fix: preserve explicit ollama startup intent

.gitignore

@@ -10,3 +10,4 @@ GEMINI.md
 package-lock.json
 /.claude
 coverage/
+.worktrees/

src/screens/REPL.tsx

@@ -238,6 +238,7 @@ import { usePromptsFromClaudeInChrome } from 'src/hooks/usePromptsFromClaudeInCh
 import { getTipToShowOnSpinner, recordShownTip } from 'src/services/tips/tipScheduler.js';
 import type { Theme } from 'src/utils/theme.js';
 import { isPromptTypingSuppressionActive } from './replInputSuppression.js';
+import { shouldStartStartupChecks } from './replStartupGates.js';
 import { checkAndDisableBypassPermissionsIfNeeded, checkAndDisableAutoModeIfNeeded, useKickOffCheckAndDisableBypassPermissionsIfNeeded, useKickOffCheckAndDisableAutoModeIfNeeded } from 'src/utils/permissions/bypassPermissionsKillswitch.js';
 import { SandboxManager } from 'src/utils/sandbox/sandbox-adapter.js';
 import { SANDBOX_NETWORK_ACCESS_TOOL_NAME } from 'src/cli/structuredIO.js';
@@ -784,19 +785,6 @@ export function REPL({
   });
   const tasksV2 = useTasksV2WithCollapseEffect();
 
-  // Start background plugin installations
-
-  // SECURITY: This code is guaranteed to run ONLY after the "trust this folder" dialog
-  // has been confirmed by the user. The trust dialog is shown in cli.tsx (line ~387)
-  // before the REPL component is rendered. The dialog blocks execution until the user
-  // accepts, and only then is the REPL component mounted and this effect runs.
-  // This ensures that plugin installations from repository and user settings only
-  // happen after explicit user consent to trust the current working directory.
-  useEffect(() => {
-    if (isRemoteSession) return;
-    void performStartupChecks(setAppState);
-  }, [setAppState, isRemoteSession]);
-
   // Allow Claude in Chrome MCP to send prompts through MCP notifications
   // and sync permission mode changes to the Chrome extension
   usePromptsFromClaudeInChrome(isRemoteSession ? EMPTY_MCP_CLIENTS : mcpClients, toolPermissionContext.mode);
@@ -1337,6 +1325,7 @@ export function REPL({
   const [inputValue, setInputValueRaw] = useState(() => consumeEarlyInput());
   const inputValueRef = useRef(inputValue);
   inputValueRef.current = inputValue;
+  const startupChecksStartedRef = useRef(false);
   const promptTypingSuppressionActive = isPromptTypingSuppressionActive(isPromptInputActive, inputValue);
   const insertTextRef = useRef<{
     insert: (text: string) => void;
@@ -1344,6 +1333,24 @@ export function REPL({
     cursorOffset: number;
   } | null>(null);
 
+  // Start background plugin installations after the initial input window is idle.
+  // SECURITY: This still runs only after the "trust this folder" dialog has been
+  // confirmed because the REPL is not mounted until that dialog completes.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (
+      !shouldStartStartupChecks({
+        isRemoteSession,
+        promptTypingSuppressionActive,
+        startupChecksStarted: startupChecksStartedRef.current,
+      })
+    ) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    startupChecksStartedRef.current = true;
+    void performStartupChecks(setAppState);
+  }, [isRemoteSession, promptTypingSuppressionActive, setAppState]);
+
   // Wrap setInputValue to co-locate suppression state updates.
   // Both setState calls happen in the same synchronous context so React
   // batches them into a single render, eliminating the extra render that

src/screens/replStartupGates.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test'
+import { shouldStartStartupChecks } from './replStartupGates.js'
+
+describe('shouldStartStartupChecks', () => {
+  test('returns false for remote sessions', () => {
+    expect(
+      shouldStartStartupChecks({
+        isRemoteSession: true,
+        promptTypingSuppressionActive: false,
+        startupChecksStarted: false,
+      }),
+    ).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  test('returns false while prompt typing suppression is active', () => {
+    expect(
+      shouldStartStartupChecks({
+        isRemoteSession: false,
+        promptTypingSuppressionActive: true,
+        startupChecksStarted: false,
+      }),
+    ).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  test('returns true once local startup is idle and checks have not started', () => {
+    expect(
+      shouldStartStartupChecks({
+        isRemoteSession: false,
+        promptTypingSuppressionActive: false,
+        startupChecksStarted: false,
+      }),
+    ).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  test('returns false after startup checks have already started', () => {
+    expect(
+      shouldStartStartupChecks({
+        isRemoteSession: false,
+        promptTypingSuppressionActive: false,
+        startupChecksStarted: true,
+      }),
+    ).toBe(false)
+  })
+})

src/screens/replStartupGates.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+export function shouldStartStartupChecks(options: {
+  isRemoteSession: boolean
+  promptTypingSuppressionActive: boolean
+  startupChecksStarted: boolean
+}): boolean {
+  return (
+    !options.isRemoteSession &&
+    !options.promptTypingSuppressionActive &&
+    !options.startupChecksStarted
+  )
+}

src/services/tools/toolExecution.test.ts

@@ -1,33 +0,0 @@
-import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test'
-
-import { SkillTool } from '../../tools/SkillTool/SkillTool.js'
-import {
-  getSchemaValidationErrorOverride,
-  getSchemaValidationToolUseResult,
-} from './toolExecution.js'
-
-describe('getSchemaValidationErrorOverride', () => {
-  test('returns actionable missing-skill error for SkillTool', () => {
-    expect(getSchemaValidationErrorOverride(SkillTool, {})).toBe(
-      'Missing skill name. Pass the slash command name as the skill parameter (e.g., skill: "commit" for /commit, skill: "review-pr" for /review-pr).',
-    )
-  })
-
-  test('does not override unrelated tool schema failures', () => {
-    expect(getSchemaValidationErrorOverride({ name: 'Read' } as never, {})).toBe(
-      null,
-    )
-  })
-
-  test('does not override SkillTool when skill is present', () => {
-    expect(
-      getSchemaValidationErrorOverride(SkillTool, { skill: 'commit' }),
-    ).toBe(null)
-  })
-
-  test('uses the actionable override for structured toolUseResult too', () => {
-    expect(getSchemaValidationToolUseResult(SkillTool, {} as never)).toBe(
-      'InputValidationError: Missing skill name. Pass the slash command name as the skill parameter (e.g., skill: "commit" for /commit, skill: "review-pr" for /review-pr).',
-    )
-  })
-})

src/services/tools/toolExecution.ts

@@ -43,7 +43,6 @@ import { FILE_READ_TOOL_NAME } from '../../tools/FileReadTool/prompt.js'
 import { FILE_WRITE_TOOL_NAME } from '../../tools/FileWriteTool/prompt.js'
 import { NOTEBOOK_EDIT_TOOL_NAME } from '../../tools/NotebookEditTool/constants.js'
 import { POWERSHELL_TOOL_NAME } from '../../tools/PowerShellTool/toolName.js'
-import { SKILL_TOOL_NAME } from '../../tools/SkillTool/constants.js'
 import { parseGitCommitId } from '../../tools/shared/gitOperationTracking.js'
 import {
   isDeferredTool,
@@ -597,31 +596,6 @@ export function buildSchemaNotSentHint(
   )
 }
 
-export function getSchemaValidationErrorOverride(
-  tool: Tool,
-  input: unknown,
-): string | null {
-  if (tool.name !== SKILL_TOOL_NAME || !input || typeof input !== 'object') {
-    return null
-  }
-
-  const skill = (input as { skill?: unknown }).skill
-  if (skill === undefined || skill === null) {
-    return 'Missing skill name. Pass the slash command name as the skill parameter (e.g., skill: "commit" for /commit, skill: "review-pr" for /review-pr).'
-  }
-
-  return null
-}
-
-export function getSchemaValidationToolUseResult(
-  tool: Tool,
-  input: unknown,
-  fallbackMessage?: string,
-): string {
-  const override = getSchemaValidationErrorOverride(tool, input)
-  return `InputValidationError: ${override ?? fallbackMessage ?? ''}`
-}
-
 async function checkPermissionsAndCallTool(
   tool: Tool,
   toolUseID: string,
@@ -640,9 +614,7 @@ async function checkPermissionsAndCallTool(
   // Validate input types with zod (surprisingly, the model is not great at generating valid input)
   const parsedInput = tool.inputSchema.safeParse(input)
   if (!parsedInput.success) {
-    const fallbackErrorContent = formatZodValidationError(tool.name, parsedInput.error)
-    let errorContent =
-      getSchemaValidationErrorOverride(tool, input) ?? fallbackErrorContent
+    let errorContent = formatZodValidationError(tool.name, parsedInput.error)
 
     const schemaHint = buildSchemaNotSentHint(
       tool,
@@ -700,11 +672,7 @@ async function checkPermissionsAndCallTool(
               tool_use_id: toolUseID,
             },
           ],
-          toolUseResult: getSchemaValidationToolUseResult(
-            tool,
-            input,
-            parsedInput.error.message,
-          ),
+          toolUseResult: `InputValidationError: ${parsedInput.error.message}`,
           sourceToolAssistantUUID: assistantMessage.uuid,
         }),
       },

src/tools/SkillTool/SkillTool.test.ts

@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test'
-
-import { SkillTool } from './SkillTool.js'
-
-describe('SkillTool missing parameter handling', () => {
-  test('missing skill stays required at the schema level', async () => {
-    const parsed = SkillTool.inputSchema.safeParse({})
-
-    expect(parsed.success).toBe(false)
-  })
-
-  test('validateInput still returns an actionable error when called with missing skill', async () => {
-    const result = await SkillTool.validateInput?.({} as never, {
-      options: { tools: [] },
-      messages: [],
-    } as never)
-
-    expect(result).toEqual({
-      result: false,
-      message:
-        'Missing skill name. Pass the slash command name as the skill parameter (e.g., skill: "commit" for /commit, skill: "review-pr" for /review-pr).',
-      errorCode: 1,
-    })
-  })
-
-  test('valid skill input still parses and validates', async () => {
-    const parsed = SkillTool.inputSchema.safeParse({ skill: 'commit' })
-
-    expect(parsed.success).toBe(true)
-  })
-})

src/tools/SkillTool/SkillTool.ts

@@ -352,16 +352,6 @@ export const SkillTool: Tool<InputSchema, Output, Progress> = buildTool({
   toAutoClassifierInput: ({ skill }) => skill ?? '',
 
   async validateInput({ skill }, context): Promise<ValidationResult> {
-    if (!skill || typeof skill !== 'string') {
-      return {
-        result: false,
-        message:
-          'Missing skill name. Pass the slash command name as the skill parameter ' +
-          '(e.g., skill: "commit" for /commit, skill: "review-pr" for /review-pr).',
-        errorCode: 1,
-      }
-    }
-
     // Skills are just skill names, no arguments
     const trimmed = skill.trim()
     if (!trimmed) {
@@ -444,7 +434,7 @@ export const SkillTool: Tool<InputSchema, Output, Progress> = buildTool({
     context,
   ): Promise<PermissionDecision> {
     // Skills are just skill names, no arguments
-    const trimmed = skill ?? ''
+    const trimmed = skill.trim()
 
     // Remove leading slash if present (for compatibility)
     const commandName = trimmed.startsWith('/') ? trimmed.substring(1) : trimmed
@@ -602,7 +592,7 @@ export const SkillTool: Tool<InputSchema, Output, Progress> = buildTool({
     // - Skill is a prompt-based skill
 
     // Skills are just names, with optional arguments
-    const trimmed = skill ?? ''
+    const trimmed = skill.trim()
 
     // Remove leading slash if present (for compatibility)
     const commandName = trimmed.startsWith('/') ? trimmed.substring(1) : trimmed

src/utils/api.test.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 import { expect, test } from 'bun:test'
 import { z } from 'zod/v4'
 import { getEmptyToolPermissionContext, type Tool, type Tools } from '../Tool.js'
-import { SkillTool } from '../tools/SkillTool/SkillTool.js'
 import { toolToAPISchema } from './api.js'
 
 test('toolToAPISchema preserves provider-specific schema keywords in input_schema', async () => {
@@ -65,16 +64,3 @@ test('toolToAPISchema preserves provider-specific schema keywords in input_schem
     },
   })
 })
-
-test('toolToAPISchema keeps skill required for SkillTool', async () => {
-  const schema = await toolToAPISchema(SkillTool, {
-    getToolPermissionContext: async () => getEmptyToolPermissionContext(),
-    tools: [] as unknown as Tools,
-    agents: [],
-  })
-
-  expect((schema as { input_schema: unknown }).input_schema).toMatchObject({
-    type: 'object',
-    required: ['skill'],
-  })
-})

src/utils/managedEnv.ts

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
 } from './managedEnvConstants.js'
 import { clearMTLSCache } from './mtls.js'
 import { clearProxyCache, configureGlobalAgents } from './proxy.js'
+import { filterSettingsEnvForExplicitProvider } from './providerEnvSelection.js'
 import { applyActiveProviderProfileFromConfig } from './providerProfiles.js'
 import { isSettingSourceEnabled } from './settings/constants.js'
 import {
@@ -87,7 +88,9 @@ function filterSettingsEnv(
   env: Record<string, string> | undefined,
 ): Record<string, string> {
   return withoutCcdSpawnEnvKeys(
+    filterSettingsEnvForExplicitProvider(
       withoutHostManagedProviderVars(withoutSSHTunnelVars(env)),
+    ),
   )
 }
 

src/utils/providerEnvSelection.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test'
+import { filterSettingsEnvForExplicitProvider } from './providerEnvSelection.js'
+
+const originalEnv = { ...process.env }
+
+const RESET_KEYS = [
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_EXPLICIT_PROVIDER',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GEMINI',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY',
+] as const
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  for (const key of RESET_KEYS) {
+    delete process.env[key]
+  }
+})
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  for (const key of RESET_KEYS) {
+    if (originalEnv[key] === undefined) delete process.env[key]
+    else process.env[key] = originalEnv[key]
+  }
+})
+
+describe('filterSettingsEnvForExplicitProvider', () => {
+  test('does not treat plain provider flags as an explicit CLI override', () => {
+    process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB = '1'
+
+    expect(
+      filterSettingsEnvForExplicitProvider({
+        CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI: '1',
+        OPENAI_MODEL: 'gpt-4o',
+        OTHER: 'keep-me',
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({
+      CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI: '1',
+      OPENAI_MODEL: 'gpt-4o',
+      OTHER: 'keep-me',
+    })
+  })
+
+  test('strips settings-sourced provider flags when CLI provider is explicit', () => {
+    process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_EXPLICIT_PROVIDER = 'openai'
+
+    expect(
+      filterSettingsEnvForExplicitProvider({
+        CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB: '1',
+        CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI: '1',
+        OTHER: 'keep-me',
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({ OTHER: 'keep-me' })
+  })
+
+  test('strips a stale GitHub model when explicit provider is not github', () => {
+    process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_EXPLICIT_PROVIDER = 'openai'
+
+    expect(
+      filterSettingsEnvForExplicitProvider({
+        OPENAI_MODEL: 'github:copilot',
+        OTHER: 'keep-me',
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({ OTHER: 'keep-me' })
+  })
+
+  test('keeps a normal OpenAI model when explicit provider is openai', () => {
+    process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_EXPLICIT_PROVIDER = 'openai'
+
+    expect(
+      filterSettingsEnvForExplicitProvider({
+        OPENAI_MODEL: 'gpt-4o',
+        OTHER: 'keep-me',
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({ OPENAI_MODEL: 'gpt-4o', OTHER: 'keep-me' })
+  })
+
+  test('strips a non-GitHub OpenAI model when explicit provider is github', () => {
+    process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_EXPLICIT_PROVIDER = 'github'
+
+    expect(
+      filterSettingsEnvForExplicitProvider({
+        OPENAI_MODEL: 'gpt-4o',
+        OTHER: 'keep-me',
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({ OTHER: 'keep-me' })
+  })
+
+  test('preserves anthropic startup intent by stripping stale GitHub/OpenAI settings', () => {
+    process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_EXPLICIT_PROVIDER = 'anthropic'
+
+    expect(
+      filterSettingsEnvForExplicitProvider({
+        CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB: '1',
+        CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI: '1',
+        OPENAI_MODEL: 'github:copilot',
+        OTHER: 'keep-me',
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({ OTHER: 'keep-me' })
+  })
+
+  test('preserves explicit ollama startup intent by stripping OpenAI routing settings', () => {
+    process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_EXPLICIT_PROVIDER = 'ollama'
+
+    expect(
+      filterSettingsEnvForExplicitProvider({
+        OPENAI_BASE_URL: 'https://api.openai.com/v1',
+        OPENAI_MODEL: 'gpt-4o',
+        OPENAI_API_KEY: 'sk-test',
+        OTHER: 'keep-me',
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({ OTHER: 'keep-me' })
+  })
+})

src/utils/providerEnvSelection.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+export const EXPLICIT_PROVIDER_ENV_VAR = 'CLAUDE_CODE_EXPLICIT_PROVIDER'
+
+const PROVIDER_FLAG_KEYS = [
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GEMINI',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY',
+] as const
+
+export function clearProviderSelectionFlags(
+  env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env,
+): void {
+  for (const key of PROVIDER_FLAG_KEYS) {
+    delete env[key]
+  }
+}
+
+function getExplicitProvider(processEnv: NodeJS.ProcessEnv): string | undefined {
+  return processEnv[EXPLICIT_PROVIDER_ENV_VAR]?.trim() || undefined
+}
+
+function isGithubModel(model: string | undefined): boolean {
+  return (model ?? '').trim().toLowerCase().startsWith('github:')
+}
+
+export function filterSettingsEnvForExplicitProvider(
+  env: Record<string, string> | undefined,
+  processEnv: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env,
+): Record<string, string> {
+  if (!env) return {}
+
+  const explicitProvider = getExplicitProvider(processEnv)
+  if (!explicitProvider) {
+    return env
+  }
+
+  const filtered = { ...env }
+  for (const key of PROVIDER_FLAG_KEYS) {
+    delete filtered[key]
+  }
+
+  if (explicitProvider === 'ollama') {
+    delete filtered.OPENAI_BASE_URL
+    delete filtered.OPENAI_MODEL
+    delete filtered.OPENAI_API_KEY
+    return filtered
+  }
+
+  if (explicitProvider === 'github') {
+    if (!isGithubModel(filtered.OPENAI_MODEL)) {
+      delete filtered.OPENAI_MODEL
+    }
+    return filtered
+  }
+
+  if (isGithubModel(filtered.OPENAI_MODEL)) {
+    delete filtered.OPENAI_MODEL
+  }
+
+  return filtered
+}

src/utils/providerFlag.test.ts

@@ -9,11 +9,13 @@ import {
 const originalEnv = { ...process.env }
 
 const RESET_KEYS = [
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_EXPLICIT_PROVIDER',
   'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI',
   'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GEMINI',
   'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB',
   'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK',
   'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX',
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY',
   'OPENAI_BASE_URL',
   'OPENAI_API_KEY',
   'OPENAI_MODEL',
@@ -83,6 +85,16 @@ describe('applyProviderFlag - openai', () => {
     applyProviderFlag('openai', ['--model', 'gpt-4o'])
     expect(process.env.OPENAI_MODEL).toBe('gpt-4o')
   })
+
+  test('clears a previously persisted GitHub flag', () => {
+    process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB = '1'
+
+    const result = applyProviderFlag('openai', [])
+
+    expect(result.error).toBeUndefined()
+    expect(process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB).toBeUndefined()
+    expect(process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI).toBe('1')
+  })
 })
 
 describe('applyProviderFlag - gemini', () => {
@@ -104,6 +116,16 @@ describe('applyProviderFlag - github', () => {
     expect(result.error).toBeUndefined()
     expect(process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB).toBe('1')
   })
+
+  test('clears a previously set OpenAI flag', () => {
+    process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI = '1'
+
+    const result = applyProviderFlag('github', [])
+
+    expect(result.error).toBeUndefined()
+    expect(process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI).toBeUndefined()
+    expect(process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB).toBe('1')
+  })
 })
 
 describe('applyProviderFlag - bedrock', () => {
@@ -151,6 +173,19 @@ describe('applyProviderFlag - invalid provider', () => {
   })
 })
 
+describe('applyProviderFlag - anthropic', () => {
+  test('clears third-party provider flags', () => {
+    process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB = '1'
+    process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI = '1'
+
+    const result = applyProviderFlag('anthropic', [])
+
+    expect(result.error).toBeUndefined()
+    expect(process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB).toBeUndefined()
+    expect(process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI).toBeUndefined()
+  })
+})
+
 describe('applyProviderFlagFromArgs', () => {
   test('applies ollama provider and model from argv in one step', () => {
     const result = applyProviderFlagFromArgs([

src/utils/providerFlag.ts

@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+import {
+  clearProviderSelectionFlags,
+  EXPLICIT_PROVIDER_ENV_VAR,
+} from './providerEnvSelection.js'
+
 /**
  * --provider CLI flag support.
  *
@@ -77,6 +82,9 @@ export function applyProviderFlag(
     }
   }
 
+  clearProviderSelectionFlags()
+  process.env[EXPLICIT_PROVIDER_ENV_VAR] = provider
+
   const model = parseModelFlag(args)
 
   switch (provider as ProviderFlagName) {

src/utils/providerProfile.test.ts

@@ -485,6 +485,26 @@ test('buildStartupEnvFromProfile leaves explicit provider selections untouched',
   assert.equal(env.OPENAI_API_KEY, undefined)
 })
 
+test('buildStartupEnvFromProfile preserves explicit anthropic startup selection', async () => {
+  const processEnv = {
+    CLAUDE_CODE_EXPLICIT_PROVIDER: 'anthropic',
+  }
+
+  const env = await buildStartupEnvFromProfile({
+    persisted: profile('openai', {
+      CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB: '1',
+      OPENAI_MODEL: 'github:copilot',
+    }),
+    processEnv,
+  })
+
+  assert.equal(env, processEnv)
+  assert.equal(env.CLAUDE_CODE_EXPLICIT_PROVIDER, 'anthropic')
+  assert.equal(env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI, undefined)
+  assert.equal(env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB, undefined)
+  assert.equal(env.OPENAI_MODEL, undefined)
+})
+
 test('buildStartupEnvFromProfile leaves profile-managed env untouched', async () => {
   const processEnv = {
     CLAUDE_CODE_PROVIDER_PROFILE_ENV_APPLIED: '1',

src/utils/providerProfile.ts

@@ -412,6 +412,10 @@ export function hasExplicitProviderSelection(
     return true
   }
 
+  if (processEnv.CLAUDE_CODE_EXPLICIT_PROVIDER?.trim()) {
+    return true
+  }
+
   return (
     processEnv.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI !== undefined ||
     processEnv.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB !== undefined ||

src/utils/providerProfiles.test.ts

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ async function importFreshProvidersModule() {
 const originalEnv = { ...process.env }
 
 const RESTORED_KEYS = [
+  'CLAUDE_CODE_EXPLICIT_PROVIDER',
   'CLAUDE_CODE_PROVIDER_PROFILE_ENV_APPLIED',
   'CLAUDE_CODE_PROVIDER_PROFILE_ENV_APPLIED_ID',
   'CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI',
@@ -142,6 +143,29 @@ describe('applyProviderProfileToProcessEnv', () => {
 })
 
 describe('applyActiveProviderProfileFromConfig', () => {
+  test('does not override explicit anthropic startup selection', async () => {
+    const { applyActiveProviderProfileFromConfig } =
+      await importFreshProviderProfileModules()
+    process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_EXPLICIT_PROVIDER = 'anthropic'
+
+    const applied = applyActiveProviderProfileFromConfig({
+      providerProfiles: [
+        buildProfile({
+          id: 'saved_github',
+          baseUrl: 'https://api.githubcopilot.com',
+          model: 'github:copilot',
+        }),
+      ],
+      activeProviderProfileId: 'saved_github',
+    } as any)
+
+    expect(applied).toBeUndefined()
+    expect(process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_EXPLICIT_PROVIDER).toBe('anthropic')
+    expect(process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI).toBeUndefined()
+    expect(process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB).toBeUndefined()
+    expect(process.env.OPENAI_MODEL).toBeUndefined()
+  })
+
   test('does not override explicit startup provider selection', async () => {
     const { applyActiveProviderProfileFromConfig } =
       await importFreshProviderProfileModules()

src/utils/providerProfiles.ts

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import {
   type ProviderProfile,
 } from './config.js'
 import type { ModelOption } from './model/modelOptions.js'
+import { EXPLICIT_PROVIDER_ENV_VAR } from './providerEnvSelection.js'
 
 export type ProviderPreset =
   | 'anthropic'
@@ -256,6 +257,7 @@ function hasProviderSelectionFlags(
   processEnv: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env,
 ): boolean {
   return (
+    processEnv[EXPLICIT_PROVIDER_ENV_VAR] !== undefined ||
     processEnv.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI !== undefined ||
     processEnv.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GEMINI !== undefined ||
     processEnv.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GITHUB !== undefined ||