I cannot use my own Anthropic key

[abdullahc (Abdullah)]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

I try use my own Anthropic API key but receiving the following error:

We're having trouble connecting to the model provider. This might be temporary - please try again in a moment.

I’m able to use the same key with other IDE’s or extensions.

Steps to Reproduce

Enter your own Anthropic key from model settings

Expected Behavior

I shouldn’t see a provider error

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

Operating System

MacOS

Version Information

Version: 2.5.25
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 7150844152b426ed50d2b68dd6b33b5c5beb73c0
Date: 2026-02-24T07:17:49.417Z
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.4.0
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.22.0
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.1.0

For AI issues: which model did you use?

Opus 4.6

For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled

Request ID: 9b5894da-57ce-4140-a8fd-f74ba7bec168

Provider Error We’re having trouble connecting to the model provider. This might be temporary - please try again in a moment.
aXt: Provider Error We’re having trouble connecting to the model provider. This might be temporary - please try again in a moment.

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Yes - Cursor is unusable

[deanrie]

Hey, thanks for the report. I can see the screenshot with the provider error.

This is a common issue with Anthropic BYOK. Please check a few things:

1. Anthropic credits: Make sure you have API credits at Billing | Claude Developer Platform.

2. Conflicting settings: Go to Cursor Settings > Models and make sure Override OpenAI Base URL is turned off. If you have an OpenAI API key set, try turning it off for now too.

3. MCP servers: If you have any MCP servers connected (Cursor Settings > Tools & MCP), temporarily disable all of them. For several users with the same error, this was the root cause: Again We're having trouble connecting to the model provider. This might be temporary - please try again in a moment

4. New chat: Start a completely new chat thread after making these changes.

If none of that helps, try disabling HTTP/2: Cursor Settings > search for “HTTP/2” > enable “Disable HTTP/2”.

Let me know how it goes.

[abdullahc (Abdullah)]

Thank you for your response.

• I can confirm that I have sufficient credits. To ensure the issue was not API-related, I installed the Claude Code VS Code extension, which operates correctly using the same API key without any issues.
• The Override OpenAI Base URL setting was turned off already.
• I have also disabled all MCPs (there were only 4), still the same
• Starting a new chat didn’t help

There is no Disable HTTP/2 option available. I can see a dropdown menu within the Network settings and have tested the alternative options provided but unfortunately without success.

Thanks again

[abdullahc (Abdullah)]

Apparently, there is no solution to this issue. As the other IDEs are working with no issues but Cursor, I will cancel my Cursor subscription and continue using the alternatives.

Thank you for your help.