diff --git a/skills/last30days/scripts/lib/pipeline.py b/skills/last30days/scripts/lib/pipeline.py
index a5caa88..4188e26 100644
--- a/skills/last30days/scripts/lib/pipeline.py
+++ b/skills/last30days/scripts/lib/pipeline.py
@@ -120,7 +120,9 @@ def available_sources(config: dict[str, Any], requested_sources: list[str] | Non
         available.append("grounding")
     # Perplexity Sonar: opt-in additive source via INCLUDE_SOURCES=perplexity
     include_sources = (config.get("INCLUDE_SOURCES") or "").lower().split(",")
-    if config.get("OPENROUTER_API_KEY") and "perplexity" in include_sources:
+    if config.get("OPENROUTER_API_KEY") and (
+        "perplexity" in include_sources or (requested_sources and "perplexity" in requested_sources)
+    ):
         available.append("perplexity")
     if requested_sources and "xiaohongshu" in requested_sources and env.is_xiaohongshu_available(config):
         available.append("xiaohongshu")
diff --git a/tests/test_cli_v3.py b/tests/test_cli_v3.py
index 72a8c07..60ff5eb 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli_v3.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli_v3.py
@@ -84,6 +84,13 @@ class CliV3Tests(unittest.TestCase):
         )
         self.assertIn("threads", available)
 
+    def test_explicit_perplexity_search_uses_openrouter_key_without_include_sources(self):
+        available = cli.pipeline.available_sources(
+            {"OPENROUTER_API_KEY": "test-key", "INCLUDE_SOURCES": ""},
+            requested_sources=["perplexity"],
+        )
+        self.assertIn("perplexity", available)
+
     def test_parse_search_flag_rejects_invalid_or_empty_inputs(self):
         with self.assertRaises(SystemExit):
             cli.parse_search_flag("unknown")