diff --git a/crates/goose/src/providers/litellm.rs b/crates/goose/src/providers/litellm.rs
index d08e6b5c..7d99d28d 100644
--- a/crates/goose/src/providers/litellm.rs
+++ b/crates/goose/src/providers/litellm.rs
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ impl Provider for LiteLLMProvider {
             vec![],
             LITELLM_DOC_URL,
             vec![
-                ConfigKey::new("LITELLM_API_KEY", false, true, None),
+                ConfigKey::new("LITELLM_API_KEY", true, true, None),
                 ConfigKey::new("LITELLM_HOST", true, false, Some("http://localhost:4000")),
                 ConfigKey::new(
                     "LITELLM_BASE_PATH",