Missing credentials

Symptom#

You run scaiflux, scaiflux repl, or scaiflux prompt "..." and see one of:

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No model configured. Pass --model <slug>, set `model` in .scaiflux.json,
or run `scaiflux setup` to configure ScaiFlux for the first time.

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ScaiFlux has no credentials configured. Run `scaiflux setup` to do
the first-time configuration (endpoint + API key + default model).

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AuthError: No inference credentials found. Run `scaiflux login` to
authenticate with ScaiKey, or set SCAIGRID_API_KEY + SCAIGRID_BASE_URL
(or OPENAI_API_KEY for a BYO OpenAI-compatible backend).

What it means#

ScaiFlux has no way to talk to a model. It looks in three places, in order, and gives up if none have anything usable:

1. SCAIGRID_API_KEY + SCAIGRID_BASE_URL environment variables.
2. A stored session at ~/.scaiflux/credentials.json (written by scaiflux setup or scaiflux login).
3. OPENAI_API_KEY (+ optional OPENAI_BASE_URL) for a BYO OpenAI-compatible backend.

If none are set, the runtime aborts before it can do anything.

Fix#

Easiest — run the wizard:

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scaiflux setup

Three prompts: endpoint (defaults to ScaiLabs), API key (paste an sgk_live_... key from your ScaiKey dashboard), default model. The wizard writes ~/.scaiflux/credentials.json (mode 0600) and you're done.

Headless / scripted — set env vars instead:

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export SCAIGRID_BASE_URL="https://scaigrid.scailabs.ai"
export SCAIGRID_API_KEY="sgk_live_..."
scaiflux prompt "say hi"

These environment variables override any stored session, so they're also the cleanest way to test a different key without disturbing your default config.

Already ran setup but still seeing this — check whether the credentials file is where ScaiFlux looks for it:

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ls -la ~/.scaiflux/credentials.json
scaiflux doctor

The doctor report tells you exactly which credential source it resolved (or which check failed). If the file exists but the wrong user owns it (e.g. you ran setup under sudo and your non-sudo user can't read it), fix the ownership or re-run setup without sudo.

Related#

• Install — get ScaiFlux on a machine.
• Quickstart — from zero to your first prompt.