Owner-diagnosed: the turn gate checked only model coordinates, so a
pinned slot whose provider key was deleted passed the gate and died
mid-stream masked to 'An error occurred.' The key is now gated where
the model is — by what would RUN (env-first keyValue truth, so an
env-shadowed key passes).
- core/settings.ts: the provider_key_missing envelope family (code,
provider, slots, human line naming the provider from AUTH_PROVIDER_KEYS
labels) + ProviderKeyMissingError + isProviderKeyRefusal matcher.
- chat-handler turn gate: refuses 503 before beginTurn when the resolved
conversation's provider key is gone (slots: [strong]).
- Job runner: same check via an injected dep (agent layer cannot read
the key store) — a keyless engine refuses the spawn through the
existing failure-shape convention, no phantom run.
- Extraction pipeline: refuseIfStagesUnready refuses BEFORE any batch
(first offender: extractor before auditor); the trigger skips info-
level, /api/graph/import surfaces the 503 envelope per file.
- Tests: 8 new pins (turn gate both ways, runner refusal, pipeline
first-offender + pass-through, envelope factory, matcher); the three
turn-driving suites seed OPENROUTER_API_KEY like any real setup.
- Doc fix: stale EXTRACTION.chunkTokens comment in the manual-extract
route (left over from eed4b4e).
Known residual (pre-existing, flagged for master): the manual extract
route logs BOTH config refusals as console.error (fire-and-forget path);
the coverage ledger keeps everything uncovered either way.
The owner needs exact new-user simulation as a one-command launch
(repeatable first-run BYOK testing). Option A, owner-approved:
env-hiding switch + launcher script.
Fix 1 — LH_IGNORE_ENV_KEYS=1 in the keys seam: when set, every env key
is invisible app-wide; only auth.json counts. The mechanism is boot-time
DELETION, not seam-local filtering: pi-ai resolves provider keys from
process.env NATIVELY at every request (verified — auth/context.js's
defaultProviderAuthContext reads live env, no boot snapshot), so
deleting the managed vars from process.env in initAuthEnv is the ONE
mechanism that hides keys from every consumer — model engines included,
plus the three direct process.env readers (visual-maker, pdf-reader,
openRouterApiKey). realEnv stays EMPTY under the switch (nothing counts
as env), and the fill-gap still reflects auth.json keys so a fresh user
can add keys mid-session and engines see them with no restart.
keyValue reads file-only under the switch as belt-and-suspenders (a
post-boot env reintroduction stays invisible to the seam). Unset
switch = today's behavior, byte-for-byte (server-keys.test.ts pins it).
Fix 2 — scripts/dev-fresh.sh (npm run dev:fresh): fresh throwaway
LH_DATA_DIR (.fresh-data/, wiped each launch, --keep preserves), and —
the subtle bit — LH_AUTH_FILE redirected INTO the fresh dir: dev's
AUTH_FILE default is the repo-root auth.json, which may symlink the
real keys; the fresh instance must never see it. Sets the switch,
dedicated port (default 3005, --port overrideable, standing assignments
3000-3004 refused), prints URL + data dir, safe to rerun. .fresh-data/
gitignored.
Test: tests/fresh-env-keys.test.ts (own process — the switch is
boot-time): the engine-path deletion asserted directly, the env/file
collision resolved to the file, status rows report file sources only,
mid-session saveKey/deleteKey round-trip, idempotent re-init, and the
unset-switch env-wins read seam live-checked.
Live-verified on 3005 via the launcher: zero federated models, all
providers keyPresent false, no present keys, no auth.json/settings.json
in the fresh dir; then mid-session ZAI save → 7 zai models federate
instantly, source 'file' — while .env.local's real keys stayed
invisible throughout.
Gates: typecheck, lint, 863/863, build.
Provider-keys interlude (owner spec, 2026-09-19): any pi-compatible
provider's key is manageable, not just the curated set.
GET /api/keys now also returns providers: {id, envVar, label}[] — every
pi-ai provider that takes a plain api-key env var (33 today), derived
from pi-ai's own provider→env-var table. No-drift mechanism: the table
is generated from pi-ai (builtinProviders + findEnvKeys over a
truthy-for-every-var proxy env) and pinned by
tests/auth-provider-keys.test.ts, which re-derives the truth at test
time and asserts EXACT equality — a pi-ai upgrade fails the gate loudly.
Owner-spec exclusions: github-copilot (OAuth), amazon-bedrock (AWS),
google-vertex (ADC), azure-openai-responses (base URL), the cloudflare
pair; anthropic keeps ANTHROPIC_API_KEY only. OPENROUTER_API_KEY
graduates from the curated catalog to the provider table (dedupe — the
UI pins it always-visible); curated stays Deepgram + the Google search
pair. Statuses: curated + present vars + unknown file vars — absent
provider keys never spam rows; the dropdown is discovery.
Write side: PUT/DELETE accept provider env vars (generic truncation
guard — trim, no whitespace, ≥12; family checks stay on the curated
three). Present-in-env provider vars surface as status rows so
env-wins/shadow semantics stay honest.
The auth/keys wave (2026-09-19): the server now owns the flat auth.json
map directly (LH_AUTH_FILE from main.cjs; repo-root auth.json in dev,
gitignored). The store reflects itself into the child's env at boot with
fill-gap precedence — real env (incl. .env.local in dev) always wins —
so every consumer keeps its plain process.env reads and saved keys take
effect immediately, no restart; main.cjs's spawn-time injection retired
(an env copy would shadow every settings-page change).
Curated 4-key catalog (OpenRouter, Deepgram, Google search pair) with
shape-only validation (no live pings — owner decision), 400s on bad
pastes, last-4+length masking (plaintext never leaves the store),
unknown file vars preserved + surfaced. Routes: GET /api/keys,
PUT/DELETE /api/keys/:id. Tests: catalog/store/composition, with the
env-sanitizing prologue (a dev shell may export real keys; tests use
throwaway values only).
amosblomqvist