diff --git a/frontend/src/app/api/queries/useGetModelsQuery.ts b/frontend/src/app/api/queries/useGetModelsQuery.ts
index 17b2336a..cd24131b 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/api/queries/useGetModelsQuery.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/api/queries/useGetModelsQuery.ts
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ export const useGetOpenAIModelsQuery = (
       queryKey: ["models", "openai", params],
       queryFn: getOpenAIModels,
       retry: 2,
-      enabled: !!params?.apiKey, // Only run if API key is provided
+      enabled: options?.enabled !== false, // Allow enabling/disabling from options
       staleTime: 0, // Always fetch fresh data
       gcTime: 0, // Don't cache results
       ...options,
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/settings/page.tsx b/frontend/src/app/settings/page.tsx
index 8efcf8d6..50dc7867 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/settings/page.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/app/settings/page.tsx
@@ -112,9 +112,12 @@ function KnowledgeSourcesPage() {
   const currentProvider = (settings.provider?.model_provider || 'openai') as ModelProvider;
 
   // Fetch available models based on provider
-  const { data: openaiModelsData } = useGetOpenAIModelsQuery({
-    enabled: isAuthenticated && currentProvider === 'openai',
-  });
+  const { data: openaiModelsData } = useGetOpenAIModelsQuery(
+    undefined, // Let backend use stored API key from configuration
+    {
+      enabled: isAuthenticated && currentProvider === 'openai',
+    }
+  );
 
   const { data: ollamaModelsData } = useGetOllamaModelsQuery(
     undefined, // No params for now, could be extended later
diff --git a/src/api/models.py b/src/api/models.py
index d6caa161..d79d1b23 100644
--- a/src/api/models.py
+++ b/src/api/models.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 from starlette.responses import JSONResponse
 from utils.logging_config import get_logger
+from config.settings import get_openrag_config
 
 logger = get_logger(__name__)
 
@@ -11,9 +12,18 @@ async def get_openai_models(request, models_service, session_manager):
         query_params = dict(request.query_params)
         api_key = query_params.get("api_key")
 
+        # If no API key provided, try to get it from stored configuration
+        if not api_key:
+            try:
+                config = get_openrag_config()
+                api_key = config.provider.api_key
+                logger.info(f"Retrieved API key from config: {'yes' if api_key else 'no'}")
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.error(f"Failed to get config: {e}")
+
         if not api_key:
             return JSONResponse(
-                {"error": "OpenAI API key is required as query parameter"},
+                {"error": "OpenAI API key is required either as query parameter or in configuration"},
                 status_code=400
             )