diff --git a/src/app/api/generate/__tests__/route.test.ts b/src/app/api/generate/__tests__/route.test.ts
index ec8fd9e8..7940b21e 100644
--- a/src/app/api/generate/__tests__/route.test.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/generate/__tests__/route.test.ts
@@ -1720,9 +1720,30 @@ describe("/api/generate route", () => {
       expect(data.contentType).toBe("video");
     });
 
-    it("should return 401 without API key", async () => {
+    it("should proceed without API key (rate-limited)", async () => {
       delete process.env.FAL_API_KEY;
 
+      // Schema fetch (for input mapping when no dynamicInputs)
+      mockFetch.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+        ok: true,
+        json: () => Promise.resolve({ models: [] }),
+      });
+
+      // fal.run API call succeeds without auth
+      mockFetch.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+        ok: true,
+        json: () => Promise.resolve({
+          images: [{ url: "https://example.com/image.png", content_type: "image/png" }],
+        }),
+      });
+
+      // Image download
+      mockFetch.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+        ok: true,
+        headers: new Headers({ "content-type": "image/png" }),
+        arrayBuffer: () => Promise.resolve(new ArrayBuffer(8)),
+      });
+
       const request = createMockPostRequest({
         prompt: "A beautiful landscape",
         selectedModel: {
@@ -1735,9 +1756,9 @@ describe("/api/generate route", () => {
       const response = await POST(request);
       const data = await response.json();
 
-      expect(response.status).toBe(401);
-      expect(data.success).toBe(false);
-      expect(data.error).toContain("API key not configured");
+      // Should proceed without key (no 401 early return)
+      expect(response.status).toBe(200);
+      expect(data.success).toBe(true);
     });
 
     it("should handle rate limit (429) with API key", async () => {
@@ -1775,9 +1796,22 @@ describe("/api/generate route", () => {
       expect(data.error).toContain("Try again in a moment");
     });
 
-    it("should return 401 for rate limit scenario without API key", async () => {
+    it("should handle rate limit (429) without API key", async () => {
       delete process.env.FAL_API_KEY;
 
+      // Schema fetch (for input mapping when no dynamicInputs)
+      mockFetch.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+        ok: true,
+        json: () => Promise.resolve({ models: [] }),
+      });
+
+      // fal.run returns 429 since no auth
+      mockFetch.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+        ok: false,
+        status: 429,
+        text: () => Promise.resolve(JSON.stringify({ detail: "Rate limit exceeded" })),
+      });
+
       const request = createMockPostRequest({
         prompt: "Test prompt",
         selectedModel: {
@@ -1790,10 +1824,10 @@ describe("/api/generate route", () => {
       const response = await POST(request);
       const data = await response.json();
 
-      // Without API key, route returns 401 before reaching fal.ai
-      expect(response.status).toBe(401);
+      // Without API key, request proceeds but may get rate-limited by fal.ai
+      expect(response.status).toBe(500);
       expect(data.success).toBe(false);
-      expect(data.error).toContain("API key not configured");
+      expect(data.error).toContain("Rate limit exceeded");
     });
 
     it("should handle image object response format", async () => {
diff --git a/src/app/api/generate/route.ts b/src/app/api/generate/route.ts
index 9e0a2bb1..2a43e8b4 100644
--- a/src/app/api/generate/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/generate/route.ts
@@ -2339,13 +2339,7 @@ export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
       const falApiKey = request.headers.get("X-Fal-API-Key") || process.env.FAL_API_KEY || null;
 
       if (!falApiKey) {
-        return NextResponse.json<GenerateResponse>(
-          {
-            success: false,
-            error: "fal.ai API key not configured. Add FAL_API_KEY to .env.local or configure in Settings.",
-          },
-          { status: 401 }
-        );
+        console.warn(`[API:${requestId}] No FAL API key configured. Proceeding without auth (rate-limited).`);
       }
 
       // For fal.ai, keep Data URIs as-is since localhost URLs won't work
diff --git a/src/components/__tests__/AudioInputNode.test.tsx b/src/components/__tests__/AudioInputNode.test.tsx
index 925c3121..4b38d537 100644
--- a/src/components/__tests__/AudioInputNode.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/__tests__/AudioInputNode.test.tsx
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ function setMockStoreState(overrides: Record<string, unknown> = {}) {
     edges: [],
     nodes: [],
     isRunning: false,
-    currentNodeId: null,
+    currentNodeIds: [],
     groups: {},
     getNodesWithComments: vi.fn(() => []),
     markCommentViewed: vi.fn(),
diff --git a/src/components/__tests__/EaseCurveNode.test.tsx b/src/components/__tests__/EaseCurveNode.test.tsx
index 55398714..584b4e96 100644
--- a/src/components/__tests__/EaseCurveNode.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/__tests__/EaseCurveNode.test.tsx
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ function setMockStoreState(overrides: Record<string, unknown> = {}) {
     edges: [],
     nodes: [],
     isRunning: false,
-    currentNodeId: null,
+    currentNodeIds: [],
     groups: {},
     getNodesWithComments: vi.fn(() => []),
     markCommentViewed: vi.fn(),
diff --git a/src/components/__tests__/VideoStitchNode.test.tsx b/src/components/__tests__/VideoStitchNode.test.tsx
index 2e8842c7..657928c5 100644
--- a/src/components/__tests__/VideoStitchNode.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/__tests__/VideoStitchNode.test.tsx
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ function setMockStoreState(overrides: Record<string, unknown> = {}) {
     edges: [],
     nodes: [],
     isRunning: false,
-    currentNodeId: null,
+    currentNodeIds: [],
     groups: {},
     getNodesWithComments: vi.fn(() => []),
     markCommentViewed: vi.fn(),