diff --git a/docs/architecture.md b/docs/architecture.md
index df3cc9b..b4f9a38 100644
--- a/docs/architecture.md
+++ b/docs/architecture.md
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ Everything else is immutable CAS content.
 providers:
   openrouter:
     baseUrl: "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1"
-    apiKeyEnv: "OPENROUTER_API_KEY"
+    apiKey: "sk-..."
 
 models:
   sonnet:
diff --git a/docs/builtin-agent-research.md b/docs/builtin-agent-research.md
index 63690f5..a76ae7b 100644
--- a/docs/builtin-agent-research.md
+++ b/docs/builtin-agent-research.md
@@ -402,7 +402,7 @@ workflow 怎么配置和使用 model？
 ```136:160:packages/workflow-protocol/src/types.ts
 export type ProviderConfig = {
   baseUrl: string;
-  apiKeyEnv: string;
+  apiKey: string;
 };
 
 export type ModelConfig = {
@@ -429,7 +429,7 @@ export type WorkflowConfig = {
 export function resolveModel(config: WorkflowConfig, alias: ModelAlias): ResolvedLlmProvider {
   const modelEntry = config.models[alias];
   const providerEntry = config.providers[modelEntry.provider];
-  const apiKey = process.env[providerEntry.apiKeyEnv];
+  const apiKey = providerEntry.apiKey;
   return { baseUrl: providerEntry.baseUrl, apiKey, model: modelEntry.name };
 }
 ```
diff --git a/docs/wf-stateless-design.md b/docs/wf-stateless-design.md
index 257891d..6a0b527 100644
--- a/docs/wf-stateless-design.md
+++ b/docs/wf-stateless-design.md
@@ -280,13 +280,13 @@ threads.yaml: { "01J7K9M2XNPQR5VWBCDF8G3H4T": "8FWKR3TN5V1QA" }
 providers:
   openai:
     baseUrl: "https://api.openai.com/v1"
-    apiKeyEnv: "OPENAI_API_KEY"
+    apiKey: "sk-..."
   anthropic:
     baseUrl: "https://api.anthropic.com/v1"
-    apiKeyEnv: "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"
+    apiKey: "sk-ant-..."
   openrouter:
     baseUrl: "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1"
-    apiKeyEnv: "OPENROUTER_API_KEY"
+    apiKey: "sk-or-..."
 
 models:
   sonnet:
@@ -465,7 +465,7 @@ type Scenario = string;              // e.g. "extract"
 
 type ProviderConfig = {
   baseUrl: string;
-  apiKeyEnv: string;                 // env var name to read API key from
+  apiKey: string;                    // API key stored directly
 };
 
 type ModelConfig = {
diff --git a/packages/cli-workflow/README.md b/packages/cli-workflow/README.md
index 2b9e2fd..92f7eaf 100644
--- a/packages/cli-workflow/README.md
+++ b/packages/cli-workflow/README.md
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ uwf setup --provider openai --base-url https://api.openai.com/v1 \
   --api-key sk-... --model gpt-4o --agent hermes
 ```
 
-Config: `~/.uncaged/workflow/config.yaml`. API keys: `~/.uncaged/workflow/.env`.
+Config: `~/.uncaged/workflow/config.yaml` (includes API keys).
 
 ### Skill
 
diff --git a/packages/cli-workflow/src/__tests__/setup-validate.test.ts b/packages/cli-workflow/src/__tests__/setup-validate.test.ts
index f96baa3..7221775 100644
--- a/packages/cli-workflow/src/__tests__/setup-validate.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli-workflow/src/__tests__/setup-validate.test.ts
@@ -129,9 +129,8 @@ describe("cmdSetup with validation", () => {
     const result = await cmdSetup(setupArgs());
 
     expect(result.validation).toEqual({ ok: true, value: undefined });
-    // Config files should still be written
+    // Config file should still be written
     expect(result.configPath).toBeTruthy();
-    expect(result.envPath).toBeTruthy();
   });
 
   test("includes validation failure — config still saved", async () => {
@@ -143,8 +142,7 @@ describe("cmdSetup with validation", () => {
 
     expect(result.validation).toBeDefined();
     expect((result.validation as { ok: boolean }).ok).toBe(false);
-    // Config files should still be written despite validation failure
+    // Config file should still be written despite validation failure
     expect(result.configPath).toBeTruthy();
-    expect(result.envPath).toBeTruthy();
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/cli-workflow/src/commands/setup.ts b/packages/cli-workflow/src/commands/setup.ts
index 953a67e..99873e4 100644
--- a/packages/cli-workflow/src/commands/setup.ts
+++ b/packages/cli-workflow/src/commands/setup.ts
@@ -85,10 +85,6 @@ function getConfigPath(root: string): string {
   return join(root, "config.yaml");
 }
 
-function getEnvPath(root: string): string {
-  return join(root, ".env");
-}
-
 /**
  * Load existing config.yaml or return empty structure.
  */
@@ -106,37 +102,6 @@ function loadExistingConfig(configPath: string): Record<string, unknown> {
   return {};
 }
 
-/**
- * Load existing .env as key=value map.
- */
-function loadEnvFile(envPath: string): Record<string, string> {
-  const env: Record<string, string> = {};
-  try {
-    if (existsSync(envPath)) {
-      for (const line of readFileSync(envPath, "utf8").split("\n")) {
-        const trimmed = line.trim();
-        if (trimmed === "" || trimmed.startsWith("#")) continue;
-        const eq = trimmed.indexOf("=");
-        if (eq > 0) {
-          env[trimmed.slice(0, eq)] = trimmed.slice(eq + 1);
-        }
-      }
-    }
-  } catch {
-    // ignore
-  }
-  return env;
-}
-
-function saveEnvFile(envPath: string, env: Record<string, string>): void {
-  const lines = Object.entries(env).map(([k, v]) => `${k}=${v}`);
-  writeFileSync(envPath, `${lines.join("\n")}\n`, "utf8");
-}
-
-function apiKeyEnvName(providerName: string): string {
-  return `${providerName.toUpperCase().replace(/[^A-Z0-9]/g, "_")}_API_KEY`;
-}
-
 // ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 // Extracted helpers — _discoverAgents
 // ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -397,8 +362,7 @@ function mergeConfig(existing: Record<string, unknown>, args: SetupArgs): Record
       : {}
   ) as Record<string, unknown>;
 
-  const envName = apiKeyEnvName(args.provider);
-  providers[args.provider] = { baseUrl: args.baseUrl, apiKeyEnv: envName };
+  providers[args.provider] = { baseUrl: args.baseUrl, apiKey: args.apiKey };
 
   const models = (
     typeof existing.models === "object" && existing.models !== null
@@ -437,25 +401,17 @@ export async function cmdSetup(args: SetupArgs): Promise<Record<string, unknown>
   mkdirSync(storageRoot, { recursive: true });
 
   const configPath = getConfigPath(storageRoot);
-  const envPath = getEnvPath(storageRoot);
 
   const existing = loadExistingConfig(configPath);
   const merged = mergeConfig(existing, args);
 
   writeFileSync(configPath, stringify(merged, { indent: 2 }), "utf8");
 
-  // Write API key to .env
-  const envName = apiKeyEnvName(args.provider);
-  const envData = loadEnvFile(envPath);
-  envData[envName] = args.apiKey;
-  saveEnvFile(envPath, envData);
-
   // Validate model connectivity
   const validation = await validateModel(args.baseUrl, args.apiKey, args.model);
 
   return {
     configPath,
-    envPath,
     provider: args.provider,
     model: args.model,
     defaultAgent: merged.defaultAgent,
diff --git a/packages/workflow-protocol/README.md b/packages/workflow-protocol/README.md
index 466890b..3f0644f 100644
--- a/packages/workflow-protocol/README.md
+++ b/packages/workflow-protocol/README.md
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ type ProviderAlias = string;
 type ModelAlias = string;
 type AgentAlias = string;
 
-type ProviderConfig = { baseUrl: string; apiKeyEnv: string };
+type ProviderConfig = { baseUrl: string; apiKey: string };
 type ModelConfig = {
   provider: ProviderAlias;
   name: string;
diff --git a/packages/workflow-protocol/src/types.ts b/packages/workflow-protocol/src/types.ts
index aa6d5c1..65de96c 100644
--- a/packages/workflow-protocol/src/types.ts
+++ b/packages/workflow-protocol/src/types.ts
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ export type Scenario = string;
 
 export type ProviderConfig = {
   baseUrl: string;
-  apiKeyEnv: string;
+  apiKey: string;
 };
 
 export type ModelConfig = {
diff --git a/packages/workflow-util-agent/src/extract.ts b/packages/workflow-util-agent/src/extract.ts
index 712046f..64807d2 100644
--- a/packages/workflow-util-agent/src/extract.ts
+++ b/packages/workflow-util-agent/src/extract.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 import { getSchema, validate } from "@uncaged/json-cas";
 
 import type { CasRef, ModelAlias, WorkflowConfig } from "@uncaged/workflow-protocol";
-import { config as loadDotenv } from "dotenv";
-import { createAgentStore, getEnvPath, resolveStorageRoot } from "./storage.js";
+import { createAgentStore, resolveStorageRoot } from "./storage.js";
 
 export type ResolvedLlmProvider = {
   baseUrl: string;
@@ -38,9 +37,9 @@ export function resolveModel(config: WorkflowConfig, alias: ModelAlias): Resolve
   if (providerEntry === undefined) {
     throw new Error(`unknown provider "${modelEntry.provider}" for model "${alias}"`);
   }
-  const apiKey = process.env[providerEntry.apiKeyEnv];
+  const apiKey = providerEntry.apiKey;
   if (apiKey === undefined || apiKey === "") {
-    throw new Error(`missing API key env var: ${providerEntry.apiKeyEnv}`);
+    throw new Error(`missing API key for provider: ${modelEntry.provider}`);
   }
   return {
     baseUrl: providerEntry.baseUrl,
@@ -130,7 +129,7 @@ export type ExtractResult = {
 
 /**
  * Call an OpenAI-compatible LLM to extract structured output matching outputSchema.
- * Loads config.yaml and .env from the workflow storage root.
+ * Loads config.yaml from the workflow storage root.
  */
 export async function extract(
   rawOutput: string,
@@ -138,7 +137,6 @@ export async function extract(
   config: WorkflowConfig,
 ): Promise<ExtractResult> {
   const storageRoot = resolveStorageRoot();
-  loadDotenv({ path: getEnvPath(storageRoot) });
 
   const { store } = await createAgentStore(storageRoot);
   const schema = getSchema(store, outputSchema);
diff --git a/packages/workflow-util-agent/src/storage.ts b/packages/workflow-util-agent/src/storage.ts
index 8f1c934..7d94a40 100644
--- a/packages/workflow-util-agent/src/storage.ts
+++ b/packages/workflow-util-agent/src/storage.ts
@@ -84,11 +84,11 @@ function normalizeProviders(raw: unknown): Record<ProviderAlias, ProviderConfig>
       throw new Error(`config.providers.${name} must be a mapping`);
     }
     const baseUrl = entry.baseUrl;
-    const apiKeyEnv = entry.apiKeyEnv;
-    if (typeof baseUrl !== "string" || typeof apiKeyEnv !== "string") {
-      throw new Error(`config.providers.${name} requires baseUrl and apiKeyEnv`);
+    const apiKey = entry.apiKey;
+    if (typeof baseUrl !== "string" || typeof apiKey !== "string") {
+      throw new Error(`config.providers.${name} requires baseUrl and apiKey`);
     }
-    providers[name] = { baseUrl, apiKeyEnv };
+    providers[name] = { baseUrl, apiKey };
   }
   return providers;
 }