Two live users in #claw-code on 2026-04-08 hit adjacent auth confusion:
varleg set OPENAI_API_KEY for OpenRouter but prefix routing didn't
activate without openai/ model prefix, and stanley078852 put sk-ant-*
in ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN (Bearer path) instead of ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
(x-api-key path) and got 401 Invalid bearer token.
Changes:
1. ApiError::MissingCredentials gained optional hint field (error.rs)
2. anthropic_missing_credentials_hint() sniffs OPENAI/XAI/DASHSCOPE
env vars and suggests prefix routing when present (providers/mod.rs)
3. All 4 Anthropic auth paths wire the hint helper (anthropic.rs)
4. 401 + sk-ant-* in bearer token detected and hint appended
5. 'Which env var goes where' section added to USAGE.md
Tests: unit tests for all three improvements (no HTTP calls needed).
Workspace: all tests green, fmt clean, clippy warnings-only.
Source: live users varleg + stanley078852 in #claw-code 2026-04-08.
Co-authored-by: gaebal-gajae <gaebal-gajae@layofflabs.com>
Claw already had the core slash-command and git primitives, but the UX
still made users work to discover them, understand current workspace
state, and trust what `/commit` was about to do. This change tightens
that flow in the same places Codex-style CLIs do: command discovery,
live status, typo recovery, and commit preflight/output.
The REPL banner and `/help` now surface a clearer starter path, unknown
slash commands suggest likely matches, `/status` includes actionable git
state, and `/commit` explains what it is staging and committing before
and after the model writes the Lore message. I also cleared the
workspace's existing clippy blockers so the verification lane can stay
fully green.
Constraint: Improve UX inside the existing Rust CLI surfaces without adding new dependencies
Rejected: Add more slash commands first | discoverability and feedback were the bigger friction points
Rejected: Split verification lint fixes into a second commit | user requested one solid commit
Confidence: high
Scope-risk: moderate
Directive: Keep slash discoverability, status reporting, and commit reporting aligned so `/help`, `/status`, and `/commit` tell the same workflow story
Tested: cargo fmt --all; cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets -- -D warnings; cargo test --workspace
Not-tested: Manual interactive REPL session against live Anthropic/xAI endpoints
