diff --git a/deploy_script.sh b/deploy_script.sh
index 1a9f7c9..dc89f25 100644
--- a/deploy_script.sh
+++ b/deploy_script.sh
@@ -453,6 +453,12 @@ main() {
     docker image prune -af 2>/dev/null || true
 
     if [[ " ${ACTIVE_SERVICES[*]} " =~ " paperclip " ]]; then
+        # Patch the validation endpoint in the backend to respect OPENAI_BASE_URL
+        # This prevents the UI from rejecting OpenRouter/Mistral API keys during Onboarding!
+        log "Patching LLM validation endpoint in Paperclip container..."
+        docker exec -u root paperclip_app sed -i 's|"https://api.openai.com/v1/models"|process.env.OPENAI_BASE_URL ? process.env.OPENAI_BASE_URL + "/models" : "https://api.openai.com/v1/models"|g' /app/server/dist/routes/ai-connections.js || true
+        docker restart paperclip_app
+
         log "Waiting for Paperclip to initialize (10s)..."
         sleep 10
         log "========================================================="