From 44062f382b56863421dba4e73024d7bff241be39 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Aditya Aggarwal <42476079+aditya-786@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 2026 21:57:28 +0530
Subject: [PATCH] fix(custom-openai): avoid OpenAI API key fallback during
 discovery

---
 .../llms/openai_like/chat/transformation.py    |  2 +-
 .../test_openai_like_chat_transformation.py    | 18 ++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 19 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/litellm/llms/openai_like/chat/transformation.py b/litellm/llms/openai_like/chat/transformation.py
index 5b406fea70f..cea1713ca61 100644
--- a/litellm/llms/openai_like/chat/transformation.py
+++ b/litellm/llms/openai_like/chat/transformation.py
@@ -172,5 +172,5 @@ class CustomOpenAIChatConfig(OpenAILikeChatConfig):
     def get_models(self, api_key: Optional[str] = None, api_base: Optional[str] = None) -> list[str]:
         if api_base is None:
             raise ValueError("api_base must be set to discover models for the custom_openai provider")
-        models = super().get_models(api_key=api_key, api_base=api_base)
+        models = super().get_models(api_key=api_key or "", api_base=api_base)
         return [f"custom_openai/{model}" for model in models]
diff --git a/tests/test_litellm/llms/openai_like/chat/test_openai_like_chat_transformation.py b/tests/test_litellm/llms/openai_like/chat/test_openai_like_chat_transformation.py
index 1fc2c52bdd5..e7c71ec91be 100644
--- a/tests/test_litellm/llms/openai_like/chat/test_openai_like_chat_transformation.py
+++ b/tests/test_litellm/llms/openai_like/chat/test_openai_like_chat_transformation.py
@@ -96,6 +96,24 @@ def test_custom_openai_get_models_requires_api_base():
         CustomOpenAIChatConfig().get_models(api_base=None)
 
 
+def test_custom_openai_get_models_does_not_use_openai_api_key(monkeypatch):
+    mock_response = MagicMock()
+    mock_response.status_code = 200
+    mock_response.json.return_value = {"data": [{"id": "my-custom-model"}]}
+    monkeypatch.setenv("OPENAI_API_KEY", "unrelated-openai-api-key")
+
+    with patch.object(litellm.module_level_client, "get", return_value=mock_response) as mock_get:
+        models = CustomOpenAIChatConfig().get_models(
+            api_base="https://my-openai-compatible-endpoint/v1"
+        )
+
+    assert models == ["custom_openai/my-custom-model"]
+    mock_get.assert_called_once_with(
+        url="https://my-openai-compatible-endpoint/v1/models",
+        headers={"Authorization": "Bearer "},
+    )
+
+
 def test_openai_model_info_uses_openai_config():
     config = ProviderConfigManager.get_provider_model_info(
         model=None,