diff --git a/src/app/api/cli-tools/codex-settings/route.ts b/src/app/api/cli-tools/codex-settings/route.ts
index 1d852de62e..6067f52326 100644
--- a/src/app/api/cli-tools/codex-settings/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/cli-tools/codex-settings/route.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { createMultiBackup } from "@/shared/services/backupService";
 import { saveCliToolLastConfigured, deleteCliToolLastConfigured } from "@/lib/db/cliToolState";
 import { cliModelConfigSchema } from "@/shared/validation/schemas";
 import { isValidationFailure, validateBody } from "@/shared/validation/helpers";
+import { getApiKeyById } from "@/lib/localDb";
 
 const getCodexConfigPath = () => getCliConfigPaths("codex").config;
 const getCodexAuthPath = () => getCliConfigPaths("codex").auth;
@@ -166,7 +167,8 @@ export async function POST(request: Request) {
     if (isValidationFailure(validation)) {
       return NextResponse.json({ error: validation.error }, { status: 400 });
     }
-    const { baseUrl, apiKey, model } = validation.data;
+    const { baseUrl, model } = validation.data;
+    let { apiKey } = validation.data;
     if (!apiKey) {
       return NextResponse.json(
         { error: "baseUrl, apiKey and model are required" },
@@ -174,6 +176,21 @@ export async function POST(request: Request) {
       );
     }
 
+    // (#549) Resolve real key from DB if keyId was provided.
+    // The dashboard sends masked key strings — resolving by ID guarantees
+    // we always write the full key value to the config file.
+    const keyId = typeof rawBody?.keyId === "string" ? rawBody.keyId.trim() : null;
+    if (keyId) {
+      try {
+        const keyRecord = await getApiKeyById(keyId);
+        if (keyRecord?.key) {
+          apiKey = keyRecord.key as string;
+        }
+      } catch {
+        // Non-critical: fall back to whatever value was in apiKey
+      }
+    }
+
     const codexDir = getCodexDir();
     const configPath = getCodexConfigPath();
     const authPath = getCodexAuthPath();
diff --git a/src/app/api/cli-tools/droid-settings/route.ts b/src/app/api/cli-tools/droid-settings/route.ts
index 8bbec50c17..3e3be5fdb4 100644
--- a/src/app/api/cli-tools/droid-settings/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/cli-tools/droid-settings/route.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { createBackup } from "@/shared/services/backupService";
 import { saveCliToolLastConfigured, deleteCliToolLastConfigured } from "@/lib/db/cliToolState";
 import { cliModelConfigSchema } from "@/shared/validation/schemas";
 import { isValidationFailure, validateBody } from "@/shared/validation/helpers";
+import { getApiKeyById } from "@/lib/localDb";
 
 const getDroidSettingsPath = () => getCliPrimaryConfigPath("droid");
 const getDroidDir = () => path.dirname(getDroidSettingsPath());
@@ -101,7 +102,21 @@ export async function POST(request: Request) {
     if (isValidationFailure(validation)) {
       return NextResponse.json({ error: validation.error }, { status: 400 });
     }
-    const { baseUrl, apiKey, model } = validation.data;
+    const { baseUrl, model } = validation.data;
+    let { apiKey } = validation.data;
+
+    // (#549) Resolve real key from DB if keyId was provided.
+    const keyId = typeof rawBody?.keyId === "string" ? rawBody.keyId.trim() : null;
+    if (keyId) {
+      try {
+        const keyRecord = await getApiKeyById(keyId);
+        if (keyRecord?.key) {
+          apiKey = keyRecord.key as string;
+        }
+      } catch {
+        // Non-critical: fall back to whatever value was in apiKey
+      }
+    }
 
     const droidDir = getDroidDir();
     const settingsPath = getDroidSettingsPath();
diff --git a/src/app/api/cli-tools/kilo-settings/route.ts b/src/app/api/cli-tools/kilo-settings/route.ts
index 983b96a75f..0974ee5455 100644
--- a/src/app/api/cli-tools/kilo-settings/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/cli-tools/kilo-settings/route.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { createBackup } from "@/shared/services/backupService";
 import { saveCliToolLastConfigured, deleteCliToolLastConfigured } from "@/lib/db/cliToolState";
 import { cliModelConfigSchema } from "@/shared/validation/schemas";
 import { isValidationFailure, validateBody } from "@/shared/validation/helpers";
+import { getApiKeyById } from "@/lib/localDb";
 
 const KILO_DATA_DIR = path.join(os.homedir(), ".local", "share", "kilo");
 const AUTH_PATH = path.join(KILO_DATA_DIR, "auth.json");
@@ -133,7 +134,21 @@ export async function POST(request) {
     if (isValidationFailure(validation)) {
       return NextResponse.json({ error: validation.error }, { status: 400 });
     }
-    const { baseUrl, apiKey, model } = validation.data;
+    const { baseUrl, model } = validation.data;
+    let { apiKey } = validation.data;
+
+    // (#549) Resolve real key from DB if keyId was provided.
+    const keyId = typeof rawBody?.keyId === "string" ? rawBody.keyId.trim() : null;
+    if (keyId) {
+      try {
+        const keyRecord = await getApiKeyById(keyId);
+        if (keyRecord?.key) {
+          apiKey = keyRecord.key as string;
+        }
+      } catch {
+        // Non-critical: fall back to whatever value was in apiKey
+      }
+    }
 
     // Ensure directories exist
     await fs.mkdir(KILO_DATA_DIR, { recursive: true });