diff --git a/litellm/proxy/ui_crud_endpoints/proxy_setting_endpoints.py b/litellm/proxy/ui_crud_endpoints/proxy_setting_endpoints.py
index a7efe97157..db3ae9ad94 100644
--- a/litellm/proxy/ui_crud_endpoints/proxy_setting_endpoints.py
+++ b/litellm/proxy/ui_crud_endpoints/proxy_setting_endpoints.py
@@ -94,6 +94,11 @@ class UISettings(BaseModel):
         description="List of page keys that internal users (non-admins) can see in the UI sidebar. If not set, all pages are visible based on role permissions.",
     )
 
+    require_auth_for_public_ai_hub: bool = Field(
+        default=False,
+        description="If true, requires authentication for accessing the public AI Hub.",
+    )
+
     allow_public_health_readiness_details: bool = Field(
         default=False,
         description="If true, returns the legacy detailed payload from the unauthenticated /health/readiness endpoint.",
@@ -168,6 +173,7 @@ ALLOWED_UI_SETTINGS_FIELDS = {
     "disable_model_add_for_internal_users",
     "disable_team_admin_delete_team_user",
     "enabled_ui_pages_internal_users",
+    "require_auth_for_public_ai_hub",
     "allow_public_health_readiness_details",
     "forward_client_headers_to_llm_api",
     "forward_llm_provider_auth_headers",
diff --git a/tests/test_litellm/proxy/ui_crud_endpoints/test_proxy_setting_endpoints.py b/tests/test_litellm/proxy/ui_crud_endpoints/test_proxy_setting_endpoints.py
index 8e67c7e87e..c27d7eedcd 100644
--- a/tests/test_litellm/proxy/ui_crud_endpoints/test_proxy_setting_endpoints.py
+++ b/tests/test_litellm/proxy/ui_crud_endpoints/test_proxy_setting_endpoints.py
@@ -868,6 +868,7 @@ class TestProxySettingEndpoints:
         mock_db_record = MagicMock()
         mock_db_record.ui_settings = {
             "disable_model_add_for_internal_users": True,
+            "require_auth_for_public_ai_hub": True,
             "unexpected_flag": True,
         }
         mock_prisma.db.litellm_uisettings.find_unique = AsyncMock(
@@ -880,10 +881,12 @@ class TestProxySettingEndpoints:
         assert response.status_code == 200
         data = response.json()
         assert data["values"]["disable_model_add_for_internal_users"] is True
+        assert data["values"]["require_auth_for_public_ai_hub"] is True
         assert "unexpected_flag" not in data["values"]
         assert (
             "disable_model_add_for_internal_users" in data["field_schema"]["properties"]
         )
+        assert "require_auth_for_public_ai_hub" in data["field_schema"]["properties"]
         mock_prisma.db.litellm_uisettings.find_unique.assert_called_once_with(
             where={"id": "ui_settings"}
         )
@@ -1070,6 +1073,43 @@ class TestProxySettingEndpoints:
         assert "unsupported_flag" not in stored_settings
         assert stored_settings["disable_model_add_for_internal_users"] is False
 
+    def test_update_ui_settings_preserves_public_ai_hub_auth_flag(
+        self, mock_auth, monkeypatch
+    ):
+        """Public AI Hub auth is an existing UI setting and must remain writable."""
+        from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, MagicMock
+
+        from litellm.proxy._types import UserAPIKeyAuth
+        from litellm.proxy.auth.user_api_key_auth import user_api_key_auth
+
+        mock_user_auth = UserAPIKeyAuth(
+            user_id="test-user-123",
+            user_role=LitellmUserRoles.PROXY_ADMIN,
+        )
+        app.dependency_overrides[user_api_key_auth] = lambda: mock_user_auth
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr("litellm.proxy.proxy_server.store_model_in_db", True)
+        mock_prisma = MagicMock()
+        mock_prisma.db.litellm_uisettings.upsert = AsyncMock()
+        mock_prisma.db.litellm_uisettings.find_unique = AsyncMock(return_value=None)
+        monkeypatch.setattr("litellm.proxy.proxy_server.prisma_client", mock_prisma)
+
+        payload = {"require_auth_for_public_ai_hub": True}
+
+        try:
+            response = client.patch("/update/ui_settings", json=payload)
+        finally:
+            app.dependency_overrides.clear()
+
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+        data = response.json()
+        assert data["status"] == "success"
+        assert data["settings"]["require_auth_for_public_ai_hub"] is True
+
+        call_args = mock_prisma.db.litellm_uisettings.upsert.call_args
+        stored_settings = json.loads(call_args.kwargs["data"]["create"]["ui_settings"])
+        assert stored_settings["require_auth_for_public_ai_hub"] is True
+
     def test_update_ui_settings_persists_forward_llm_provider_auth_headers(
         self, mock_auth, monkeypatch
     ):