diff --git a/bin/disinto b/bin/disinto
index 69e34dd..dc56f39 100755
--- a/bin/disinto
+++ b/bin/disinto
@@ -1789,7 +1789,6 @@ _validate_env_vars() {
     while IFS='|' read -r service_name forge_user base_url _api_key; do
       [ -n "$service_name" ] || continue
       [ -n "$forge_user" ] || continue
-      [ -n "$base_url" ] || continue
 
       # Derive variable names (user -> USER_UPPER)
       local user_upper
@@ -1809,7 +1808,7 @@ _validate_env_vars() {
         errors=$((errors + 1))
       fi
 
-      # Check backend URL or API key
+      # Check backend URL or API key (conditional based on base_url presence)
       if [ -n "$base_url" ]; then
         # Local model: needs ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL
         if [ -z "${env_vars[ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL]:-}" ]; then
diff --git a/lib/hire-agent.sh b/lib/hire-agent.sh
index 5ebe5a1..149845b 100644
--- a/lib/hire-agent.sh
+++ b/lib/hire-agent.sh
@@ -262,8 +262,10 @@ disinto_hire_an_agent() {
     # Local model agent: write ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL
     local backend_var="ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL"
     local backend_val="$local_model"
+    local escaped_val
+    escaped_val=$(printf '%s\n' "$backend_val" | sed 's/[&/\]/\\&/g')
     if grep -q "^${backend_var}=" "$env_file" 2>/dev/null; then
-      sed -i "s|^${backend_var}=.*|${backend_var}=${backend_val}|" "$env_file"
+      sed -i "s|^${backend_var}=.*|${backend_var}=${escaped_val}|" "$env_file"
       echo "  ${backend_var} updated"
     else
       printf '%s=%s\n' "$backend_var" "$backend_val" >> "$env_file"