diff --git a/bin/cli/commands/auth-export.mjs b/bin/cli/commands/auth-export.mjs
index c968f0dab3..16ed31d872 100644
--- a/bin/cli/commands/auth-export.mjs
+++ b/bin/cli/commands/auth-export.mjs
@@ -22,8 +22,15 @@ const VALID_FORMATS = new Set(["json", "env"]);
 const SECURE_FILE_MODE = 0o600;
 
 export function registerAuthExport(program) {
+  // #11226: `.command("auth export")` does NOT register a two-word command — commander
+  // parses the bare word `export` as a required positional argument of `auth`, so the
+  // action received (exportArgValue, options, command) while expecting (options, command)
+  // and crashed with "cmd.optsWithGlobals is not a function". Register `export` as a
+  // proper nested subcommand instead; the CLI surface stays `omniroute auth export`.
   program
-    .command("auth export")
+    .command("auth")
+    .description(t("authExport.description"))
+    .command("export")
     .description(t("authExport.description"))
     .option("--id <id>", t("authExport.idOpt"))
     .option("--format <format>", t("authExport.formatOpt"), "json")
diff --git a/bin/cli/provider-test.mjs b/bin/cli/provider-test.mjs
index 4ab68bcde0..13cf9644bc 100644
--- a/bin/cli/provider-test.mjs
+++ b/bin/cli/provider-test.mjs
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ const PROVIDER_TEST_CONFIGS = {
     format: "openai",
     baseUrl: "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
     model: "openai/gpt-4o-mini",
+    // #11226: /models is public on OpenRouter (200 with any or no key) — probe the
+    // authenticated key-info endpoint instead so a bad key fails the test here
+    // instead of on the first real chat request.
+    keyCheckPath: "/auth/key",
   },
   groq: {
     format: "openai",
@@ -101,13 +105,19 @@ async function testOpenAILikeProvider(input, config) {
     "Content-Type": "application/json",
   };
 
-  const modelsRes = await fetchWithTimeout(joinUrl(config.baseUrl, "/models"), {
-    method: "GET",
-    headers,
-  });
+  // Providers whose /models endpoint is public (e.g. OpenRouter) declare a
+  // keyCheckPath pointing at an authenticated endpoint so the probe actually
+  // exercises the key instead of the public catalog.
+  const probeRes = await fetchWithTimeout(
+    joinUrl(config.baseUrl, config.keyCheckPath || "/models"),
+    {
+      method: "GET",
+      headers,
+    }
+  );
 
-  if (modelsRes.ok || modelsRes.status === 401 || modelsRes.status === 403) {
-    return classifyResponse(modelsRes);
+  if (probeRes.ok || probeRes.status === 401 || probeRes.status === 403) {
+    return classifyResponse(probeRes);
   }
 
   const chatRes = await fetchWithTimeout(joinUrl(config.baseUrl, "/chat/completions"), {
diff --git a/open-sse/config/providers/registry/openrouter/index.ts b/open-sse/config/providers/registry/openrouter/index.ts
index 1116badd4d..b8302c9580 100644
--- a/open-sse/config/providers/registry/openrouter/index.ts
+++ b/open-sse/config/providers/registry/openrouter/index.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@ export const openrouterProvider: RegistryEntry = {
   authType: "apikey",
   authHeader: "bearer",
   defaultContextLength: 128000,
+  // #11226: OpenRouter's /api/v1/models is PUBLIC (200 with any or no key), so the
+  // generic /models probe validated every key — even garbage ones — and bad keys
+  // only surfaced later as upstream 401 "User not found." on real chat traffic.
+  // /api/v1/auth/key is the authenticated key-info endpoint: 200 = valid, 401 = invalid.
+  testKeyModelsUrl: "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/auth/key",
   headers: {
     "HTTP-Referer": "https://endpoint-proxy.local",
     "X-Title": "Endpoint Proxy",
diff --git a/tests/unit/cli-auth-export-wiring.test.ts b/tests/unit/cli-auth-export-wiring.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..798b13c753
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/cli-auth-export-wiring.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+// #11226 — `omniroute auth export` crashed with "cmd.optsWithGlobals is not a
+// function" because the command was registered as `.command("auth export")`:
+// commander parses the bare word `export` as a REQUIRED POSITIONAL ARGUMENT, so
+// the action received ("export", options, command) while its signature expected
+// (options, command) — the classic opts/cmd swap. The fix registers `export` as
+// a proper nested subcommand of `auth`, restoring the documented CLI surface
+// (docs/reference/CLI-TOOLS.md): `omniroute auth export [--force] [--id] [--format] [--out]`.
+//
+// These tests exercise the REAL commander wiring via createProgram() — no DB is
+// touched on any of these paths (the no-force gate prints and returns before any
+// DB access; an invalid --format fails validation before opening the DB).
+import test from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+
+import { createProgram } from "../../bin/cli/program.mjs";
+
+function captureConsole(): { captured: { logs: string[]; errors: string[] }; restore: () => void } {
+  const originalLog = console.log;
+  const originalError = console.error;
+  const captured = { logs: [] as string[], errors: [] as string[] };
+  console.log = (msg?: unknown) => {
+    captured.logs.push(String(msg ?? ""));
+  };
+  console.error = (msg?: unknown) => {
+    captured.errors.push(String(msg ?? ""));
+  };
+  return {
+    captured,
+    restore: () => {
+      console.log = originalLog;
+      console.error = originalError;
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+function stubProcessExit(): { exitCodes: number[]; restore: () => void } {
+  const originalExit = process.exit;
+  const exitCodes: number[] = [];
+  process.exit = ((code?: number) => {
+    exitCodes.push(code ?? 0);
+  }) as typeof process.exit;
+  return {
+    exitCodes,
+    restore: () => {
+      process.exit = originalExit;
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+test("auth command exposes 'export' as a subcommand, not a positional argument", () => {
+  const program = createProgram();
+  const auth = program.commands.find((c) => c.name() === "auth");
+  assert.ok(auth, "auth command exists");
+
+  const exportCmd = auth.commands.find((c) => c.name() === "export");
+  assert.ok(exportCmd, "export must be a nested subcommand of auth");
+
+  const registeredArgs = (auth as unknown as { registeredArguments?: unknown[] })
+    .registeredArguments;
+  assert.equal(
+    registeredArgs?.length ?? 0,
+    0,
+    "auth must not declare positional arguments (a bare word in .command() becomes one)"
+  );
+});
+
+test("auth export action receives (options, command): flags reach the handler end-to-end", async () => {
+  const program = createProgram();
+  const exitStub = stubProcessExit();
+  const { captured, restore } = captureConsole();
+  try {
+    // --format bogus makes runAuthExportCommand return 1 BEFORE any DB access;
+    // the action must then call process.exit(1). With the opts/cmd swap this
+    // parse rejects with "cmd.optsWithGlobals is not a function" instead.
+    await program.parseAsync([
+      "node",
+      "omniroute",
+      "auth",
+      "export",
+      "--force",
+      "--format",
+      "bogus",
+    ]);
+  } finally {
+    restore();
+    exitStub.restore();
+  }
+
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    exitStub.exitCodes,
+    [1],
+    "handler must receive --format and exit 1 on bogus value"
+  );
+  assert.ok(
+    captured.errors.join("\n").includes("Invalid format"),
+    `expected the invalid-format error, got: ${captured.errors.join(" | ")}`
+  );
+});
+
+test("auth export without --force prints the confirmation gate (no crash, no DB)", async () => {
+  const program = createProgram();
+  const exitStub = stubProcessExit();
+  const { captured, restore } = captureConsole();
+  try {
+    await program.parseAsync(["node", "omniroute", "auth", "export"]);
+  } finally {
+    restore();
+    exitStub.restore();
+  }
+
+  assert.deepEqual(exitStub.exitCodes, [], "dry run exits 0 without calling process.exit");
+  assert.ok(
+    captured.logs.join("\n").includes("DECRYPTED"),
+    `expected the confirmation gate, got: ${captured.logs.join(" | ")}`
+  );
+});
+
+test("auth rejects an unknown positional (was silently accepted as the 'export' argument)", async () => {
+  const program = createProgram();
+  await assert.rejects(
+    program.parseAsync(["node", "omniroute", "auth", "bogus-word"]),
+    (err: unknown) => {
+      assert.ok(err instanceof Error);
+      assert.match(
+        (err as { code?: string }).code || "",
+        /commander\.(unknownCommand|helpDisplayed)/
+      );
+      return true;
+    }
+  );
+});
diff --git a/tests/unit/openrouter-key-validation-auth-endpoint.test.ts b/tests/unit/openrouter-key-validation-auth-endpoint.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f636bd6dee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/openrouter-key-validation-auth-endpoint.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+// #11226 — OpenRouter key validation was vacuous: the probe targeted the PUBLIC
+// /api/v1/models endpoint, which answers 200 to any key (or no key at all), so a
+// bad key was saved as "valid" and only failed later on real chat traffic with the
+// upstream 401 "User not found.". The authenticated key-info endpoint
+// (/api/v1/auth/key) is the correct probe: 200 = valid, 401 = invalid.
+//
+// The fetch stubs below mimic the REAL OpenRouter behavior verified live:
+//   GET /api/v1/models   → 200 without any auth (public catalog)
+//   GET /api/v1/auth/key → 401 {"error":{"message":"User not found.","code":401}} for a bad key
+import { describe, it } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+
+const { getRegistryEntry } = await import("../../open-sse/config/providerRegistry.ts");
+const { validateProviderApiKey } = await import("../../src/lib/providers/validation.ts");
+const { testProviderApiKey } = await import("../../bin/cli/provider-test.mjs");
+
+const AUTH_KEY_URL = "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/auth/key";
+const PUBLIC_MODELS_URL = "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/models";
+
+const BAD_KEY = "sk-or-v1-definitely-invalid-key";
+const GOOD_KEY = "sk-or-v1-valid-key";
+
+interface RecordedCall {
+  url: string;
+  authorization: string | null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Stub fetch with the real OpenRouter behavior: /models is public (always 200),
+ * /auth/key requires a valid bearer (401 "User not found." otherwise).
+ */
+function stubRealOpenRouter() {
+  const calls: RecordedCall[] = [];
+  const originalFetch = globalThis.fetch;
+  globalThis.fetch = (async (input: string | URL | Request, init?: RequestInit) => {
+    const url = typeof input === "string" ? input : input instanceof URL ? input.href : input.url;
+    const headers = new Headers(
+      init?.headers ?? (input instanceof Request ? input.headers : undefined)
+    );
+    calls.push({ url, authorization: headers.get("authorization") });
+
+    if (url.startsWith(AUTH_KEY_URL)) {
+      const bearer = headers.get("authorization") || "";
+      if (bearer === `Bearer ${GOOD_KEY}`) {
+        return new Response(JSON.stringify({ data: { label: "ok", is_free_tier: false } }), {
+          status: 200,
+        });
+      }
+      return new Response(JSON.stringify({ error: { message: "User not found.", code: 401 } }), {
+        status: 401,
+      });
+    }
+    if (url.includes("/models")) {
+      // Public catalog — answers 200 regardless of the Authorization header.
+      return new Response(JSON.stringify({ data: [] }), { status: 200 });
+    }
+    return new Response("{}", { status: 404 });
+  }) as typeof fetch;
+  return {
+    calls,
+    restore: () => {
+      globalThis.fetch = originalFetch;
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+describe("openrouter registry — authenticated key-validation endpoint (#11226)", () => {
+  it("declares the authenticated /auth/key probe as its key-test endpoint", () => {
+    const entry = getRegistryEntry("openrouter");
+    assert.ok(entry, "openrouter must be registered in the execution registry");
+    assert.equal(entry.testKeyModelsUrl, AUTH_KEY_URL);
+  });
+
+  it("marks a bad key INVALID even though the public /models endpoint answers 200", async () => {
+    const stub = stubRealOpenRouter();
+    try {
+      const result = await validateProviderApiKey({ provider: "openrouter", apiKey: BAD_KEY });
+      assert.equal(result.valid, false, "bad key must not validate against the public catalog");
+      assert.equal(result.error, "Invalid API key");
+      assert.deepEqual(
+        stub.calls.map((c) => c.url),
+        [AUTH_KEY_URL],
+        "must probe the authenticated key endpoint, not the public /models"
+      );
+      assert.equal(stub.calls[0].authorization, `Bearer ${BAD_KEY}`);
+    } finally {
+      stub.restore();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("marks a good key VALID via /auth/key and never falls back to the chat probe", async () => {
+    const stub = stubRealOpenRouter();
+    try {
+      const result = await validateProviderApiKey({ provider: "openrouter", apiKey: GOOD_KEY });
+      assert.equal(result.valid, true);
+      assert.equal(result.error, null);
+      assert.deepEqual(
+        stub.calls.map((c) => c.url),
+        [AUTH_KEY_URL]
+      );
+    } finally {
+      stub.restore();
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+describe("omniroute providers test — openrouter probe (#11226)", () => {
+  it("marks a bad key INVALID even though the public /models endpoint answers 200", async () => {
+    const stub = stubRealOpenRouter();
+    try {
+      const result = await testProviderApiKey({ provider: "openrouter", apiKey: BAD_KEY });
+      assert.equal(result.valid, false, "CLI test must not trust the public /models endpoint");
+      assert.equal(result.error, "Invalid API key");
+      assert.deepEqual(
+        stub.calls.map((c) => c.url),
+        [AUTH_KEY_URL]
+      );
+    } finally {
+      stub.restore();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("marks a good key VALID via /auth/key", async () => {
+    const stub = stubRealOpenRouter();
+    try {
+      const result = await testProviderApiKey({ provider: "openrouter", apiKey: GOOD_KEY });
+      assert.equal(result.valid, true);
+      assert.equal(result.error, null);
+      assert.deepEqual(
+        stub.calls.map((c) => c.url),
+        [AUTH_KEY_URL]
+      );
+    } finally {
+      stub.restore();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("does not change the probe for other OpenAI-like providers (openai still uses /models)", async () => {
+    const stub = stubRealOpenRouter();
+    try {
+      const result = await testProviderApiKey({ provider: "openai", apiKey: GOOD_KEY });
+      assert.equal(result.valid, true);
+      assert.deepEqual(
+        stub.calls.map((c) => c.url),
+        ["https://api.openai.com/v1/models"]
+      );
+      assert.ok(!stub.calls.some((c) => c.url === PUBLIC_MODELS_URL));
+    } finally {
+      stub.restore();
+    }
+  });
+});