	if (value.length >= 12 && !/\s/.test(value)) return { ok: true };
+	return { ok: false, error: `${id} must be at least 12 characters with no whitespace` };
+}
+
 /** A masked key never leaves the server as plaintext (owner decision:
  *  last 4 chars + length — enough to identify which key is stored after
  *  rotating between several, and to spot a mis-pasted family). */
diff --git a/src/server/keys.ts b/src/server/keys.ts
index 87b9126..35cceb0 100644
--- a/src/server/keys.ts
+++ b/src/server/keys.ts
@@ -28,9 +28,13 @@
 
 import {
 	AUTH_KEYS,
+	AUTH_PROVIDER_KEYS,
+	AUTH_PROVIDER_ENV_VARS,
 	type AuthKeyInfo,
 	type AuthKeyStatus,
+	genericProviderKeyGuard,
 	isKnownAuthKey,
+	isProviderEnvVar,
 	maskKey,
 	validateKeyShape,
 } from "../core/auth-keys.ts";
@@ -54,6 +58,20 @@ function boot(): AuthBoot {
 	return g[BOOT_KEY];
 }
 
+/** Is `id` a WRITABLE key name — curated catalog or model-provider env
+ *  var (provider-keys interlude: PUT/DELETE accept both). */
+export function isWritableAuthKey(id: string): boolean {
+	return isKnownAuthKey(id) || isProviderEnvVar(id);
+}
+
+/** The settings page's provider dropdown: every pi-ai provider that takes
+ *  a plain key ({id, envVar, label} — no-drift-pinned, see the table's doc
+ *  in core/auth-keys.ts and tests/auth-provider-keys.test.ts). Sorted by
+ *  id for a stable payload. */
+export function providerKeyList() {
+	return [...AUTH_PROVIDER_KEYS].sort((a, b) => a.id.localeCompare(b.id));
+}
+
 /**
  * The boot fill-gap — idempotent. First call snapshots which managed names
  * are real env; later calls (HMR re-import, or after a hand-edit) only fill
@@ -63,7 +81,14 @@ function boot(): AuthBoot {
 export function initAuthEnv(): void {
 	const record = boot();
 	const fileVars = authStore.authVars();
-	const managed = new Set<string>([...Object.keys(fileVars), ...AUTH_KEYS.map((k) => k.id)]);
+	const managed = new Set<string>([
+		...Object.keys(fileVars),
+		...AUTH_KEYS.map((k) => k.id),
+		// Provider env vars are managed names too (provider-keys interlude):
+		// an env-exported OPENAI_API_KEY with a file copy gets honest shadow
+		// semantics, exactly like the curated vars.
+		...AUTH_PROVIDER_KEYS.map((p) => p.envVar),
+	]);
 	if (record.realEnv.size === 0 && record.fillGap.size === 0) {
 		// First init in this process: what's already in the env is REAL env.
 		for (const name of managed) {
@@ -79,11 +104,10 @@ export function initAuthEnv(): void {
 	}
 }
 
-/** The managed name-space: catalog keys + whatever the file holds (unknown
- *  vars are managed too — preserved, surfaced, env-reflected — just not
- *  editable through the curated API). */
+/** Is this env-var name one the keys system manages (curated, provider,
+ *  or held in the file)? */
 function isManagedName(name: string): boolean {
-	return isKnownAuthKey(name) || name in authStore.authVars();
+	return isWritableAuthKey(name) || name in authStore.authVars();
 }
 
 /**
@@ -94,8 +118,15 @@ export function resolveKeyStatuses(
 	fileVars: Record<string, string>,
 	env: Record<string, string | undefined>,
 	realEnv: ReadonlySet<string>,
+	/** The model-provider env vars (provider-keys interlude): PRESENT ones
+	 *  join the status rows — absent ones never spam (the dropdown is the
+	 *  discovery surface). Curated keys always get rows, present or not. */
+	providerEnvVars: ReadonlySet<string> = new Set(),
 ): AuthKeyStatus[] {
 	const ids = new Set<string>([...AUTH_KEYS.map((k) => k.id), ...Object.keys(fileVars)]);
+	for (const envVar of providerEnvVars) {
+		if (env[envVar] !== undefined || fileVars[envVar] !== undefined) ids.add(envVar);
+	}
 	const rows: AuthKeyStatus[] = [];
 	for (const id of ids) {
 		const envValue = env[id];
@@ -119,7 +150,7 @@ export function resolveKeyStatuses(
 
 /** The GET view: every curated key (present or not) + unknown file vars. */
 export function keyStatuses(): AuthKeyStatus[] {
-	return resolveKeyStatuses(authStore.authVars(), process.env, boot().realEnv);
+	return resolveKeyStatuses(authStore.authVars(), process.env, boot().realEnv, AUTH_PROVIDER_ENV_VARS);
 }
 
 /** The live value for one var, env-first (the env-wins rule) — the canonical
@@ -137,7 +168,7 @@ export function keyValue(id: string): string | undefined {
  * reports shadowedByEnv so the page can explain it).
  */
 export function saveKey(id: string, value: string): { ok: true; status: AuthKeyStatus } | { ok: false; error: string } {
-	const shape = validateKeyShape(id, value);
+	const shape = isProviderEnvVar(id) ? genericProviderKeyGuard(id, value) : validateKeyShape(id, value);
 	if (!shape.ok) return { ok: false, error: shape.error };
 	const trimmed = value.trim();
 	authStore.setAuthVar(id, trimmed);
diff --git a/tests/auth-keys.test.ts b/tests/auth-keys.test.ts
index 0f4cf84..304fc99 100644
--- a/tests/auth-keys.test.ts
+++ b/tests/auth-keys.test.ts
@@ -8,38 +8,35 @@
 
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import { describe, it } from "node:test";
-import { AUTH_KEYS, isKnownAuthKey, maskKey, validateKeyShape } from "../src/core/auth-keys.ts";
+import { AUTH_KEYS, genericProviderKeyGuard, isKnownAuthKey, maskKey, validateKeyShape } from "../src/core/auth-keys.ts";
 
 describe("the catalog", () => {
-	it("is exactly the four curated keys, ids = env-var names", () => {
+	it("is exactly the three CURATED app-service keys (provider keys live in the provider table)", () => {
 		assert.deepEqual(
 			AUTH_KEYS.map((k) => k.id),
-			["OPENROUTER_API_KEY", "DEEPGRAM_API_KEY", "GOOGLE_SEARCH_API_KEY", "GOOGLE_CSE_ID"],
+			["DEEPGRAM_API_KEY", "GOOGLE_SEARCH_API_KEY", "GOOGLE_CSE_ID"],
 		);
 		for (const k of AUTH_KEYS) {
 			assert.ok(k.label.length > 0, `${k.id} has a label`);
 			assert.ok(k.description.length > 0, `${k.id} has a description`);
 			assert.ok(k.docsUrl.startsWith("https://"), `${k.id} has a docs link`);
 		}
+		// OPENROUTER_API_KEY graduated to the provider table (owner decision,
+		// provider-keys interlude) — not curated anymore.
+		assert.ok(!isKnownAuthKey("OPENROUTER_API_KEY"));
 	});
 
 	it("isKnownAuthKey: catalog yes, everything else no", () => {
-		assert.ok(isKnownAuthKey("OPENROUTER_API_KEY"));
+		assert.ok(isKnownAuthKey("DEEPGRAM_API_KEY"));
 		assert.ok(isKnownAuthKey("GOOGLE_CSE_ID"));
-		assert.ok(!isKnownAuthKey("OPENROUTER"));
+		assert.ok(!isKnownAuthKey("OPENROUTER_API_KEY"));
+		assert.ok(!isKnownAuthKey("OPENAI_API_KEY"), "provider vars are a separate surface");
 		assert.ok(!isKnownAuthKey("FUTURE_PLANS_TOKEN"));
 		assert.ok(!isKnownAuthKey(""));
 	});
 });
 
-describe("validateKeyShape (the 400 gate)", () => {
-	it("OpenRouter: sk-or- prefix required, length floor past it", () => {
-		assert.deepEqual(validateKeyShape("OPENROUTER_API_KEY", "sk-or-v1-abc123def456ghi789jkl012"), { ok: true });
-		assert.ok(!validateKeyShape("OPENROUTER_API_KEY", "sk-proj-abcdefghij").ok, "wrong family (OpenAI paste)");
-		assert.ok(!validateKeyShape("OPENROUTER_API_KEY", "sk-or-").ok, "prefix alone is a truncation");
-		assert.ok(!validateKeyShape("OPENROUTER_API_KEY", "  ").ok, "empty fails");
-	});
-
+describe("validateKeyShape (the 400 gate — curated keys)", () => {
 	it("Google API key: AIza prefix required", () => {
 		assert.ok(validateKeyShape("GOOGLE_SEARCH_API_KEY", "AIzaSyD-abcdef1234").ok);
 		assert.ok(!validateKeyShape("GOOGLE_SEARCH_API_KEY", "sk-or-v1-abcdefghij").ok, "wrong family");
@@ -61,13 +58,33 @@ describe("validateKeyShape (the 400 gate)", () => {
 	});
 
 	it("trims surrounding paste whitespace before checking", () => {
-		assert.ok(validateKeyShape("OPENROUTER_API_KEY", "  sk-or-v1-abc123def456  \n").ok);
+		assert.ok(validateKeyShape("DEEPGRAM_API_KEY", `  ${"d".repeat(40)}  `).ok);
 	});
 
 	it("unknown ids are rejected with the supported list", () => {
 		const r = validateKeyShape("SOMETHING_ELSE", "whatever");
 		assert.ok(!r.ok);
-		if (!r.ok) assert.match(r.error, /SOMETHING_ELSE.*OPENROUTER_API_KEY/);
+		if (!r.ok) assert.match(r.error, /SOMETHING_ELSE.*DEEPGRAM_API_KEY/);
+	});
+});
+
+describe("genericProviderKeyGuard (model-provider keys — paste hygiene only)", () => {
+	it("accepts any ≥12-char whitespace-free value (families vary)", () => {
+		assert.deepEqual(genericProviderKeyGuard("OPENROUTER_API_KEY", "sk-or-v1-abc123"), { ok: true });
+		assert.deepEqual(genericProviderKeyGuard("OPENAI_API_KEY", "whaterver-value-here"), { ok: true });
+		assert.deepEqual(genericProviderKeyGuard("HF_TOKEN", "hf_xxxxxxxx9999"), { ok: true });
+	});
+
+	it("rejects truncations and whitespace — the only guards", () => {
+		const short = genericProviderKeyGuard("ZAI_API_KEY", "short");
+		assert.ok(!short.ok);
+		if (!short.ok) assert.match(short.error, /at least 12/);
+		assert.ok(!genericProviderKeyGuard("OPENAI_API_KEY", "has whitespace now").ok);
+		assert.ok(!genericProviderKeyGuard("OPENAI_API_KEY", "   ").ok);
+	});
+
+	it("trims before checking", () => {
+		assert.ok(genericProviderKeyGuard("OPENROUTER_API_KEY", "  sk-or-v1-xyz999  ").ok);
 	});
 });
 
diff --git a/tests/auth-provider-keys.test.ts b/tests/auth-provider-keys.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f4a6a39
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/auth-provider-keys.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+/**
+ * THE NO-DRIFT PIN (provider-keys interlude, 2026-09-19): core/auth-keys.ts
+ * AUTH_PROVIDER_KEYS claims to be exactly pi-ai's provider→env-var table
+ * (minus the owner-spec exclusions). This test re-derives the TRUTH from
+ * pi-ai itself and asserts exact equality — so a pi-ai upgrade that adds,
+ * renames, or re-labels a provider key FAILS the gate loudly instead of
+ * the table drifting silently from what pi actually reads.
+ *
+ * Derivation (same mechanism that generated the table): pi-ai's exports
+ * map doesn't expose env-api-keys.js as a subpath, so this test
+ * deep-imports it by RELATIVE path — tests may; runtime code never does.
+ * findEnvKeys with a Proxy env that resolves every var name truthy returns
+ * ALL the env vars a provider reads as API keys.
+ *
+ * Owner-spec exclusions (asserted ABSENT): github-copilot (OAuth),
+ * amazon-bedrock (AWS creds), google-vertex (ADC), azure-openai-responses
+ * (needs base URL), the cloudflare account-scoped pair; anthropic keeps
+ * ANTHROPIC_API_KEY only (AUTH_TOKEN/OAUTH_TOKEN stay env-only).
+ */
+
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { describe, it } from "node:test";
+import { AUTH_PROVIDER_KEYS, isProviderEnvVar } from "../src/core/auth-keys.ts";
+import { builtinProviders } from "../node_modules/@earendil-works/pi-ai/dist/providers/all.js";
+import { findEnvKeys } from "../node_modules/@earendil-works/pi-ai/dist/env-api-keys.js";
+
+/** pi-ai reads anthropic via AUTH_TOKEN/OAUTH_TOKEN alternates too — those
+ *  stay env-only by owner spec; asserted absent below. */
+const ANTHROPIC_ALTERNATES = ["ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN", "ANTHROPIC_OAUTH_TOKEN"];
+
+const EXCLUDED_PROVIDERS = new Set([
+	"github-copilot",
+	"amazon-bedrock",
+	"google-vertex",
+	"azure-openai-responses",
+	"cloudflare-workers-ai",
+	"cloudflare-ai-gateway",
+]);
+
+/** A proxy env where EVERY var name resolves truthy — findEnvKeys then
+ *  returns every env var the provider reads as an API-key source. */
+const truthyEnv = new Proxy({} as Record<string, string>, {
+	get: (_t, key) => (typeof key === "string" ? "x" : undefined),
+	has: () => true,
+});
+
+/** The truth, derived from pi-ai at test time. */
+function deriveProviders() {
+	const rows: Array<{ id: string; envVar: string; label: string }> = [];
+	for (const p of builtinProviders()) {
+		const keys = findEnvKeys(p.id, truthyEnv);
+		if (!keys || EXCLUDED_PROVIDERS.has(p.id)) continue;
+		const first = keys[0];
+		if (!first) continue; // unreachable with the truthy proxy — satisfies the checker
+		const envVar = p.id === "anthropic" ? "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" : first;
+		rows.push({ id: p.id, envVar, label: p.name });
+	}
+	rows.sort((a, b) => a.id.localeCompare(b.id));
+	return rows;
+}
+
+describe("AUTH_PROVIDER_KEYS — the no-drift pin against pi-ai", () => {
+	it("is EXACTLY pi-ai's plain-key provider table (id, envVar, label), exclusions applied", () => {
+		const truth = deriveProviders();
+		const mine = [...AUTH_PROVIDER_KEYS].sort((a, b) => a.id.localeCompare(b.id));
+		assert.deepEqual(
+			mine.map((p) => [p.id, p.envVar, p.label]),
+			truth.map((p) => [p.id, p.envVar, p.label]),
+			"pi-ai's provider env-key table changed — regenerate AUTH_PROVIDER_KEYS (src/core/auth-keys.ts) from the derivation in this test",
+		);
+	});
+
+	it("the owner-spec exclusions are absent", () => {
+		const ids = new Set(AUTH_PROVIDER_KEYS.map((p) => p.id));
+		for (const excluded of EXCLUDED_PROVIDERS) assert.ok(!ids.has(excluded), `${excluded} must not be listed`);
+		for (const p of AUTH_PROVIDER_KEYS) {
+			assert.ok(!ANTHROPIC_ALTERNATES.includes(p.envVar), `${p.envVar} must not appear`);
+		}
+	});
+
+	it("openrouter IS in the table (it graduated from the curated catalog)", () => {
+		const row = AUTH_PROVIDER_KEYS.find((p) => p.id === "openrouter");
+		assert.ok(row);
+		assert.equal(row.envVar, "OPENROUTER_API_KEY");
+	});
+
+	it("isProviderEnvVar: exactly the table's distinct env vars", () => {
+		for (const p of AUTH_PROVIDER_KEYS) assert.ok(isProviderEnvVar(p.envVar), `${p.envVar} is a provider var`);
+		assert.ok(!isProviderEnvVar("OPENROUTER_API_KEYS"), "typo'd name is not one");
+		assert.ok(!isProviderEnvVar("DEEPGRAM_API_KEY"), "curated ≠ provider — separate surfaces");
+	});
+});
diff --git a/tests/server-keys.test.ts b/tests/server-keys.test.ts
index ad4f480..8b683e8 100644
--- a/tests/server-keys.test.ts
+++ b/tests/server-keys.test.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ for (const varName of [
 	"DEEPGRAM_API_KEY",
 	"GOOGLE_SEARCH_API_KEY",
 	"GOOGLE_CSE_ID",
+	"OPENAI_API_KEY",
 	"FUTURE_PLANS_TOKEN",
 ]) {
 	delete process.env[varName];
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@ fs.writeFileSync(
 process.env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY = "sk-or-v1-envvalue99";
 
 // Import AFTER env setup — module init runs the boot fill-gap + snapshot.
-const { deleteKey, initAuthEnv, keyStatuses, keyValue, resolveKeyStatuses, saveKey } = await import(
+const { deleteKey, initAuthEnv, keyStatuses, keyValue, resolveKeyStatuses, saveKey, isWritableAuthKey } = await import(
 	"../src/server/keys.ts"
 );
 const { authStore } = await import("../src/store/auth.ts");
@@ -58,6 +59,7 @@ const ENV_OWNED = "sk-or-v1-envvalue99";
 after(() => {
 	delete process.env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY;
 	delete process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY;
+	delete process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY;
 	fs.rmSync(TMP, { recursive: true, force: true });
 });
 
@@ -146,6 +148,49 @@ describe("saveKey / deleteKey (immediate effect, no restart)", () => {
 		initAuthEnv();
 		assert.equal(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY, undefined, "file entry gone → no re-fill");
 	});
+
+	describe("model-provider keys (provider-keys interlude)", () => {
+		it("absent provider keys do NOT spam status rows — the dropdown is discovery", () => {
+			const rows = keyStatuses().map((s) => s.id);
+			assert.ok(!rows.includes("OPENAI_API_KEY"), "never saved → no row");
+			assert.ok(!rows.includes("ZAI_API_KEY"));
+		});
+
+		it("save via provider env var: generic guard, reflected immediately", () => {
+			const value = "sk-throwaway-openai-0123456789"; // never a real secret
+			const r = saveKey("OPENAI_API_KEY", value);
+			assert.ok(r.ok);
+			assert.equal(process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY, value, "env updated immediately");
+			assert.equal(authStore.authVars().OPENAI_API_KEY, value, "file updated");
+			const row = keyStatuses().find((s) => s.id === "OPENAI_API_KEY")!;
+			assert.ok(row.present);
+			assert.equal(row.source, "file", "fill-gap reflection — origin is the store");
+		});
+
+		it("provider truncations/whitespace are 400s (paste hygiene only)", () => {
+			assert.ok(!saveKey("OPENAI_API_KEY", "short").ok);
+			assert.ok(!saveKey("OPENAI_API_KEY", "has whitespace now").ok);
+			// no family check anymore — any ≥12-char token passes
+			assert.ok(saveKey("OPENROUTER_API_KEY", "not-sk-or-but-12chars").ok);
+		});
+
+		it("isWritableAuthKey: curated ∪ provider env vars; unknown stays unwritable", () => {
+			assert.ok(isWritableAuthKey("DEEPGRAM_API_KEY"));
+			assert.ok(isWritableAuthKey("OPENROUTER_API_KEY"));
+			assert.ok(isWritableAuthKey("OPENAI_API_KEY"));
+			assert.ok(!isWritableAuthKey("FUTURE_PLANS_TOKEN"));
+			assert.ok(!isWritableAuthKey("ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN"), "anthropic alternates stay env-only");
+		});
+
+		it("delete of a provider key: env + file both cleared", () => {
+			deleteKey("OPENAI_API_KEY");
+			assert.equal(process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY, undefined);
+			assert.ok(!("OPENAI_API_KEY" in authStore.authVars()));
+			// cleanup the openrouter save from the guard test too
+			deleteKey("OPENROUTER_API_KEY");
+			assert.ok(!("OPENROUTER_API_KEY" in authStore.authVars()));
+		});
+	});
 });
 
 describe("resolveKeyStatuses (pure projection)", () => {