diff --git a/src/lib/providers/validation.ts b/src/lib/providers/validation.ts
index e4ea04e0f4..d451dc60f5 100644
--- a/src/lib/providers/validation.ts
+++ b/src/lib/providers/validation.ts
@@ -3718,8 +3718,43 @@ export async function validateProviderApiKey({ provider, apiKey, providerSpecifi
   // ── Specialty provider validation ──
   const SPECIALTY_VALIDATORS = {
     jules: validateJulesProvider,
-    qoder: ({ apiKey, providerSpecificData }: any) =>
-      validateQoderCliPat({ apiKey, providerSpecificData }),
+    qoder: async ({ apiKey, providerSpecificData }: any) => {
+      // Bifurcate validation: PAT tokens use Cosy auth against api1.qoder.sh;
+      // regular API keys validate against dashscope (OpenAI-compatible endpoint).
+      const key = (apiKey || "").trim();
+      if (key.startsWith("pt-")) {
+        return validateQoderCliPat({ apiKey: key, providerSpecificData });
+      }
+      // Non-PAT token → validate against dashscope (Alibaba Cloud).
+      // The executor routes these tokens to dashscope.aliyuncs.com, so the
+      // validation must test against dashscope, NOT the Cosy PAT endpoint.
+      try {
+        const dashscopeUrl =
+          "https://dashscope.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1/models";
+        const res = await validationRead(
+          dashscopeUrl,
+          {
+            headers: {
+              Authorization: `Bearer ${key}`,
+            },
+          },
+          false
+        );
+        if (res.ok) return { valid: true, error: null };
+        if (res.status === 401 || res.status === 403) {
+          return {
+            valid: false,
+            error:
+              "Invalid Qoder API key. Make sure you're using a valid API key from Qoder / Alibaba Cloud Dashscope.",
+          };
+        }
+        // 4xx/5xx other than auth — treat as valid bypass to prevent false
+        // negatives from transient dashscope issues (consistent with PAT path).
+        return { valid: true, error: null };
+      } catch (err: unknown) {
+        return toValidationErrorResult(err);
+      }
+    },
     "command-code": validateCommandCodeProvider,
     deepgram: validateDeepgramProvider,
     assemblyai: validateAssemblyAIProvider,
diff --git a/tests/unit/provider-validation-hardening.test.ts b/tests/unit/provider-validation-hardening.test.ts
index 9bbeba99e9..839826679a 100644
--- a/tests/unit/provider-validation-hardening.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/provider-validation-hardening.test.ts
@@ -188,3 +188,43 @@ test("#2545 gemini validation does not produce /models/models", async () => {
     `outbound URL must hit a single /models segment — got ${calls.join(", ")}`
   );
 });
+
+test("qoder regular API key validates against dashscope, not the Cosy PAT endpoint (#3149)", async () => {
+  const calls: string[] = [];
+  globalThis.fetch = async (url: any, init: any) => {
+    calls.push(String(url));
+    const auth = new Headers(init?.headers as HeadersInit | undefined).get("authorization");
+    assert.equal(auth, "Bearer sk-qoder-regular", "dashscope probe must forward the API key");
+    return new Response(JSON.stringify({ data: [] }), { status: 200 });
+  };
+
+  const result = await validateProviderApiKey({
+    provider: "qoder",
+    apiKey: "sk-qoder-regular",
+    providerSpecificData: {},
+  });
+
+  assert.equal(result.valid, true);
+  assert.ok(
+    calls.some((u) => u.includes("dashscope.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1/models")),
+    `regular qoder key must validate against dashscope — got ${calls.join(", ")}`
+  );
+  assert.ok(
+    !calls.some((u) => u.includes("api1.qoder.sh")),
+    "regular (non-PAT) key must not hit the Cosy PAT endpoint"
+  );
+});
+
+test("qoder regular API key surfaces an auth error when dashscope rejects it (#3149)", async () => {
+  globalThis.fetch = async () =>
+    new Response(JSON.stringify({ error: { message: "invalid api key" } }), { status: 401 });
+
+  const result = await validateProviderApiKey({
+    provider: "qoder",
+    apiKey: "sk-qoder-bad",
+    providerSpecificData: {},
+  });
+
+  assert.equal(result.valid, false);
+  assert.match(result.error, /Qoder|Dashscope|API key/i);
+});