diff --git a/hermes_cli/config.py b/hermes_cli/config.py
index d53899b135..1dedc1710a 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/config.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/config.py
@@ -2861,7 +2861,7 @@ _FALLBACK_COMMENT = """
 #   minimax      (MINIMAX_API_KEY)     — MiniMax
 #   minimax-cn   (MINIMAX_CN_API_KEY)  — MiniMax (China)
 #
-# For custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints, add base_url and api_key_env.
+# For custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints, add base_url and key_env.
 #
 # fallback_model:
 #   provider: openrouter
@@ -2905,7 +2905,7 @@ _COMMENTED_SECTIONS = """
 #   minimax      (MINIMAX_API_KEY)     — MiniMax
 #   minimax-cn   (MINIMAX_CN_API_KEY)  — MiniMax (China)
 #
-# For custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints, add base_url and api_key_env.
+# For custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints, add base_url and key_env.
 #
 # fallback_model:
 #   provider: openrouter
diff --git a/website/docs/integrations/providers.md b/website/docs/integrations/providers.md
index 4f536ec749..9d32fc21ec 100644
--- a/website/docs/integrations/providers.md
+++ b/website/docs/integrations/providers.md
@@ -1052,11 +1052,11 @@ custom_providers:
     # api_key omitted — Hermes uses "no-key-required" for keyless local servers
   - name: work
     base_url: https://gpu-server.internal.corp/v1
-    api_key: corp-api-key
+    key_env: CORP_API_KEY
     api_mode: chat_completions   # optional, auto-detected from URL
   - name: anthropic-proxy
     base_url: https://proxy.example.com/anthropic
-    api_key: proxy-key
+    key_env: ANTHROPIC_PROXY_KEY
     api_mode: anthropic_messages  # for Anthropic-compatible proxies
 ```
 
@@ -1154,7 +1154,7 @@ fallback_model:
   provider: openrouter                    # required
   model: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4        # required
   # base_url: http://localhost:8000/v1    # optional, for custom endpoints
-  # api_key_env: MY_CUSTOM_KEY           # optional, env var name for custom endpoint API key
+  # key_env: MY_CUSTOM_KEY               # optional, env var name for custom endpoint API key
 ```
 
 When activated, the fallback swaps the model and provider mid-session without losing your conversation. It fires **at most once** per session.
@@ -1178,7 +1178,7 @@ smart_model_routing:
     provider: openrouter
     model: google/gemini-2.5-flash
     # base_url: http://localhost:8000/v1  # optional custom endpoint
-    # api_key_env: MY_CUSTOM_KEY          # optional env var name for that endpoint's API key
+    # key_env: MY_CUSTOM_KEY              # optional env var name for that endpoint's API key
 ```
 
 How it works:
diff --git a/website/docs/user-guide/features/fallback-providers.md b/website/docs/user-guide/features/fallback-providers.md
index 2e9bcad99b..01e5524f6a 100644
--- a/website/docs/user-guide/features/fallback-providers.md
+++ b/website/docs/user-guide/features/fallback-providers.md
@@ -61,18 +61,18 @@ Both `provider` and `model` are **required**. If either is missing, the fallback
 | Arcee AI | `arcee` | `ARCEEAI_API_KEY` |
 | Alibaba / DashScope | `alibaba` | `DASHSCOPE_API_KEY` |
 | Hugging Face | `huggingface` | `HF_TOKEN` |
-| Custom endpoint | `custom` | `base_url` + `api_key_env` (see below) |
+| Custom endpoint | `custom` | `base_url` + `key_env` (see below) |
 
 ### Custom Endpoint Fallback
 
-For a custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint, add `base_url` and optionally `api_key_env`:
+For a custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint, add `base_url` and optionally `key_env`:
 
 ```yaml
 fallback_model:
   provider: custom
   model: my-local-model
   base_url: http://localhost:8000/v1
-  api_key_env: MY_LOCAL_KEY          # env var name containing the API key
+  key_env: MY_LOCAL_KEY              # env var name containing the API key
 ```
 
 ### When Fallback Triggers
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ fallback_model:
   provider: custom
   model: llama-3.1-70b
   base_url: http://localhost:8000/v1
-  api_key_env: LOCAL_API_KEY
+  key_env: LOCAL_API_KEY
 ```
 
 **Codex OAuth as fallback:**