diff --git a/src/main/zcode/zcode-plan-api-key-store.test.ts b/src/main/zcode/zcode-plan-api-key-store.test.ts
index ed53cd28e7b..75736af5f59 100644
--- a/src/main/zcode/zcode-plan-api-key-store.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/zcode/zcode-plan-api-key-store.test.ts
@@ -170,6 +170,43 @@ describe('zcode-plan-api-key-store', () => {
     warn.mockRestore()
   })
 
+  it('removes a rejected plaintext replacement when restoring the previous key fails', async () => {
+    const warn = vi.spyOn(console, 'warn').mockImplementation(() => undefined)
+    safeStorageMock.isEncryptionAvailable.mockReturnValue(false)
+    const previous = Buffer.from(envelope('encrypted', 'old-key'))
+    const attempted = envelope('plaintext', 'new-key')
+    existsSyncMock.mockReturnValue(true)
+    readFileSyncMock.mockReturnValueOnce(previous).mockReturnValueOnce(Buffer.from(attempted))
+    writeSecureFileMock.mockReturnValueOnce(false).mockImplementationOnce(() => {
+      throw new Error('restore failed before publish')
+    })
+    const store = await loadStore()
+
+    expect(() => store.saveZcodePlanApiKey('new-key')).toThrow(
+      'could not be stored securely on this device'
+    )
+    expect(rmSyncMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(storePath, { force: true })
+    warn.mockRestore()
+  })
+
+  it('keeps a restored key when rollback fails after the previous envelope is published', async () => {
+    const warn = vi.spyOn(console, 'warn').mockImplementation(() => undefined)
+    safeStorageMock.isEncryptionAvailable.mockReturnValue(false)
+    const previous = Buffer.from(envelope('encrypted', 'old-key'))
+    existsSyncMock.mockReturnValue(true)
+    readFileSyncMock.mockReturnValue(previous)
+    writeSecureFileMock.mockReturnValueOnce(false).mockImplementationOnce(() => {
+      throw new Error('restore failed after publish')
+    })
+    const store = await loadStore()
+
+    expect(() => store.saveZcodePlanApiKey('new-key')).toThrow(
+      'could not be stored securely on this device'
+    )
+    expect(rmSyncMock).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith(storePath, expect.anything())
+    warn.mockRestore()
+  })
+
   it('refuses to decrypt an encrypted envelope once safeStorage becomes unavailable', async () => {
     safeStorageMock.isEncryptionAvailable.mockReturnValue(false)
     existsSyncMock.mockReturnValue(true)
diff --git a/src/main/zcode/zcode-plan-api-key-store.ts b/src/main/zcode/zcode-plan-api-key-store.ts
index 45c4ad315ac..cdf775875ee 100644
--- a/src/main/zcode/zcode-plan-api-key-store.ts
+++ b/src/main/zcode/zcode-plan-api-key-store.ts
@@ -84,6 +84,19 @@ export function getZcodePlanApiKeyProtection(): SecretAtRestProtection | null {
   }
 }
 
+function removeRejectedPlaintextEnvelope(keyPath: string, attemptedEnvelope: string): void {
+  let published: string
+  try {
+    published = readFileSync(keyPath).toString('utf8')
+  } catch {
+    return
+  }
+  // Why: only the rejected replacement is removed; a restore that already landed must stay.
+  if (published === attemptedEnvelope) {
+    rmSync(keyPath, { force: true })
+  }
+}
+
 export function saveZcodePlanApiKey(key: string): void {
   const trimmed = key.trim()
   if (!trimmed) {
@@ -115,10 +128,8 @@ export function saveZcodePlanApiKey(key: string): void {
       previousEnvelope = null
     }
   }
-  const wroteRestricted = writeSecureFile(
-    keyPath,
-    encodeApiKeyEnvelope('plaintext', Buffer.from(trimmed, 'utf8'))
-  )
+  const attemptedEnvelope = encodeApiKeyEnvelope('plaintext', Buffer.from(trimmed, 'utf8'))
+  const wroteRestricted = writeSecureFile(keyPath, attemptedEnvelope)
   // Why: an unrestricted plaintext credential must never be reported as saved.
   if (!wroteRestricted) {
     if (!previousEnvelope) {
@@ -127,9 +138,8 @@ export function saveZcodePlanApiKey(key: string): void {
       try {
         writeSecureFile(keyPath, previousEnvelope.toString('utf8'))
       } catch {
-        // Why: restriction is failing device-wide; the restored bytes keep the
-        // previous credential available instead of deleting it, and the thrown
-        // save error still tells the user the store is not secure.
+        // Why: a restore that fails before replacing the file leaves the rejected key published.
+        removeRejectedPlaintextEnvelope(keyPath, attemptedEnvelope)
       }
     }
     throw new Error('GLM Coding Plan API key could not be stored securely on this device')