diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/KeyEditViewControls.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/KeyEditViewControls.tsx
index f5d5562ccfe..39542882798 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/KeyEditViewControls.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/KeyEditViewControls.tsx
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import React from "react";
-import { Control } from "react-hook-form";
+import { Control, UseFormReturn } from "react-hook-form";
 import { Select, SelectContent, SelectItem, SelectTrigger, SelectValue } from "@/components/ui/select";
+import { Textarea } from "@/components/ui/textarea";
 import { Tooltip, TooltipContent, TooltipTrigger } from "@/components/ui/tooltip";
 import { CircleHelp } from "lucide-react";
 import { FormField } from "@/components/shared/form/FormField";
+import { toast } from "@/lib/toast";
 import AgentSelector from "../agent_management/AgentSelector";
 import NumericalInput from "../shared/numerical_input";
 import SkillSelector from "../skills/SkillSelector";
+import { moveTagsOutOfMetadataJson } from "./keyEditFieldNormalizers";
 import { AgentsAndGroups, KeyEditFormValues } from "./keyEditFormValues";
 
 export const labelWithHint = (label: React.ReactNode, hint: string): React.ReactNode => (
@@ -85,6 +88,42 @@ export const KeyAgentAndSkillFields = ({
   </>
 );
 
+type KeyEditForm = Pick<
+  UseFormReturn<KeyEditFormValues, unknown, KeyEditFormValues>,
+  "control" | "getValues" | "setValue"
+>;
+
+export const moveMetadataTagsToTagsField = (form: KeyEditForm): void => {
+  const moved = moveTagsOutOfMetadataJson(form.getValues("metadata"), form.getValues("tags"));
+  if (moved === null) return;
+  form.setValue("metadata", moved.metadata, { shouldDirty: true });
+  form.setValue("tags", moved.tags, { shouldDirty: true });
+  if (moved.movedTags.length > 0) {
+    toast.info(`Moved ${moved.movedTags.join(", ")} from metadata to the Tags field`);
+  }
+};
+
+export const KeyMetadataField = ({ form }: { form: KeyEditForm }) => (
+  <FormField
+    control={form.control}
+    name="metadata"
+    label="Metadata"
+    description="Tags are managed by the Tags field above. A tags array typed here is moved to that field."
+  >
+    {(field) => (
+      <Textarea
+        {...field}
+        value={(field.value as string | undefined) ?? ""}
+        rows={10}
+        onBlur={() => {
+          field.onBlur();
+          moveMetadataTagsToTagsField(form);
+        }}
+      />
+    )}
+  </FormField>
+);
+
 export const KeyBudgetNumberField = ({
   control,
   name,
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/keyEditFieldNormalizers.test.ts b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/keyEditFieldNormalizers.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..9223cc6dbc8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/keyEditFieldNormalizers.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+import { moveTagsOutOfMetadataJson } from "./keyEditFieldNormalizers";
+
+describe("moveTagsOutOfMetadataJson", () => {
+  it("moves a tags array out of the JSON and appends it to the current tags", () => {
+    expect(moveTagsOutOfMetadataJson('{"tags": ["pilot-tag"], "env": "non-prod"}', ["ui-tag"])).toEqual({
+      metadata: '{\n  "env": "non-prod"\n}',
+      tags: ["ui-tag", "pilot-tag"],
+      movedTags: ["pilot-tag"],
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("drops duplicates and non-string entries without reporting them as moved", () => {
+    expect(moveTagsOutOfMetadataJson('{"tags": ["a", "a", "ui-tag", 7, null]}', ["ui-tag"])).toEqual({
+      metadata: "{}",
+      tags: ["ui-tag", "a"],
+      movedTags: ["a"],
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("trims whitespace and drops blank entries the same way the Tags control does", () => {
+    expect(moveTagsOutOfMetadataJson('{"tags": [" a ", "a", "   ", "", " ui-tag"]}', ["ui-tag"])).toEqual({
+      metadata: "{}",
+      tags: ["ui-tag", "a"],
+      movedTags: ["a"],
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("strips an empty tags array while moving nothing", () => {
+    expect(moveTagsOutOfMetadataJson('{"tags": []}', undefined)).toEqual({
+      metadata: "{}",
+      tags: [],
+      movedTags: [],
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("is a no-op when there is no tags array to move", () => {
+    expect(moveTagsOutOfMetadataJson('{"env": "prod"}', ["a"])).toBeNull();
+    expect(moveTagsOutOfMetadataJson('{"tags": "not-an-array"}', ["a"])).toBeNull();
+    expect(moveTagsOutOfMetadataJson("", ["a"])).toBeNull();
+    expect(moveTagsOutOfMetadataJson(undefined, ["a"])).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("leaves invalid or non-object JSON alone so the save path can report it", () => {
+    expect(moveTagsOutOfMetadataJson('{"tags": [', ["a"])).toBeNull();
+    expect(moveTagsOutOfMetadataJson('["tags"]', ["a"])).toBeNull();
+    expect(moveTagsOutOfMetadataJson("null", ["a"])).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/keyEditFieldNormalizers.ts b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/keyEditFieldNormalizers.ts
index c8b8a689dae..1cfd1ae35f7 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/keyEditFieldNormalizers.ts
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/keyEditFieldNormalizers.ts
@@ -34,6 +34,39 @@ export const modelSentinelOptions = (
   return teamLoaded ? [{ value: "all-team-models", label: "All Team Models" }] : [];
 };
 
+export type MovedMetadataTags = {
+  metadata: string;
+  tags: string[];
+  movedTags: string[];
+};
+
+const parseJsonObject = (text: string): Record<string, unknown> | null => {
+  try {
+    const parsed: unknown = JSON.parse(text);
+    return parsed !== null && typeof parsed === "object" && !Array.isArray(parsed)
+      ? (parsed as Record<string, unknown>)
+      : null;
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+};
+
+export const moveTagsOutOfMetadataJson = (
+  metadataJson: string | undefined,
+  currentTags: readonly string[] | undefined,
+): MovedMetadataTags | null => {
+  const parsed = metadataJson === undefined ? null : parseJsonObject(metadataJson);
+  if (parsed === null) return null;
+  const { tags: metadataTags, ...rest } = parsed;
+  if (!Array.isArray(metadataTags)) return null;
+  const existing = currentTags ?? [];
+  const movedTags = metadataTags
+    .filter((tag: unknown): tag is string => typeof tag === "string")
+    .map((tag) => tag.trim())
+    .filter((tag, index, all) => tag.length > 0 && !existing.includes(tag) && all.indexOf(tag) === index);
+  return { metadata: JSON.stringify(rest, null, 2), tags: [...existing, ...movedTags], movedTags };
+};
+
 export const currentValuePlaceholder = (
   premiumUser: boolean,
   current: unknown,
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/key_edit_view.integration.test.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/key_edit_view.integration.test.tsx
index cbe17b67865..d3a7bf10c2f 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/key_edit_view.integration.test.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/key_edit_view.integration.test.tsx
@@ -2180,6 +2180,32 @@ describe("KeyEditView", () => {
       expect(onSubmitMock.mock.calls[0][0].tags).toEqual(["test-tag", "typed-tag"]);
     });
 
+    it("moves a tags array typed into the metadata JSON into the Tags control on blur", async () => {
+      renderForPayload(vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined));
+      await screen.findByRole("button", { name: /save changes/i });
+
+      const metadata = screen.getByLabelText("Metadata");
+      fireEvent.change(metadata, { target: { value: '{"tags": ["pilot-tag"], "env": "non-prod"}' } });
+      fireEvent.blur(metadata);
+
+      expect(await screen.findByText("pilot-tag")).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(metadata).toHaveValue('{\n  "env": "non-prod"\n}');
+    });
+
+    it("carries a tags array typed into the metadata JSON into the payload even without a blur", async () => {
+      const onSubmitMock = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+      renderForPayload(onSubmitMock);
+      await screen.findByRole("button", { name: /save changes/i });
+
+      fireEvent.change(screen.getByLabelText("Metadata"), { target: { value: '{"tags": ["pilot-tag"]}' } });
+      fireEvent.submit(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /save changes/i }));
+
+      await waitFor(() => {
+        expect(onSubmitMock).toHaveBeenCalled();
+      });
+      expect(onSubmitMock.mock.calls[0][0]).toMatchObject({ tags: ["test-tag", "pilot-tag"], metadata: "{}" });
+    });
+
     const pickFromCombobox = async (inputLabel: RegExp | string, optionName: RegExp | string) => {
       await userEvent.click(screen.getByLabelText(inputLabel));
       await userEvent.click(await screen.findByRole("option", { name: optionName }));
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/key_edit_view.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/key_edit_view.tsx
index d327db21a9e..022e85e51d7 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/key_edit_view.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/key_edit_view.tsx
@@ -31,7 +31,14 @@ import {
   modelSentinelOptions,
   parseAllowedRoutes,
 } from "./keyEditFieldNormalizers";
-import { KeyAgentAndSkillFields, KeyBudgetNumberField, KeyTypeSelect, labelWithHint } from "./KeyEditViewControls";
+import {
+  KeyAgentAndSkillFields,
+  KeyBudgetNumberField,
+  KeyMetadataField,
+  KeyTypeSelect,
+  labelWithHint,
+  moveMetadataTagsToTagsField,
+} from "./KeyEditViewControls";
 import {
   KeyEditFormValues,
   keyEditFormSchema,
@@ -341,9 +348,12 @@ export function KeyEditView({
   return (
     <TooltipProvider>
       <form
-        onSubmit={form.handleSubmit((values) =>
-          handleSubmit(toSubmittedValues(values, { canViewPolicies, canViewPrompts })),
-        )}
+        onSubmit={(event) => {
+          moveMetadataTagsToTagsField(form);
+          return form.handleSubmit((values) =>
+            handleSubmit(toSubmittedValues(values, { canViewPolicies, canViewPrompts })),
+          )(event);
+        }}
       >
         <FieldGroup>
           <FormField control={form.control} name="key_alias" label="Key Alias">
@@ -843,9 +853,7 @@ export function KeyEditView({
             )}
           </FormField>
 
-          <FormField control={form.control} name="metadata" label="Metadata">
-            {(field) => <Textarea {...field} value={(field.value as string | undefined) ?? ""} rows={10} />}
-          </FormField>
+          <KeyMetadataField form={form} />
 
           <div className="mb-4">
             <FormField control={form.control} name="duration">