diff --git a/web/backend/api/model_catalog.go b/web/backend/api/model_catalog.go
index da092e89e..ce50deafe 100644
--- a/web/backend/api/model_catalog.go
+++ b/web/backend/api/model_catalog.go
@@ -48,7 +48,12 @@ func generateCatalogKey(provider, apiBase, apiKey string) string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%s|%s|%x", provider, apiBase, hash[:6])
 }
 
-// maskAPIKeyValue masks an API key for display, keeping first 4 and last 4 chars.
+// maskAPIKeyValue masks an API key for display.
+// Keys longer than 12 chars show prefix + last 4 chars: "sk-****abcd".
+// Keys 9-12 chars show prefix + last 2 chars: "sk-****cd".
+// Shorter keys are fully masked as "****".
+// Empty keys return empty string.
+// Ensure at least 40% of the key will not be displayed.
 func maskAPIKeyValue(key string) string {
 	key = strings.TrimSpace(key)
 	if key == "" {
@@ -57,7 +62,10 @@ func maskAPIKeyValue(key string) string {
 	if len(key) <= 8 {
 		return "****"
 	}
-	return key[:4] + "****" + key[len(key)-4:]
+	if len(key) <= 12 {
+		return key[:3] + "****" + key[len(key)-2:]
+	}
+	return key[:3] + "****" + key[len(key)-4:]
 }
 
 func loadCatalogs() (*CatalogStore, error) {
diff --git a/web/backend/api/model_catalog_test.go b/web/backend/api/model_catalog_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..76138fdcd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web/backend/api/model_catalog_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+package api
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestMaskAPIKeyValue(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name string
+		key  string
+		want string
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "empty key",
+			key:  "",
+			want: "",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "whitespace only",
+			key:  "   ",
+			want: "",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "short key fully masked",
+			key:  "abcd",
+			want: "****",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "length 8 boundary fully masked",
+			key:  "12345678",
+			want: "****",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "length 9 boundary shows last 2",
+			key:  "123456789",
+			want: "123****89",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "length 10 shows last 2",
+			key:  "1234567890",
+			want: "123****90",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "length 12 boundary shows last 2",
+			key:  "abcdefghijkl",
+			want: "abc****kl",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "length 13 boundary shows last 4",
+			key:  "abcdefghijklm",
+			want: "abc****jklm",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "typical api key",
+			key:  "sk-1234567890abcd",
+			want: "sk-****abcd",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got := maskAPIKeyValue(tc.key)
+			if got != tc.want {
+				t.Fatalf("maskAPIKeyValue(%q) = %q, want %q", tc.key, got, tc.want)
+			}
+
+			if tc.key != "" {
+				displayed := strings.Replace(got, "****", "", 1)
+				if len(strings.TrimSpace(tc.key)) <= 8 {
+					if displayed != "" {
+						t.Fatalf("maskAPIKeyValue(%q) displayed part = %q, want empty", tc.key, displayed)
+					}
+				} else {
+					if len(displayed)*10 > len(strings.TrimSpace(tc.key))*6 {
+						t.Fatalf(
+							"maskAPIKeyValue(%q) displayed length = %d, want at most 60%% of %d",
+							tc.key,
+							len(displayed),
+							len(strings.TrimSpace(tc.key)),
+						)
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}