diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCLI/CLIConfigCommand.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCLI/CLIConfigCommand.swift
index 81fdd96f8..380dc8bde 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCLI/CLIConfigCommand.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCLI/CLIConfigCommand.swift
@@ -221,8 +221,7 @@ extension CodexBarCLI {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
         return value.isEmpty ? nil : value
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Config/CodexBarConfig.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Config/CodexBarConfig.swift
index ab0526d66..57ef8e221 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Config/CodexBarConfig.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Config/CodexBarConfig.swift
@@ -157,8 +157,7 @@ public struct ProviderConfig: Codable, Sendable, Identifiable {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
         return value.isEmpty ? nil : value
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Alibaba/AlibabaCodingPlanSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Alibaba/AlibabaCodingPlanSettingsReader.swift
index aa88d36ed..54d2493aa 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Alibaba/AlibabaCodingPlanSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Alibaba/AlibabaCodingPlanSettingsReader.swift
@@ -52,8 +52,7 @@ public struct AlibabaCodingPlanSettingsReader: Sendable {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Alibaba/AlibabaTokenPlanSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Alibaba/AlibabaTokenPlanSettingsReader.swift
index ba7c5c3a3..6f04e6d09 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Alibaba/AlibabaTokenPlanSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Alibaba/AlibabaTokenPlanSettingsReader.swift
@@ -34,8 +34,7 @@ public struct AlibabaTokenPlanSettingsReader: Sendable {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
         return value.isEmpty ? nil : value
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/AzureOpenAI/AzureOpenAISettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/AzureOpenAI/AzureOpenAISettingsReader.swift
index 3cdfb6a41..97949a367 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/AzureOpenAI/AzureOpenAISettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/AzureOpenAI/AzureOpenAISettingsReader.swift
@@ -46,8 +46,7 @@ public enum AzureOpenAISettingsReader {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Bedrock/BedrockSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Bedrock/BedrockSettingsReader.swift
index c16b4b99c..4959d8b16 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Bedrock/BedrockSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Bedrock/BedrockSettingsReader.swift
@@ -59,8 +59,7 @@ public enum BedrockSettingsReader {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Claude/ClaudeAdminAPISettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Claude/ClaudeAdminAPISettingsReader.swift
index 90553b5c8..cbb179114 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Claude/ClaudeAdminAPISettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Claude/ClaudeAdminAPISettingsReader.swift
@@ -23,8 +23,7 @@ public enum ClaudeAdminAPISettingsReader {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Codebuff/CodebuffSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Codebuff/CodebuffSettingsReader.swift
index dbfe85eeb..a046b43ca 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Codebuff/CodebuffSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Codebuff/CodebuffSettingsReader.swift
@@ -54,8 +54,7 @@ public enum CodebuffSettingsReader {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Crof/CrofSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Crof/CrofSettingsReader.swift
index f21949129..14680a9ce 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Crof/CrofSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Crof/CrofSettingsReader.swift
@@ -19,8 +19,7 @@ public enum CrofSettingsReader {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
         return value.isEmpty ? nil : value
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/DeepSeek/DeepSeekSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/DeepSeek/DeepSeekSettingsReader.swift
index 6f622d332..3c787cabc 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/DeepSeek/DeepSeekSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/DeepSeek/DeepSeekSettingsReader.swift
@@ -26,8 +26,7 @@ public struct DeepSeekSettingsReader: Sendable {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
         return value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
     }
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Deepgram/DeepgramSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Deepgram/DeepgramSettingsReader.swift
index 4ebe40242..beb86103f 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Deepgram/DeepgramSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Deepgram/DeepgramSettingsReader.swift
@@ -24,8 +24,7 @@ public struct DeepgramSettingsReader: Sendable {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Doubao/DoubaoSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Doubao/DoubaoSettingsReader.swift
index 43568d4a5..fc5942e54 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Doubao/DoubaoSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Doubao/DoubaoSettingsReader.swift
@@ -29,8 +29,7 @@ public struct DoubaoSettingsReader: Sendable {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
         return value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
     }
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/ElevenLabs/ElevenLabsSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/ElevenLabs/ElevenLabsSettingsReader.swift
index 6746e983b..bd3cdf4ca 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/ElevenLabs/ElevenLabsSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/ElevenLabs/ElevenLabsSettingsReader.swift
@@ -32,8 +32,7 @@ public enum ElevenLabsSettingsReader {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
         return value.isEmpty ? nil : value
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Groq/GroqSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Groq/GroqSettingsReader.swift
index 130a8d294..4b4f20804 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Groq/GroqSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Groq/GroqSettingsReader.swift
@@ -28,8 +28,7 @@ public enum GroqSettingsReader {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
         return value.isEmpty ? nil : value
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Kilo/KiloSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Kilo/KiloSettingsReader.swift
index b32f88b98..e315fc2e6 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Kilo/KiloSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Kilo/KiloSettingsReader.swift
@@ -44,8 +44,7 @@ public enum KiloSettingsReader {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Kimi/KimiSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Kimi/KimiSettingsReader.swift
index bcb29d9c0..4874ca4d5 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Kimi/KimiSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Kimi/KimiSettingsReader.swift
@@ -14,8 +14,7 @@ public enum KimiSettingsReader {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/KimiK2/KimiK2SettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/KimiK2/KimiK2SettingsReader.swift
index 3e59199d4..507e597dc 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/KimiK2/KimiK2SettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/KimiK2/KimiK2SettingsReader.swift
@@ -29,8 +29,7 @@ public struct KimiK2SettingsReader: Sendable {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
         return value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
     }
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/LLMProxy/LLMProxySettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/LLMProxy/LLMProxySettingsReader.swift
index 47409b346..e753752f9 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/LLMProxy/LLMProxySettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/LLMProxy/LLMProxySettingsReader.swift
@@ -24,8 +24,7 @@ public enum LLMProxySettingsReader {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
         return value.isEmpty ? nil : value
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Manus/ManusSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Manus/ManusSettingsReader.swift
index fa5874c12..3d9fbfa84 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Manus/ManusSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Manus/ManusSettingsReader.swift
@@ -22,8 +22,7 @@ public enum ManusSettingsReader {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/MiniMax/MiniMaxAPISettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/MiniMax/MiniMaxAPISettingsReader.swift
index 08d495669..ab1a2359b 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/MiniMax/MiniMaxAPISettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/MiniMax/MiniMaxAPISettingsReader.swift
@@ -44,8 +44,7 @@ public struct MiniMaxAPISettingsReader: Sendable {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/MiniMax/MiniMaxSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/MiniMax/MiniMaxSettingsReader.swift
index b78f709cd..0e0684fdc 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/MiniMax/MiniMaxSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/MiniMax/MiniMaxSettingsReader.swift
@@ -56,8 +56,7 @@ public struct MiniMaxSettingsReader: Sendable {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Moonshot/MoonshotSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Moonshot/MoonshotSettingsReader.swift
index 06bfb49de..b01db6eca 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Moonshot/MoonshotSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Moonshot/MoonshotSettingsReader.swift
@@ -40,8 +40,7 @@ public struct MoonshotSettingsReader: Sendable {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\""))
             || (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
         return value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
     }
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Ollama/OllamaUsageFetcher.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Ollama/OllamaUsageFetcher.swift
index 5b70674f0..6b58dd804 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Ollama/OllamaUsageFetcher.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Ollama/OllamaUsageFetcher.swift
@@ -651,8 +651,7 @@ public struct OllamaAPISettingsReader: Sendable {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
         return value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
     }
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/OpenAI/OpenAIAPISettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/OpenAI/OpenAIAPISettingsReader.swift
index db03e8feb..61ab0a222 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/OpenAI/OpenAIAPISettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/OpenAI/OpenAIAPISettingsReader.swift
@@ -23,8 +23,7 @@ public enum OpenAIAPISettingsReader {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/OpenRouter/OpenRouterSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/OpenRouter/OpenRouterSettingsReader.swift
index e5e3f4d78..1072ebe08 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/OpenRouter/OpenRouterSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/OpenRouter/OpenRouterSettingsReader.swift
@@ -28,8 +28,7 @@ public enum OpenRouterSettingsReader {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Perplexity/PerplexitySettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Perplexity/PerplexitySettingsReader.swift
index e36eb0e60..ef1952b5a 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Perplexity/PerplexitySettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Perplexity/PerplexitySettingsReader.swift
@@ -29,8 +29,7 @@ public enum PerplexitySettingsReader {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/ProviderTokenResolver.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/ProviderTokenResolver.swift
index 7e5b14ff9..cd555a6bd 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/ProviderTokenResolver.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/ProviderTokenResolver.swift
@@ -380,8 +380,7 @@ public enum ProviderTokenResolver {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/StepFun/StepFunSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/StepFun/StepFunSettingsReader.swift
index 9c3227e39..b8a497a6f 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/StepFun/StepFunSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/StepFun/StepFunSettingsReader.swift
@@ -30,8 +30,7 @@ public struct StepFunSettingsReader: Sendable {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
         return value.isEmpty ? nil : value
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Synthetic/SyntheticSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Synthetic/SyntheticSettingsReader.swift
index a6134f883..14e07f430 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Synthetic/SyntheticSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Synthetic/SyntheticSettingsReader.swift
@@ -18,8 +18,7 @@ public struct SyntheticSettingsReader: Sendable {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Venice/VeniceSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Venice/VeniceSettingsReader.swift
index 57386ac96..fcfffa0c3 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Venice/VeniceSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Venice/VeniceSettingsReader.swift
@@ -26,8 +26,7 @@ public struct VeniceSettingsReader: Sendable {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
         return value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
     }
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Warp/WarpSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Warp/WarpSettingsReader.swift
index cd3c639c1..afe5df0c3 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Warp/WarpSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Warp/WarpSettingsReader.swift
@@ -28,8 +28,7 @@ public struct WarpSettingsReader: Sendable {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
         return value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
     }
diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Zai/ZaiSettingsReader.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Zai/ZaiSettingsReader.swift
index 4df2223e3..637913797 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Zai/ZaiSettingsReader.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/Providers/Zai/ZaiSettingsReader.swift
@@ -38,8 +38,7 @@ public struct ZaiSettingsReader: Sendable {
         if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
             (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
         {
-            value.removeFirst()
-            value.removeLast()
+            value = String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())
         }
 
         value = value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
diff --git a/TestsLinux/SettingsReaderQuoteUnwrapTrapTests.swift b/TestsLinux/SettingsReaderQuoteUnwrapTrapTests.swift
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..91c0e1e7a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/TestsLinux/SettingsReaderQuoteUnwrapTrapTests.swift
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+import CodexBarCore
+import Foundation
+import Testing
+
+/// Regression tests for a copy-pasted quote-unwrap helper that traps on length-1 input.
+///
+/// 32 provider settings readers (plus `CodexBarConfig` and `CLIConfigCommand`) share a
+/// `cleaned(_:)` helper of the form:
+///
+///     if (value.hasPrefix("\"") && value.hasSuffix("\"")) ||
+///         (value.hasPrefix("'") && value.hasSuffix("'"))
+///     {
+///         value.removeFirst()
+///         value.removeLast()
+///     }
+///
+/// For a value of length 1 (the single character `"` or `'`), both `hasPrefix` and
+/// `hasSuffix` return true, `removeFirst()` empties the string, and `removeLast()` then
+/// traps with "Can't remove last element from empty collection." This is reachable from
+/// a misconfigured env var (e.g. `ALIBABA_TOKEN_PLAN_COOKIE='"'`) and from quoted JSON
+/// values in `~/.codexbar/config.json`, both of which are user-controllable.
+///
+/// These tests exercise two representative public readers — Alibaba Token Plan (the
+/// newest addition in #1098) and the Ollama API key reader (added in #1087) — by
+/// passing the trap-inducing single-quote inputs and asserting the readers return nil
+/// instead of crashing. The patch swaps `removeFirst()/removeLast()` for
+/// `String(value.dropFirst().dropLast())`, which is empty-safe.
+@Suite
+struct SettingsReaderQuoteUnwrapTrapTests {
+    @Test
+    func alibabaTokenPlanCookieHeader_returnsNilForLoneDoubleQuoteValue() {
+        let env = [AlibabaTokenPlanSettingsReader.cookieHeaderKey: "\""]
+        #expect(AlibabaTokenPlanSettingsReader.cookieHeader(environment: env) == nil)
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func alibabaTokenPlanCookieHeader_returnsNilForLoneApostropheValue() {
+        let env = [AlibabaTokenPlanSettingsReader.cookieHeaderKey: "'"]
+        #expect(AlibabaTokenPlanSettingsReader.cookieHeader(environment: env) == nil)
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func alibabaTokenPlanCookieHeader_unwrapsProperlyDoubleQuotedValue() {
+        let env = [AlibabaTokenPlanSettingsReader.cookieHeaderKey: "\"abc=def\""]
+        #expect(AlibabaTokenPlanSettingsReader.cookieHeader(environment: env) == "abc=def")
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func alibabaTokenPlanCookieHeader_unwrapsProperlySingleQuotedValue() {
+        let env = [AlibabaTokenPlanSettingsReader.cookieHeaderKey: "'abc=def'"]
+        #expect(AlibabaTokenPlanSettingsReader.cookieHeader(environment: env) == "abc=def")
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func ollamaAPIKey_returnsNilForLoneDoubleQuoteValue() {
+        for key in OllamaAPISettingsReader.apiKeyEnvironmentKeys {
+            let env = [key: "\""]
+            #expect(OllamaAPISettingsReader.apiKey(environment: env) == nil)
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func ollamaAPIKey_returnsNilForLoneApostropheValue() {
+        for key in OllamaAPISettingsReader.apiKeyEnvironmentKeys {
+            let env = [key: "'"]
+            #expect(OllamaAPISettingsReader.apiKey(environment: env) == nil)
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func ollamaAPIKey_unwrapsProperlyQuotedValue() {
+        let env = [OllamaAPISettingsReader.apiKeyEnvironmentKeys[0]: "\"sk-token\""]
+        #expect(OllamaAPISettingsReader.apiKey(environment: env) == "sk-token")
+    }
+}