diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c1c7d30fa0..1852566414 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -94,6 +94,12 @@
   validation falls through to the chat probe for such 403s instead of returning
   "Invalid API key", and `checkFallbackError` short-circuits them to no cooldown.
   Genuine auth failures (401 / generic 403) still fail fast. (#2929)
+- **auth/opencode-zen:** the OpenCode Zen free model now works in the Playground
+  and combos without an API key. `opencode-zen` serves the public, signup-free
+  endpoint (`https://opencode.ai/zen/v1`); when no api-key connection is
+  configured, credential resolution now falls back to anonymous (no-auth) access
+  instead of failing with "No credentials for provider: opencode-zen". A
+  configured, active key is still used when present. (#2962)
 
 ### ✨ New Features
 
diff --git a/src/sse/services/auth.ts b/src/sse/services/auth.ts
index 56d093edc6..cedc25bab6 100644
--- a/src/sse/services/auth.ts
+++ b/src/sse/services/auth.ts
@@ -943,6 +943,31 @@ export async function getProviderCredentials(
           };
         }
       }
+      // #2962: opencode-zen exposes the public, signup-free OpenCode Zen endpoint
+      // (https://opencode.ai/zen/v1). With no usable API-key connection, fall back
+      // to anonymous (no-auth) access — the free tier — instead of erroring with
+      // "No credentials". This is what the Playground/combos hit when selecting an
+      // OpenCode free model. A configured, active key is still selected above; a
+      // rate-limited/terminal key returns its own signal before reaching here.
+      if (resolvedId === "opencode-zen") {
+        return {
+          apiKey: null,
+          accessToken: null,
+          refreshToken: null,
+          expiresAt: null,
+          projectId: null,
+          copilotToken: null,
+          providerSpecificData: {},
+          connectionId: "noauth",
+          testStatus: "active",
+          lastError: null,
+          lastErrorType: null,
+          lastErrorSource: null,
+          errorCode: null,
+          rateLimitedUntil: null,
+          maxConcurrent: null,
+        };
+      }
       log.warn("AUTH", `No credentials for ${provider}`);
       return null;
     }
diff --git a/tests/unit/auth-opencode-zen-noauth-fallback.test.ts b/tests/unit/auth-opencode-zen-noauth-fallback.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fd9054d686
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/auth-opencode-zen-noauth-fallback.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+/**
+ * Issue #2962 — Playground cannot use the OpenCode free model:
+ * "No credentials for the provider: opencode-zen".
+ *
+ * opencode-zen serves the public, signup-free OpenCode Zen endpoint
+ * (https://opencode.ai/zen/v1). When no API-key connection is configured,
+ * getProviderCredentials returned null → the chat handler surfaced
+ * "No credentials for provider: opencode-zen". It must instead fall back to
+ * anonymous (no-auth) credentials so the free tier works.
+ */
+import test from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+
+const TEST_DATA_DIR = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "omniroute-opencode-zen-noauth-"));
+process.env.DATA_DIR = TEST_DATA_DIR;
+
+const core = await import("../../src/lib/db/core.ts");
+const { getProviderCredentials } = await import("../../src/sse/services/auth.ts");
+
+test.after(() => {
+  core.resetDbInstance();
+  fs.rmSync(TEST_DATA_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+test("#2962 opencode-zen with no connection falls back to anonymous no-auth credentials", async () => {
+  const creds = await getProviderCredentials("opencode-zen");
+  assert.ok(creds, "opencode-zen must resolve to credentials, not null (no-auth free tier)");
+  assert.equal(
+    (creds as { connectionId?: string }).connectionId,
+    "noauth",
+    "should be synthetic no-auth credentials"
+  );
+  assert.equal(
+    (creds as { apiKey?: unknown }).apiKey,
+    null,
+    "anonymous access carries no api key"
+  );
+});
+
+test("#2962 a normal api-key provider with no connection still returns null (no over-broadening)", async () => {
+  const creds = await getProviderCredentials("openai");
+  // Must NOT synthesize no-auth creds for a real api-key provider.
+  const connectionId = (creds as { connectionId?: string } | null)?.connectionId;
+  assert.notEqual(connectionId, "noauth", "openai must not get anonymous no-auth credentials");
+});