diff --git a/src/api/providers/fetchers/__tests__/litellm.spec.ts b/src/api/providers/fetchers/__tests__/litellm.spec.ts
index c05cda88398..6bb08ce7a26 100644
--- a/src/api/providers/fetchers/__tests__/litellm.spec.ts
+++ b/src/api/providers/fetchers/__tests__/litellm.spec.ts
@@ -697,4 +697,44 @@ describe("getLiteLLMModels", () => {
 			description: "model-with-only-max-output-tokens via LiteLLM proxy",
 		})
 	})
+
+	it("sends request without Authorization header when apiKey is undefined", async () => {
+		const mockResponse = {
+			data: {
+				data: [],
+			},
+		}
+
+		mockedAxios.get.mockResolvedValue(mockResponse)
+
+		await getLiteLLMModels(undefined, "http://localhost:4000")
+
+		expect(mockedAxios.get).toHaveBeenCalledWith("http://localhost:4000/v1/model/info", {
+			headers: {
+				"Content-Type": "application/json",
+				...DEFAULT_HEADERS,
+			},
+			timeout: 5000,
+		})
+	})
+
+	it("sends request without Authorization header when apiKey is empty string", async () => {
+		const mockResponse = {
+			data: {
+				data: [],
+			},
+		}
+
+		mockedAxios.get.mockResolvedValue(mockResponse)
+
+		await getLiteLLMModels("", "http://localhost:4000")
+
+		expect(mockedAxios.get).toHaveBeenCalledWith("http://localhost:4000/v1/model/info", {
+			headers: {
+				"Content-Type": "application/json",
+				...DEFAULT_HEADERS,
+			},
+			timeout: 5000,
+		})
+	})
 })
diff --git a/src/api/providers/fetchers/litellm.ts b/src/api/providers/fetchers/litellm.ts
index de895d01fbf..639db46fb5f 100644
--- a/src/api/providers/fetchers/litellm.ts
+++ b/src/api/providers/fetchers/litellm.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import { DEFAULT_HEADERS } from "../constants"
  * @returns A promise that resolves to a record of model IDs to model info
  * @throws Will throw an error if the request fails or the response is not as expected.
  */
-export async function getLiteLLMModels(apiKey: string, baseUrl: string): Promise<ModelRecord> {
+export async function getLiteLLMModels(apiKey: string | undefined, baseUrl: string): Promise<ModelRecord> {
 	try {
 		const headers: Record<string, string> = {
 			"Content-Type": "application/json",
diff --git a/src/api/providers/lite-llm.ts b/src/api/providers/lite-llm.ts
index cf8d16a1129..6ad8965ef67 100644
--- a/src/api/providers/lite-llm.ts
+++ b/src/api/providers/lite-llm.ts
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ export class LiteLLMHandler extends RouterProvider implements SingleCompletionHa
 			options,
 			name: "litellm",
 			baseURL: `${options.litellmBaseUrl || "http://localhost:4000"}`,
-			apiKey: options.litellmApiKey || "dummy-key",
+			apiKey: options.litellmApiKey || "not-needed",
 			modelId: options.litellmModelId,
 			defaultModelId: litellmDefaultModelId,
 			defaultModelInfo: litellmDefaultModelInfo,
diff --git a/src/core/webview/webviewMessageHandler.ts b/src/core/webview/webviewMessageHandler.ts
index d27fd6bec09..0bfd643632a 100644
--- a/src/core/webview/webviewMessageHandler.ts
+++ b/src/core/webview/webviewMessageHandler.ts
@@ -1001,11 +1001,11 @@ export const webviewMessageHandler = async (
 				},
 			]
 
-			// LiteLLM is conditional on baseUrl+apiKey
+			// LiteLLM is conditional on baseUrl (apiKey is optional)
 			const litellmApiKey = apiConfiguration.litellmApiKey || message?.values?.litellmApiKey
 			const litellmBaseUrl = apiConfiguration.litellmBaseUrl || message?.values?.litellmBaseUrl
 
-			if (litellmApiKey && litellmBaseUrl) {
+			if (litellmBaseUrl) {
 				// If explicit credentials are provided in message.values (from Refresh Models button),
 				// flush the cache first to ensure we fetch fresh data with the new credentials
 				if (message?.values?.litellmApiKey || message?.values?.litellmBaseUrl) {
diff --git a/src/shared/api.ts b/src/shared/api.ts
index 52af6b20727..4721dbad630 100644
--- a/src/shared/api.ts
+++ b/src/shared/api.ts
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ type CommonFetchParams = {
 const dynamicProviderExtras = {
 	openrouter: {} as {}, // eslint-disable-line @typescript-eslint/no-empty-object-type
 	"vercel-ai-gateway": {} as {}, // eslint-disable-line @typescript-eslint/no-empty-object-type
-	litellm: {} as { apiKey: string; baseUrl: string },
+	litellm: {} as { apiKey?: string; baseUrl: string },
 	requesty: {} as { apiKey?: string; baseUrl?: string },
 	unbound: {} as { apiKey?: string },
 	ollama: {} as {}, // eslint-disable-line @typescript-eslint/no-empty-object-type
diff --git a/webview-ui/src/components/settings/providers/LiteLLM.tsx b/webview-ui/src/components/settings/providers/LiteLLM.tsx
index 38ae1f3a96a..4891c69afca 100644
--- a/webview-ui/src/components/settings/providers/LiteLLM.tsx
+++ b/webview-ui/src/components/settings/providers/LiteLLM.tsx
@@ -86,13 +86,16 @@ export const LiteLLM = ({
 		const key = apiConfiguration.litellmApiKey
 		const url = apiConfiguration.litellmBaseUrl
 
-		if (!key || !url) {
+		if (!url) {
 			setRefreshStatus("error")
 			setRefreshError(t("settings:providers.refreshModels.missingConfig"))
 			return
 		}
 
-		vscode.postMessage({ type: "requestRouterModels", values: { litellmApiKey: key, litellmBaseUrl: url } })
+		vscode.postMessage({
+			type: "requestRouterModels",
+			values: { ...(key ? { litellmApiKey: key } : {}), litellmBaseUrl: url },
+		})
 	}, [apiConfiguration, setRefreshStatus, setRefreshError, t])
 
 	return (
@@ -121,9 +124,7 @@ export const LiteLLM = ({
 			<Button
 				variant="outline"
 				onClick={handleRefreshModels}
-				disabled={
-					refreshStatus === "loading" || !apiConfiguration.litellmApiKey || !apiConfiguration.litellmBaseUrl
-				}
+				disabled={refreshStatus === "loading" || !apiConfiguration.litellmBaseUrl}
 				className="w-full">
 				<div className="flex items-center gap-2">
 					{refreshStatus === "loading" ? (
diff --git a/webview-ui/src/i18n/locales/en/settings.json b/webview-ui/src/i18n/locales/en/settings.json
index 3b2497aaee7..61b6af51661 100644
--- a/webview-ui/src/i18n/locales/en/settings.json
+++ b/webview-ui/src/i18n/locales/en/settings.json
@@ -944,6 +944,7 @@
 	},
 	"validation": {
 		"apiKey": "You must provide a valid API key.",
+		"baseUrl": "You must provide a valid base URL.",
 		"awsRegion": "You must choose a region to use with Amazon Bedrock.",
 		"googleCloud": "You must provide a valid Google Cloud Project ID and Region.",
 		"modelId": "You must provide a valid model ID.",
diff --git a/webview-ui/src/utils/validate.ts b/webview-ui/src/utils/validate.ts
index f506171acce..b33658fe051 100644
--- a/webview-ui/src/utils/validate.ts
+++ b/webview-ui/src/utils/validate.ts
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@ function validateModelsAndKeysProvided(apiConfiguration: ProviderSettings): stri
 			}
 			break
 		case "litellm":
-			if (!apiConfiguration.litellmApiKey) {
-				return i18next.t("settings:validation.apiKey")
+			if (!apiConfiguration.litellmBaseUrl) {
+				return i18next.t("settings:validation.baseUrl")
 			}
 			break
 		case "anthropic":