diff --git a/src/openhuman/inference/provider/ops.rs b/src/openhuman/inference/provider/ops.rs
index c6d02b7353..29e8185840 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/inference/provider/ops.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/inference/provider/ops.rs
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ pub async fn list_configured_models(
     let api_key =
         crate::openhuman::inference::provider::factory::lookup_key_for_slug(&entry.slug, &config)
             .unwrap_or_default();
+    let api_key = api_key.trim().to_string();
 
     let client = crate::openhuman::config::build_runtime_proxy_client_with_timeouts(
         "providers.list_models",
@@ -65,9 +66,13 @@ pub async fn list_configured_models(
         10,
     );
 
+    use crate::openhuman::config::schema::cloud_providers::AuthStyle;
+    if is_openrouter_provider(&entry) {
+        validate_openrouter_api_key(&client, base, &api_key).await?;
+    }
+
     let mut request = client.get(&models_url);
 
-    use crate::openhuman::config::schema::cloud_providers::AuthStyle;
     request = match entry.auth_style {
         AuthStyle::Bearer => {
             if !api_key.is_empty() {
@@ -182,6 +187,81 @@ pub async fn list_configured_models(
     ))
 }
 
+fn is_openrouter_provider(
+    entry: &crate::openhuman::config::schema::cloud_providers::CloudProviderCreds,
+) -> bool {
+    if entry.slug.eq_ignore_ascii_case("openrouter") {
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    reqwest::Url::parse(&entry.endpoint)
+        .ok()
+        .and_then(|url| url.host_str().map(|host| host.to_ascii_lowercase()))
+        .is_some_and(|host| host == "openrouter.ai" || host.ends_with(".openrouter.ai"))
+}
+
+async fn validate_openrouter_api_key(
+    client: &reqwest::Client,
+    base: &str,
+    api_key: &str,
+) -> Result<(), String> {
+    if api_key.is_empty() {
+        return Err("OpenRouter API key is required before enabling the provider".to_string());
+    }
+
+    let key_url = format!("{}/key", base);
+    log::debug!("[providers][list_models] validating OpenRouter API key");
+    let response = client
+        .get(&key_url)
+        .header("Authorization", format!("Bearer {api_key}"))
+        .send()
+        .await
+        .map_err(|e| format!("[providers][list_models] OpenRouter key validation failed: {e}"))?;
+
+    let status = response.status();
+    let text = response.text().await.unwrap_or_default();
+    if !status.is_success() {
+        let sanitized = sanitize_api_error(&text);
+        let truncated = crate::openhuman::util::truncate_with_ellipsis(&sanitized, 300);
+        log::debug!(
+            "[providers][list_models] OpenRouter key validation failed status={} body={}",
+            status.as_u16(),
+            truncated
+        );
+        return Err(format!(
+            "OpenRouter key validation returned {}: {}",
+            status.as_u16(),
+            truncated
+        ));
+    }
+
+    if let Ok(body) = serde_json::from_str::<serde_json::Value>(&text) {
+        if let Some(err_field) = body.get("error") {
+            let msg = err_field
+                .as_str()
+                .map(|s| s.to_string())
+                .or_else(|| {
+                    err_field
+                        .get("message")
+                        .and_then(|m| m.as_str())
+                        .map(|s| s.to_string())
+                })
+                .unwrap_or_else(|| err_field.to_string());
+            let sanitized = sanitize_api_error(&msg);
+            log::debug!(
+                "[providers][list_models] OpenRouter key validation returned error payload={}",
+                sanitized
+            );
+            return Err(format!(
+                "OpenRouter key validation returned error payload: {}",
+                sanitized
+            ));
+        }
+    }
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 impl Default for ProviderRuntimeOptions {
     fn default() -> Self {
         Self {
@@ -823,6 +903,169 @@ pub fn canonical_china_provider_name(_name: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
+    use crate::openhuman::config::schema::cloud_providers::{AuthStyle, CloudProviderCreds};
+    use crate::openhuman::config::Config;
+    use crate::openhuman::credentials::AuthService;
+    use axum::{
+        extract::State,
+        http::{HeaderMap, StatusCode},
+        response::{IntoResponse, Response},
+        routing::get,
+        Json, Router,
+    };
+    use std::collections::HashMap;
+    use std::sync::{
+        atomic::{AtomicUsize, Ordering as AtomicOrdering},
+        Arc, Mutex,
+    };
+    use tempfile::TempDir;
+
+    #[derive(Clone)]
+    struct ModelProbeState {
+        key_status: StatusCode,
+        key_calls: Arc<AtomicUsize>,
+        model_calls: Arc<AtomicUsize>,
+        key_authorization: Arc<Mutex<Vec<Option<String>>>>,
+        model_authorization: Arc<Mutex<Vec<Option<String>>>>,
+    }
+
+    struct WorkspaceEnvGuard {
+        prev: Option<std::ffi::OsString>,
+        _lock: std::sync::MutexGuard<'static, ()>,
+    }
+
+    impl Drop for WorkspaceEnvGuard {
+        fn drop(&mut self) {
+            unsafe {
+                match self.prev.take() {
+                    Some(value) => std::env::set_var("OPENHUMAN_WORKSPACE", value),
+                    None => std::env::remove_var("OPENHUMAN_WORKSPACE"),
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn set_workspace_env(path: &std::path::Path) -> WorkspaceEnvGuard {
+        let lock = crate::openhuman::config::TEST_ENV_LOCK
+            .lock()
+            .unwrap_or_else(|e| e.into_inner());
+        let prev = std::env::var_os("OPENHUMAN_WORKSPACE");
+        unsafe {
+            std::env::set_var("OPENHUMAN_WORKSPACE", path);
+        }
+        WorkspaceEnvGuard { prev, _lock: lock }
+    }
+
+    async fn openrouter_key_handler(
+        State(state): State<ModelProbeState>,
+        headers: HeaderMap,
+    ) -> Response {
+        state.key_calls.fetch_add(1, AtomicOrdering::SeqCst);
+        state
+            .key_authorization
+            .lock()
+            .unwrap_or_else(|e| e.into_inner())
+            .push(authorization_header(&headers));
+        if state.key_status.is_success() {
+            Json(serde_json::json!({
+                "data": {
+                    "label": "test-key",
+                    "usage": 0
+                }
+            }))
+            .into_response()
+        } else {
+            (
+                state.key_status,
+                Json(serde_json::json!({
+                    "error": {
+                        "message": "No auth credentials found"
+                    }
+                })),
+            )
+                .into_response()
+        }
+    }
+
+    async fn models_handler(State(state): State<ModelProbeState>, headers: HeaderMap) -> Response {
+        state.model_calls.fetch_add(1, AtomicOrdering::SeqCst);
+        state
+            .model_authorization
+            .lock()
+            .unwrap_or_else(|e| e.into_inner())
+            .push(authorization_header(&headers));
+        Json(serde_json::json!({
+            "data": [{
+                "id": "openrouter/test-model",
+                "owned_by": "openrouter",
+                "context_length": 128000
+            }]
+        }))
+        .into_response()
+    }
+
+    fn authorization_header(headers: &HeaderMap) -> Option<String> {
+        headers
+            .get("authorization")
+            .and_then(|value| value.to_str().ok())
+            .map(|value| value.to_string())
+    }
+
+    async fn spawn_openrouter_probe_server(key_status: StatusCode) -> (String, ModelProbeState) {
+        let state = ModelProbeState {
+            key_status,
+            key_calls: Arc::new(AtomicUsize::new(0)),
+            model_calls: Arc::new(AtomicUsize::new(0)),
+            key_authorization: Arc::new(Mutex::new(Vec::new())),
+            model_authorization: Arc::new(Mutex::new(Vec::new())),
+        };
+        let listener = tokio::net::TcpListener::bind("127.0.0.1:0")
+            .await
+            .expect("bind");
+        let addr = listener.local_addr().expect("local_addr");
+        let app = Router::new()
+            .route("/key", get(openrouter_key_handler))
+            .route("/models", get(models_handler))
+            .with_state(state.clone());
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            axum::serve(listener, app).await.expect("serve");
+        });
+        (format!("http://{addr}"), state)
+    }
+
+    async fn configure_openrouter_workspace(
+        tmp: &TempDir,
+        endpoint: String,
+        token: &str,
+    ) -> Config {
+        let mut config = Config {
+            config_path: tmp.path().join("config.toml"),
+            workspace_dir: tmp.path().join("workspace"),
+            ..Config::default()
+        };
+        config.secrets.encrypt = false;
+        config.cloud_providers.push(CloudProviderCreds {
+            id: "p_openrouter_test".to_string(),
+            slug: "openrouter".to_string(),
+            label: "OpenRouter".to_string(),
+            endpoint,
+            auth_style: AuthStyle::Bearer,
+            legacy_type: None,
+            default_model: None,
+        });
+        config.save().await.expect("save config");
+
+        let auth = AuthService::from_config(&config);
+        auth.store_provider_token(
+            &crate::openhuman::inference::provider::factory::auth_key_for_slug("openrouter"),
+            "default",
+            token,
+            HashMap::new(),
+            true,
+        )
+        .expect("store provider key");
+        config
+    }
 
     #[test]
     fn list_configured_models_accepts_slug() {
@@ -863,6 +1106,106 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(found_by_id.is_some(), "id lookup must still work");
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn openrouter_detection_matches_builtin_slug_or_host() {
+        let provider = |slug: &str, endpoint: &str| CloudProviderCreds {
+            id: format!("p_{slug}"),
+            slug: slug.to_string(),
+            label: slug.to_string(),
+            endpoint: endpoint.to_string(),
+            auth_style: AuthStyle::Bearer,
+            legacy_type: None,
+            default_model: None,
+        };
+
+        assert!(is_openrouter_provider(&provider(
+            "openrouter",
+            "http://127.0.0.1:1234"
+        )));
+        assert!(is_openrouter_provider(&provider(
+            "custom-router",
+            "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1"
+        )));
+        assert!(is_openrouter_provider(&provider(
+            "custom-router",
+            "https://oauth.openrouter.ai/api/v1"
+        )));
+        assert!(!is_openrouter_provider(&provider(
+            "custom-openai",
+            "https://api.openai.com/v1"
+        )));
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn openrouter_invalid_key_fails_before_models_catalog_probe() {
+        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().expect("tempdir");
+        let _env = set_workspace_env(tmp.path());
+        let (endpoint, state) = spawn_openrouter_probe_server(StatusCode::UNAUTHORIZED).await;
+        configure_openrouter_workspace(&tmp, endpoint, "bad-openrouter-key").await;
+
+        let err = list_configured_models("openrouter")
+            .await
+            .expect_err("invalid OpenRouter key must fail");
+
+        assert!(
+            err.contains("OpenRouter key validation returned 401"),
+            "unexpected error: {err}"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(state.key_calls.load(AtomicOrdering::SeqCst), 1);
+        assert_eq!(
+            state.model_calls.load(AtomicOrdering::SeqCst),
+            0,
+            "invalid OpenRouter credentials must not fall through to /models"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn openrouter_valid_key_allows_models_catalog_probe() {
+        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().expect("tempdir");
+        let _env = set_workspace_env(tmp.path());
+        let (endpoint, state) = spawn_openrouter_probe_server(StatusCode::OK).await;
+        configure_openrouter_workspace(&tmp, endpoint, "valid-openrouter-key").await;
+
+        let outcome = list_configured_models("openrouter")
+            .await
+            .expect("valid OpenRouter key should list models");
+
+        assert_eq!(state.key_calls.load(AtomicOrdering::SeqCst), 1);
+        assert_eq!(state.model_calls.load(AtomicOrdering::SeqCst), 1);
+        assert_eq!(outcome.value["models"][0]["id"], "openrouter/test-model");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn openrouter_key_is_trimmed_for_validation_and_catalog_probe() {
+        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().expect("tempdir");
+        let _env = set_workspace_env(tmp.path());
+        let (endpoint, state) = spawn_openrouter_probe_server(StatusCode::OK).await;
+        configure_openrouter_workspace(&tmp, endpoint, "  valid-openrouter-key\r\n").await;
+
+        list_configured_models("openrouter")
+            .await
+            .expect("trimmed OpenRouter key should list models");
+
+        let key_authorization = state
+            .key_authorization
+            .lock()
+            .unwrap_or_else(|e| e.into_inner())
+            .clone();
+        let model_authorization = state
+            .model_authorization
+            .lock()
+            .unwrap_or_else(|e| e.into_inner())
+            .clone();
+        assert_eq!(
+            key_authorization,
+            vec![Some("Bearer valid-openrouter-key".to_string())]
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            model_authorization,
+            vec![Some("Bearer valid-openrouter-key".to_string())]
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn factory_backend() {
         assert!(create_backend_inference_provider(