BYOK Connect but no tool access

[qwertyaya]

Using Claude as the Cli agent was working without any issues, after i reached 100% usage i decided you use BYOK with anthropic api key.
after switching i instructed the agent to continue with adjusting the design, after that it looked like he didnt had any access to inner tools.
The agent output was either of the tool usage or the html he was generating for the new design but didnt edit or created any new files.

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[lefarcen]

Hi @qwertyaya! Thanks for the detailed report with screenshots — that helped pinpoint the issue quickly.

This is a confirmed product gap in the current BYOK/API path. Here's what's happening:

When you switch from Local CLI (Claude Code) to BYOK with your Anthropic API key, Open Design changes the execution path. Instead of spawning Claude Code as a local agent with full filesystem access, it routes your turns through the Anthropic API provider. That API path currently streams model text only — it doesn't register or execute Read/Write/Edit tools yet.

So the model tries to satisfy your design requests by outputting HTML/CSS code in markdown, but Open Design has no code in that path to apply those edits to files. The connection is successful, but the tool loop isn't there yet.

Workaround for now: Switch back to Local CLI mode in Settings and select Claude Code (or another installed coding agent like Codex) when you need actual file edits. BYOK/API mode can generate text and artifacts, but it can't edit project files yet.

Related history: This gap is tracked in #313, #699, and attempted in #719. The team is aware and considering either implementing the documented API fallback tool loop or at minimum adding a clear UI warning that BYOK/API mode can't edit files yet.

Thanks for bringing this up — clear user reports like yours help us prioritize what to fix!

[lefarcen]

This issue has been open for a while and the scope looks ready for follow-up, so I’ve assigned @PerishCode to take the next pass on implementation/triage.

[PerishCode]

Looper finished work on this issue.

Pull request: #2943

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[lefarcen]

Hi @qwertyaya — PR #2943 is now open for the UI-side fix.

The change keeps the known BYOK/API limitation as-is for now, but adds a visible Settings → Execution warning so users know API/BYOK mode can return text or HTML without file-edit tools, and should switch to Local CLI when they need edits applied. We'll keep this issue open until the PR lands and the fix is available.

[lefarcen]

Hi @qwertyaya — PR #2943 has merged and this issue is now closed by that change.

What shipped is a Settings → Execution warning for BYOK/API mode: it now tells users that API mode does not have Read / Write / Edit file tools, so design-file edits should use Local CLI mode instead. This does not add the full BYOK file-edit tool loop yet, but it should prevent the confusing “connected but not editing files” experience you reported.

If you still don’t see that warning in the latest build/release path, please comment here and we can reopen or follow up.