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Secrets Management

Seth HobsonCommunityCreated by Seth Hobson

  • Skill
  • Tool integration
  • Security
  • MIT
  • No issues found

From the author

Implement secure secrets management for CI/CD pipelines using Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, or native platform solutions. Use when handling sensitive credentials, rotating secrets, or securing CI/CD environments.
— the description by Seth Hobson

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

This skill provides a comprehensive approach to managing sensitive credentials within CI/CD environments. It covers the integration of centralized secret stores like HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, and Google Secret Manager into automated workflows. The content includes practical configuration examples for GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and Kubernetes, alongside essential security practices such as secret rotation, scanning, and avoiding hardcoded credentials.

What it does

  • Demonstrates integration of HashiCorp Vault with CI/CD pipelines.
  • Provides patterns for retrieving secrets from AWS Secrets Manager.
  • Shows how to use native CI/CD platform secrets and variables.
  • Explains automated secret rotation processes.
  • Includes methods for scanning repositories to prevent secret leakage.
  • Details Kubernetes integration using the External Secrets Operator.

When to use it

  • When you need to store API keys, database passwords, or TLS certificates.
  • When implementing automated secret rotation for enhanced security.
  • When you need to move away from hardcoded credentials in your codebase.
  • When configuring least-privilege access for CI/CD pipeline jobs.

Advantages

  • Centralizes credential management across different environments.
  • Reduces the risk of accidental credential exposure in source control.
  • Supports automated rotation to minimize the impact of compromised secrets.
  • Provides audit logging for secret access.

Usage examples

“How do I retrieve a database password from HashiCorp Vault in a GitHub Actions workflow?”
The agent provides a configuration snippet using the hashicorp/vault-action to securely import secrets into environment variables.
“Show me how to scan my repository for accidentally committed secrets in GitLab CI.”
The agent provides a CI job definition using trufflesecurity/trufflehog to scan the filesystem for sensitive data.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/wshobson/secrets-management/download
  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip secrets-management.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Seth Hobson

Secrets Management

Secure secrets management practices for CI/CD pipelines using Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, and other tools.

Purpose

Implement secure secrets management in CI/CD pipelines without hardcoding sensitive information.

When to Use

  • Store API keys and credentials

  • Manage database passwords

  • Handle TLS certificates

  • Rotate secrets automatically

  • Implement least-privilege access

Secrets Management Tools

HashiCorp Vault
  • Centralized secrets management

  • Dynamic secrets generation

  • Secret rotation

  • Audit logging

  • Fine-grained access control

AWS Secrets Manager
  • AWS-native solution

  • Automatic rotation

  • Integration with RDS

  • CloudFormation support

Azure Key Vault
  • Azure-native solution

  • HSM-backed keys

  • Certificate management

  • RBAC integration

Google Secret Manager
  • GCP-native solution

  • Versioning

  • IAM integration

HashiCorp Vault Integration

Setup Vault
# Start Vault dev server
vault server -dev

# Set environment
export VAULT_ADDR='http://127.0.0.1:8200'
export VAULT_TOKEN='root'

# Enable secrets engine
vault secrets enable -path=secret kv-v2

# Store secret
vault kv put secret/database/config username=admin password=secret
GitHub Actions with Vault
name: Deploy with Vault Secrets

on: [push]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Import Secrets from Vault
        uses: hashicorp/vault-action@v2
        with:
          url: https://vault.example.com:8200
          token: ${{ secrets.VAULT_TOKEN }}
          secrets: |
            secret/data/database username | DB_USERNAME ;
            secret/data/database password | DB_PASSWORD ;
            secret/data/api key | API_KEY

      - name: Use secrets
        run: |
          echo "Connecting to database as $DB_USERNAME"
          # Use $DB_PASSWORD, $API_KEY
GitLab CI with Vault
deploy:
  image: vault:1.17
  before_script:
    - export VAULT_ADDR=https://vault.example.com:8200
    - export VAULT_TOKEN=$VAULT_TOKEN
    - apk add curl jq
  script:
    - |
      DB_PASSWORD=$(vault kv get -field=password secret/database/config)
      API_KEY=$(vault kv get -field=key secret/api/credentials)
      echo "Deploying with secrets..."
      # Use $DB_PASSWORD, $API_KEY

AWS Secrets Manager

Store Secret
aws secretsmanager create-secret \
  --name production/database/password \
  --secret-string "super-secret-password"
Retrieve in GitHub Actions
- name: Configure AWS credentials
  uses: aws-actions/configure-aws-credentials@v4
  with:
    aws-access-key-id: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
    aws-secret-access-key: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
    aws-region: us-west-2

- name: Get secret from AWS
  run: |
    SECRET=$(aws secretsmanager get-secret-value \
      --secret-id production/database/password \
      --query SecretString \
      --output text)
    echo "::add-mask::$SECRET"
    echo "DB_PASSWORD=$SECRET" >> $GITHUB_ENV

- name: Use secret
  run: |
    # Use $DB_PASSWORD
    ./deploy.sh
Terraform with AWS Secrets Manager
data "aws_secretsmanager_secret_version" "db_password" {
  secret_id = "production/database/password"
}

resource "aws_db_instance" "main" {
  allocated_storage    = 100
  engine              = "postgres"
  instance_class      = "db.t3.large"
  username            = "admin"
  password            = jsondecode(data.aws_secretsmanager_secret_version.db_password.secret_string)["password"]
}

GitHub Secrets

Organization/Repository Secrets
- name: Use GitHub secret
  env:
    API_KEY: ${{ secrets.API_KEY }}
    DATABASE_URL: ${{ secrets.DATABASE_URL }}
  run: |
    # Secrets are injected as env vars — never print them to logs
    ./deploy.sh
Environment Secrets
deploy:
  runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  environment: production
  steps:
    - name: Deploy
      env:
        PROD_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.PROD_API_KEY }}
      run: |
        # Secret injected as env var — never print to logs
        ./deploy.sh

GitLab CI/CD Variables

Project Variables
deploy:
  script:
    # Fail if a variable is missing, but never print its value
    - test -n "$API_KEY" || { echo "API_KEY is not set"; exit 1; }
    - test -n "$DATABASE_URL" || { echo "DATABASE_URL is not set"; exit 1; }
Protected and Masked Variables
  • Protected: Only available in protected branches

  • Masked: Hidden in job logs

  • File type: Stored as file

Best Practices

  1. Never commit secrets to Git

  2. Use different secrets per environment

  3. Rotate secrets regularly

  4. Implement least-privilege access

  5. Enable audit logging

  6. Use secret scanning (GitGuardian, TruffleHog)

  7. Mask secrets in logs

  8. Encrypt secrets at rest

  9. Use short-lived tokens when possible

  10. Document secret requirements

Secret Rotation

Automated Rotation with AWS
import boto3
import json

def lambda_handler(event, context):
    client = boto3.client('secretsmanager')

    # Get current secret
    response = client.get_secret_value(SecretId='my-secret')
    current_secret = json.loads(response['SecretString'])

    # Generate new password
    new_password = generate_strong_password()

    # Update database password
    update_database_password(new_password)

    # Update secret
    client.put_secret_value(
        SecretId='my-secret',
        SecretString=json.dumps({
            'username': current_secret['username'],
            'password': new_password
        })
    )

    return {'statusCode': 200}
Manual Rotation Process
  1. Generate new secret

  2. Update secret in secret store

  3. Update applications to use new secret

  4. Verify functionality

  5. Revoke old secret

External Secrets Operator

Kubernetes Integration
apiVersion: external-secrets.io/v1beta1
kind: SecretStore
metadata:
  name: vault-backend
  namespace: production
spec:
  provider:
    vault:
      server: "https://vault.example.com:8200"
      path: "secret"
      version: "v2"
      auth:
        kubernetes:
          mountPath: "kubernetes"
          role: "production"

---
apiVersion: external-secrets.io/v1beta1
kind: ExternalSecret
metadata:
  name: database-credentials
  namespace: production
spec:
  refreshInterval: 1h
  secretStoreRef:
    name: vault-backend
    kind: SecretStore
  target:
    name: database-credentials
    creationPolicy: Owner
  data:
    - secretKey: username
      remoteRef:
        key: database/config
        property: username
    - secretKey: password
      remoteRef:
        key: database/config
        property: password

Secret Scanning

Pre-commit Hook
#!/bin/bash
# .git/hooks/pre-commit

# Check for secrets with TruffleHog
docker run --rm -v "$(pwd):/repo" \
  trufflesecurity/trufflehog:3.88 \
  filesystem --directory=/repo

if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
  echo "❌ Secret detected! Commit blocked."
  exit 1
fi
CI/CD Secret Scanning
secret-scan:
  stage: security
  image: trufflesecurity/trufflehog:3.88
  script:
    - trufflehog filesystem .
  allow_failure: false
  • github-actions-templates - For GitHub Actions integration

  • gitlab-ci-patterns - For GitLab CI integration

  • deployment-pipeline-design - For pipeline architecture

Files

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Needs an API key, Needs a command-line tool, Needs Python

Security

No issues found by our static scan· No issues found

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

Attribution and licence

Created by
Seth Hobson
Publisher
Seth Hobson (Community)
Source
wshobson/agents · plugins/cicd-automation/skills/secrets-management · commit 4bde316
Licence
MIT License (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
Synced

AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Seth Hobson.

Download ZIP

The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download secrets-management.zip