diff --git a/lang_agent/config/__init__.py b/lang_agent/config/__init__.py
index da957f1..eddbded 100644
--- a/lang_agent/config/__init__.py
+++ b/lang_agent/config/__init__.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ from lang_agent.config.core_config import (
     LLMKeyConfig,
     LLMNodeConfig,
     load_tyro_conf,
+    resolve_llm_api_key,
 )
 
 from lang_agent.config.constants import (
diff --git a/lang_agent/config/core_config.py b/lang_agent/config/core_config.py
index 9b1afed..ca4a4b8 100644
--- a/lang_agent/config/core_config.py
+++ b/lang_agent/config/core_config.py
@@ -10,6 +10,20 @@ from dotenv import load_dotenv
 
 load_dotenv()
 
+
+def resolve_llm_api_key(api_key: Optional[str]) -> Optional[str]:
+    """Resolve the API key for OpenAI-compatible providers."""
+    if api_key not in (None, "", "wrong-key"):
+        resolved_key = api_key
+    else:
+        resolved_key = os.environ.get("ALI_API_KEY") or os.environ.get("OPENAI_API_KEY")
+
+    # Some OpenAI-compatible integrations still read OPENAI_API_KEY from env.
+    if resolved_key and not os.environ.get("OPENAI_API_KEY"):
+        os.environ["OPENAI_API_KEY"] = resolved_key
+
+    return resolved_key
+
 ## NOTE: base classes taken from nerfstudio
 class PrintableConfig:
     """
@@ -99,12 +113,12 @@ class LLMKeyConfig(InstantiateConfig):
     """api key for llm"""
 
     def __post_init__(self):
-        if self.api_key == "wrong-key" or self.api_key is None:
-            self.api_key = os.environ.get("ALI_API_KEY")
-            if self.api_key is None:
-                logger.error(f"no ALI_API_KEY provided for embedding")
-            else:
-                logger.info("ALI_API_KEY loaded from environ")
+        original_api_key = self.api_key
+        self.api_key = resolve_llm_api_key(self.api_key)
+        if self.api_key is None:
+            logger.error("no ALI_API_KEY or OPENAI_API_KEY provided for embedding")
+        elif original_api_key in (None, "", "wrong-key"):
+            logger.info("LLM API key loaded from environment")
 
 
 @dataclass
diff --git a/lang_agent/pipeline.py b/lang_agent/pipeline.py
index c79beec..a3b72e9 100644
--- a/lang_agent/pipeline.py
+++ b/lang_agent/pipeline.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ from langchain_core.messages import SystemMessage, HumanMessage, BaseMessage
 from langchain.agents import create_agent
 from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import MemorySaver
 
-from lang_agent.config import LLMNodeConfig, load_tyro_conf
+from lang_agent.config import LLMNodeConfig, load_tyro_conf, resolve_llm_api_key
 from lang_agent.graphs import AnnotatedGraph, ReactGraphConfig, RoutingConfig
 from lang_agent.base import GraphBase
 from lang_agent.components import conv_store
@@ -104,7 +104,13 @@ class Pipeline:
                 if self.config.base_url is not None
                 else self.config.graph_config.base_url
             )
-            self.config.graph_config.api_key = self.config.api_key
+            pipeline_api_key = resolve_llm_api_key(self.config.api_key)
+            graph_api_key = resolve_llm_api_key(
+                getattr(self.config.graph_config, "api_key", None)
+            )
+            resolved_api_key = pipeline_api_key or graph_api_key
+            self.config.api_key = resolved_api_key
+            self.config.graph_config.api_key = resolved_api_key
 
         self.graph: GraphBase = self.config.graph_config.setup()