diff --git a/src/api/services/profile-writer.ts b/src/api/services/profile-writer.ts
index 748c1fb4..e48ff6fa 100644
--- a/src/api/services/profile-writer.ts
+++ b/src/api/services/profile-writer.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,11 @@ import {
 } from '../../config/unified-config-loader';
 import type { ModelMapping, CreateApiProfileResult, RemoveApiProfileResult } from './profile-types';
 
+/** Check if URL is an OpenRouter endpoint */
+function isOpenRouterUrl(baseUrl: string): boolean {
+  return baseUrl.toLowerCase().includes('openrouter.ai');
+}
+
 /** Create settings.json file for API profile (legacy format) */
 function createSettingsFile(
   name: string,
@@ -31,6 +36,8 @@ function createSettingsFile(
       ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL: models.opus,
       ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL: models.sonnet,
       ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL: models.haiku,
+      // OpenRouter requires explicitly blanking the API key to prevent conflicts
+      ...(isOpenRouterUrl(baseUrl) && { ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: '' }),
     },
   };
 
@@ -82,6 +89,8 @@ function createApiProfileUnified(
       ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL: models.opus,
       ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL: models.sonnet,
       ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL: models.haiku,
+      // OpenRouter requires explicitly blanking the API key to prevent conflicts
+      ...(isOpenRouterUrl(baseUrl) && { ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: '' }),
     },
   };
 
diff --git a/ui/src/components/profiles/editor/friendly-ui-section.tsx b/ui/src/components/profiles/editor/friendly-ui-section.tsx
index e45ebe59..00312d0b 100644
--- a/ui/src/components/profiles/editor/friendly-ui-section.tsx
+++ b/ui/src/components/profiles/editor/friendly-ui-section.tsx
@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ export function FriendlyUISection({
     'ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL',
     'ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL',
     'ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN', // Managed by API Key section
+    'ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL', // Base URL shown in profile header
   ]);
 
   // Get non-managed env vars for display in "Additional Variables"