diff --git a/packages/core/src/agent/credentials-cli.ts b/packages/core/src/agent/credentials-cli.ts
index 9fae8bbd8..d5fa9a130 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/agent/credentials-cli.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/agent/credentials-cli.ts
@@ -44,7 +44,8 @@ function buildCoreTemplate(): string {
   },
   tools: {
     // brave: { apiKey: "brv-..." },
-    // perplexity: { apiKey: "pplx-...", baseUrl: "https://api.perplexity.ai", model: "perplexity/sonar-pro" }
+    // perplexity: { apiKey: "pplx-...", baseUrl: "https://api.perplexity.ai", model: "perplexity/sonar-pro" },
+    // data: { apiKey: "your-financial-datasets-api-key" }
   }
 }
 `;
diff --git a/packages/core/src/agent/tools/data/finance/api.ts b/packages/core/src/agent/tools/data/finance/api.ts
index c775291b1..e869f655e 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/agent/tools/data/finance/api.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/agent/tools/data/finance/api.ts
@@ -12,14 +12,19 @@ const BASE_URL = "https://api.financialdatasets.ai";
 const TIMEOUT_MS = 30_000;
 
 function getApiKey(): string {
-  const key = credentialManager.getEnv("FINANCIAL_DATASETS_API_KEY");
-  if (!key) {
-    throw new Error(
-      "FINANCIAL_DATASETS_API_KEY not configured. " +
-        "Set it in ~/.super-multica/skills.env.json5 under env, or as an environment variable.",
-    );
-  }
-  return key;
+  // 1. credentials.json5 → tools.data.apiKey (preferred)
+  const toolConfig = credentialManager.getToolConfig("data");
+  if (toolConfig?.apiKey) return toolConfig.apiKey;
+
+  // 2. Fallback: env var (skills.env.json5 or process.env)
+  const envKey = credentialManager.getEnv("FINANCIAL_DATASETS_API_KEY");
+  if (envKey) return envKey;
+
+  throw new Error(
+    "Financial Datasets API key not configured. " +
+      'Set it in ~/.super-multica/credentials.json5 under tools.data.apiKey, ' +
+      "or set FINANCIAL_DATASETS_API_KEY in ~/.super-multica/skills.env.json5.",
+  );
 }
 
 /**