diff --git a/src/components/ProviderManager.tsx b/src/components/ProviderManager.tsx
index 10b40b5d..ee586dc4 100644
--- a/src/components/ProviderManager.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ProviderManager.tsx
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ import {
   rankOllamaModels,
   recommendOllamaModel,
 } from '../utils/providerRecommendation.js'
+import { clearStartupProviderOverrides } from '../utils/providerStartupOverrides.js'
 import { redactUrlForDisplay } from '../utils/urlRedaction.js'
 import { updateSettingsForSource } from '../utils/settings/settings.js'
 import {
@@ -671,17 +672,7 @@ export function ProviderManager({ mode, onDone }: Props): React.ReactNode {
   }
 
   function clearStartupProviderOverrideFromUserSettings(): string | null {
-    const { error } = updateSettingsForSource('userSettings', {
-      env: {
-        CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI: undefined as any,
-        CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GEMINI: undefined as any,
-        CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB: undefined as any,
-        CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK: undefined as any,
-        CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX: undefined as any,
-        CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY: undefined as any,
-      },
-    })
-    return error ? error.message : null
+    return clearStartupProviderOverrides()
   }
 
   function buildCodexOAuthActivationMessage(options: {
diff --git a/src/utils/providerProfile.test.ts b/src/utils/providerProfile.test.ts
index 76e03278..b4f33e93 100644
--- a/src/utils/providerProfile.test.ts
+++ b/src/utils/providerProfile.test.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import test from 'node:test'
 
 import { DEFAULT_CODEX_BASE_URL } from '../services/api/providerConfig.ts'
 import {
+  applySavedProfileToCurrentSession,
   buildStartupEnvFromProfile,
   buildAtomicChatProfileEnv,
   buildCodexProfileEnv,
@@ -111,6 +112,24 @@ test('openai launch ignores mismatched persisted ollama env', async () => {
   assert.equal(env.CHATGPT_ACCOUNT_ID, undefined)
 })
 
+test('openai launch omits api key when no key is resolved', async () => {
+  const env = await buildLaunchEnv({
+    profile: 'openai',
+    persisted: profile('openai', {
+      OPENAI_BASE_URL: 'https://api.openai.com/v1',
+      OPENAI_MODEL: 'gpt-4o',
+    }),
+    goal: 'balanced',
+    processEnv: {
+      OPENAI_API_KEY: undefined as any,
+    },
+  })
+
+  assert.equal(env.OPENAI_BASE_URL, 'https://api.openai.com/v1')
+  assert.equal(env.OPENAI_MODEL, 'gpt-4o')
+  assert.equal(Object.hasOwn(env, 'OPENAI_API_KEY'), false)
+})
+
 test('openai launch ignores codex shell transport hints', async () => {
   const env = await buildLaunchEnv({
     profile: 'openai',
@@ -572,6 +591,51 @@ test('buildStartupEnvFromProfile leaves explicit provider selections untouched',
   assert.equal(env.OPENAI_API_KEY, undefined)
 })
 
+test('buildStartupEnvFromProfile preserves explicit GitHub provider settings when the legacy file is stale', async () => {
+  const processEnv = {
+    CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB: '1',
+    OPENAI_MODEL: 'github:copilot',
+  }
+
+  const env = await buildStartupEnvFromProfile({
+    persisted: profile('openai', {
+      OPENAI_API_KEY: 'sk-stale',
+      OPENAI_MODEL: 'gpt-4o',
+      OPENAI_BASE_URL: 'https://api.openai.com/v1',
+    }),
+    processEnv,
+  })
+
+  assert.equal(env, processEnv)
+  assert.equal(env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB, '1')
+  assert.equal(env.OPENAI_MODEL, 'github:copilot')
+  assert.equal(env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI, undefined)
+  assert.equal(env.OPENAI_API_KEY, undefined)
+  assert.equal(env.OPENAI_BASE_URL, undefined)
+})
+
+test('applySavedProfileToCurrentSession can switch away from GitHub provider env', async () => {
+  const processEnv = {
+    CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB: '1',
+    OPENAI_MODEL: 'github:copilot',
+  }
+
+  const error = await applySavedProfileToCurrentSession({
+    profileFile: profile('ollama', {
+      OPENAI_BASE_URL: 'http://localhost:11434/v1',
+      OPENAI_MODEL: 'llama3.1:8b',
+    }),
+    processEnv,
+  })
+
+  assert.equal(error, null)
+  assert.equal(processEnv.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB, undefined)
+  assert.equal(processEnv.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI, '1')
+  assert.equal(processEnv.OPENAI_BASE_URL, 'http://localhost:11434/v1')
+  assert.equal(processEnv.OPENAI_MODEL, 'llama3.1:8b')
+  assert.equal(Object.hasOwn(processEnv, 'OPENAI_API_KEY'), false)
+})
+
 test('buildStartupEnvFromProfile preserves plural-profile env when the legacy file is stale', async () => {
   // Regression: a user saves a provider via /provider (plural system).
   // addProviderProfile does NOT sync the legacy .openclaude-profile.json,
diff --git a/src/utils/providerProfile.ts b/src/utils/providerProfile.ts
index df3aafaf..d48afe43 100644
--- a/src/utils/providerProfile.ts
+++ b/src/utils/providerProfile.ts
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ export const DEFAULT_MISTRAL_MODEL = 'devstral-latest'
 
 const PROFILE_ENV_KEYS = [
   'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB',
   'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GEMINI',
   'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_MISTRAL',
   'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK',
@@ -823,7 +824,12 @@ export async function buildLaunchEnv(options: {
     (useShellOpenAIConfig ? shellOpenAIModel : undefined) ||
     (usePersistedOpenAIConfig ? persistedOpenAIModel : undefined) ||
     defaultOpenAIModel
-  env.OPENAI_API_KEY = processEnv.OPENAI_API_KEY || persistedEnv.OPENAI_API_KEY
+  const openAIKey = processEnv.OPENAI_API_KEY || persistedEnv.OPENAI_API_KEY
+  if (openAIKey) {
+    env.OPENAI_API_KEY = openAIKey
+  } else {
+    delete env.OPENAI_API_KEY
+  }
   delete env.CODEX_API_KEY
   delete env.CHATGPT_ACCOUNT_ID
   delete env.CODEX_ACCOUNT_ID
@@ -859,6 +865,10 @@ export async function buildStartupEnvFromProfile(options?: {
     return processEnv
   }
 
+  if (isEnvTruthy(processEnv.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB)) {
+    return processEnv
+  }
+
   if (!persisted) {
     return processEnv
   }
diff --git a/src/utils/providerProfiles.test.ts b/src/utils/providerProfiles.test.ts
index d27facf5..f12d7d52 100644
--- a/src/utils/providerProfiles.test.ts
+++ b/src/utils/providerProfiles.test.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+import { mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
+import { join } from 'node:path'
+
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, mock, test } from 'bun:test'
 
 import type { ProviderProfile } from './config.js'
@@ -7,6 +11,7 @@ async function importFreshProvidersModule() {
 }
 
 const originalEnv = { ...process.env }
+const originalCwd = process.cwd()
 
 const RESTORED_KEYS = [
   'CLAUDE_CODE_PROVIDER_PROFILE_ENV_APPLIED',
@@ -75,6 +80,7 @@ afterEach(() => {
 
   mock.restore()
   mockConfigState = createMockConfigState()
+  process.chdir(originalCwd)
 })
 
 async function importFreshProviderProfileModules() {
@@ -569,6 +575,45 @@ describe('setActiveProviderProfile', () => {
     )
   })
 
+  test('persists no-key openai-compatible profiles for restart fallback', async () => {
+    const tempDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'openclaude-provider-'))
+    process.chdir(tempDir)
+    process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY = 'sk-shell-should-not-persist'
+
+    try {
+      const { setActiveProviderProfile } =
+        await importFreshProviderProfileModules()
+      const ollamaProfile = buildProfile({
+        id: 'ollama_prof',
+        name: 'Ollama',
+        provider: 'openai',
+        baseUrl: 'http://localhost:11434/v1',
+        model: 'llama3.1:8b, qwen2.5:7b',
+        apiKey: '',
+      })
+
+      saveMockGlobalConfig(current => ({
+        ...current,
+        providerProfiles: [ollamaProfile],
+      }))
+
+      const result = setActiveProviderProfile('ollama_prof')
+      const persisted = JSON.parse(
+        readFileSync(join(tempDir, '.openclaude-profile.json'), 'utf8'),
+      )
+
+      expect(result?.id).toBe('ollama_prof')
+      expect(persisted.profile).toBe('openai')
+      expect(persisted.env).toEqual({
+        OPENAI_BASE_URL: 'http://localhost:11434/v1',
+        OPENAI_MODEL: 'llama3.1:8b',
+      })
+    } finally {
+      process.chdir(originalCwd)
+      rmSync(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+    }
+  })
+
   test('sets ANTHROPIC_MODEL env var when switching to an anthropic-type provider', async () => {
     const { setActiveProviderProfile } =
       await importFreshProviderProfileModules()
diff --git a/src/utils/providerProfiles.ts b/src/utils/providerProfiles.ts
index eeca893d..9cb0fda8 100644
--- a/src/utils/providerProfiles.ts
+++ b/src/utils/providerProfiles.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { randomBytes } from 'crypto'
+import { isCodexBaseUrl } from '../services/api/providerConfig.js'
 import {
   getGlobalConfig,
   saveGlobalConfig,
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ import {
   buildGeminiProfileEnv,
   buildMistralProfileEnv,
   buildOpenAIProfileEnv,
+  type ProfileEnv,
   type ProviderProfile as ProviderProfileStartup,
 } from './providerProfile.js'
 
@@ -832,6 +834,38 @@ export function getProfileModelOptions(profile: ProviderProfile): ModelOption[]
   }))
 }
 
+function buildOpenAICompatibleStartupEnv(
+  activeProfile: ProviderProfile,
+): ProfileEnv | null {
+  if (isCodexBaseUrl(activeProfile.baseUrl)) {
+    return null
+  }
+
+  if (activeProfile.apiKey) {
+    const strictEnv = buildOpenAIProfileEnv({
+      goal: 'balanced',
+      model: activeProfile.model,
+      baseUrl: activeProfile.baseUrl,
+      apiKey: activeProfile.apiKey,
+      processEnv: {},
+    })
+    if (strictEnv) {
+      return strictEnv
+    }
+  }
+
+  const env: ProfileEnv = {
+    OPENAI_BASE_URL: activeProfile.baseUrl,
+    OPENAI_MODEL: getPrimaryModel(activeProfile.model),
+  }
+  if (activeProfile.apiKey) {
+    env.OPENAI_API_KEY = activeProfile.apiKey
+  } else {
+    delete env.OPENAI_API_KEY
+  }
+  return env
+}
+
 export function setActiveProviderProfile(
   profileId: string,
 ): ProviderProfile | null {
@@ -890,15 +924,17 @@ export function setActiveProviderProfile(
           }) ?? null
         )
       default:
-        // anthropic and all openai-compatible providers
-        return (
-          buildOpenAIProfileEnv({
-            model: activeProfile.model,
-            baseUrl: activeProfile.baseUrl,
-            apiKey: activeProfile.apiKey,
-            processEnv: process.env,
-          }) ?? null
-        )
+        return activeProfile.provider === 'anthropic'
+          ? (
+              buildOpenAIProfileEnv({
+                goal: 'balanced',
+                model: activeProfile.model,
+                baseUrl: activeProfile.baseUrl,
+                apiKey: activeProfile.apiKey,
+                processEnv: process.env,
+              }) ?? null
+            )
+          : buildOpenAICompatibleStartupEnv(activeProfile)
     }
   })()
 
diff --git a/src/utils/providerStartupOverrides.test.ts b/src/utils/providerStartupOverrides.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4bf94d4c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/providerStartupOverrides.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+import { describe, expect, mock, test } from 'bun:test'
+
+import { clearStartupProviderOverrides } from './providerStartupOverrides.js'
+
+describe('clearStartupProviderOverrides', () => {
+  test('removes stale provider env from user settings and global config env', () => {
+    const updateUserSettings = mock(() => ({ error: null }))
+    const saveConfig = mock((updater: (current: {
+      env: Record<string, string>
+    }) => { env: Record<string, string> }) =>
+      updater({
+        env: {
+          CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI: '1',
+          OPENAI_BASE_URL: 'https://api.minimax.io/v1',
+          OPENAI_MODEL: 'minimax-m2.7',
+          MINIMAX_API_KEY: 'sk-minimax',
+          KEEP_ME: '1',
+        },
+      }),
+    )
+
+    const error = clearStartupProviderOverrides({
+      updateUserSettings,
+      saveConfig,
+    })
+
+    expect(error).toBeNull()
+    expect(updateUserSettings).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      'userSettings',
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        env: expect.objectContaining({
+          CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI: undefined,
+          OPENAI_BASE_URL: undefined,
+          OPENAI_MODEL: undefined,
+          MINIMAX_API_KEY: undefined,
+        }),
+      }),
+    )
+    expect(saveConfig.mock.results[0]?.value.env).toEqual({ KEEP_ME: '1' })
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/utils/providerStartupOverrides.ts b/src/utils/providerStartupOverrides.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..43c1ab14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/providerStartupOverrides.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+import { saveGlobalConfig } from './config.js'
+import { updateSettingsForSource } from './settings/settings.js'
+
+export const STARTUP_PROVIDER_OVERRIDE_ENV_KEYS = [
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GEMINI',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_MISTRAL',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY',
+  'OPENAI_BASE_URL',
+  'OPENAI_API_BASE',
+  'OPENAI_MODEL',
+  'OPENAI_API_KEY',
+  'OPENAI_ORG',
+  'OPENAI_PROJECT',
+  'OPENAI_ORGANIZATION',
+  'ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL',
+  'ANTHROPIC_MODEL',
+  'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY',
+  'GEMINI_API_KEY',
+  'GOOGLE_API_KEY',
+  'GEMINI_BASE_URL',
+  'GEMINI_MODEL',
+  'GEMINI_ACCESS_TOKEN',
+  'GEMINI_AUTH_MODE',
+  'MISTRAL_BASE_URL',
+  'MISTRAL_MODEL',
+  'MISTRAL_API_KEY',
+  'CODEX_API_KEY',
+  'CODEX_CREDENTIAL_SOURCE',
+  'CHATGPT_ACCOUNT_ID',
+  'CODEX_ACCOUNT_ID',
+  'MINIMAX_API_KEY',
+  'MINIMAX_BASE_URL',
+  'MINIMAX_MODEL',
+  'NVIDIA_API_KEY',
+  'NVIDIA_NIM',
+] as const
+
+type GlobalConfigWithEnv = {
+  env?: Record<string, string>
+}
+
+type SettingsEnvPatch = Partial<
+  Record<(typeof STARTUP_PROVIDER_OVERRIDE_ENV_KEYS)[number], string>
+>
+
+const DELETE_SETTINGS_ENV_VALUE = undefined as unknown as string
+
+export function clearStartupProviderOverrides(options?: {
+  updateUserSettings?: typeof updateSettingsForSource
+  saveConfig?: typeof saveGlobalConfig
+}): string | null {
+  const updateUserSettings = options?.updateUserSettings ?? updateSettingsForSource
+  const saveConfig = options?.saveConfig ?? saveGlobalConfig
+  const envPatch = Object.fromEntries(
+    STARTUP_PROVIDER_OVERRIDE_ENV_KEYS.map(key => [
+      key,
+      DELETE_SETTINGS_ENV_VALUE,
+    ]),
+  ) as SettingsEnvPatch
+
+  const { error } = updateUserSettings('userSettings', { env: envPatch })
+
+  let globalConfigError: string | null = null
+  try {
+    saveConfig((current: GlobalConfigWithEnv) => {
+      const currentEnv = current.env ?? {}
+      let changed = false
+      const nextEnv = { ...currentEnv }
+      for (const key of STARTUP_PROVIDER_OVERRIDE_ENV_KEYS) {
+        if (key in nextEnv) {
+          delete nextEnv[key]
+          changed = true
+        }
+      }
+      return changed ? { ...current, env: nextEnv } : current
+    })
+  } catch (configError) {
+    globalConfigError =
+      configError instanceof Error ? configError.message : String(configError)
+  }
+
+  return error?.message ?? globalConfigError
+}