# Windows Claude Code OpenAI key triage

## The failure mode

User says: *"I added the OpenAI key into Claude Code via my local terminal."*

Agent reflex: grep the VPS for the key prefix, find it in Hermes `config.yaml`, and conclude the owner is Hermes VPS.

Reality: the key may have been set in Windows-side Claude Code config and be completely unrelated to the Hermes VPS config block.

## Why VPS grep is insufficient

- `C:\Users\Rob\.claude\settings.json` and `settings.local.json` are not synced to the VPS.
- The terminal session that launched Claude Code on Windows may have the key in env only; that state never reaches Linux.
- Hermes VPS config may contain its own OpenAI key for `image_gen/openai`, which is a separate concern from Claude Code.

## Triage recipe

1. **Ask the user explicitly:** "Did you set that in Claude Code on Windows, or in Hermes config?"
2. **If Windows Claude Code:** inspect on Windows:
   - `C:\Users\Rob\.claude\settings.json`
   - `C:\Users\Rob\.claude\settings.local.json`
   - env of the Claude Code launch terminal for `OPENAI_API_KEY`
3. **If Hermes:** inspect VPS `~/.hermes/config.yaml` and any profile-specific `config.yaml` under `~/.hermes/profiles/*/`.
4. **To identify the app on OpenAI's side:** have the user check https://platform.openai.com/api-keys for the key's name, project, and last-used timestamp; usage window usually distinguishes Hermes image-gen calls from Claude Code chat calls.

## Rule

A key prefix present on the VPS does not prove the user set it there. Absence of the key on the VPS does not prove the user didn't set it somewhere else.