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forest6511

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Stop Pasting Secrets into AI Chat - Use AI-Safe Credentials Instead

#ai #mcp #opensource #security

The Awkward Moment Every Developer Knows

You're pair programming with Claude Code, and it asks:

"I need your database credentials to run this migration."

And then you do the thing. You paste your password right into the chat. 🤦

We've all been there. But here's the problem:

  • That secret is now in your conversation history
  • It might end up in logs or training data
  • You can't easily rotate it
  • There's no audit trail

What If AI Could Use Secrets Without Seeing Them?

This is exactly what I built secretctl to solve.

secretctl CLI Demo

Instead of exposing credentials, secretctl injects them as environment variables. The AI assistant can use your secrets to run commands, but never actually sees the plaintext values.

How It Works with Claude Code

Add secretctl as an MCP server in your Claude Code config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "secretctl": {
      "command": "secretctl",
      "args": ["mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "SECRETCTL_PASSWORD": "your-master-password"
      }
    }
  }
}
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Now Claude Code can:

✅ List your available secrets
✅ Run commands with injected credentials
✅ See masked values (e.g., ****WXYZ)
❌ Never see actual plaintext values

Example: Database Migration 

You: "Run the database migration using my prod-db credentials"

Claude: I'll run the migration with your credentials injected.
        [Executes: secretctl run prod-db -- npm run migrate]

        Migration completed successfully!
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The AI executed the command with real credentials, but never saw password123 in the chat.

Why This Matters

Traditional Approach secretctl Approach
Paste secrets in chat Secrets injected via env vars
Visible in history Never exposed to AI
No audit trail Full audit logging
Hard to rotate Single source of truth
Risk of leakage Zero plaintext exposure

Multi-Field Secrets

Real credentials are complex. secretctl supports multi-field secrets with templates:

# Database credentials
secretctl set prod-db --template database
# Stores: host, port, database, username, password

# SSH configurations
secretctl set bastion --template ssh
# Stores: host, port, username, private_key

# API credentials
secretctl set stripe --template api
# Stores: api_key, api_secret, endpoint
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Desktop App for Visual Management

Prefer a GUI? secretctl includes a full-featured desktop app:

secretctl Desktop App

  • Visual secret management
  • Sensitive field masking
  • Audit log viewer
  • Cross-platform (macOS, Windows, Linux)

Quick Start

macOS (Homebrew) 

brew install forest6511/tap/secretctl
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Windows (Scoop) 

scoop bucket add secretctl https://github.com/forest6511/scoop-bucket
scoop install secretctl
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Linux / Manual 

curl -LO https://github.com/forest6511/secretctl/releases/latest/download/secretctl-linux-amd64
chmod +x secretctl-linux-amd64
sudo mv secretctl-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/secretctl
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Then initialize:

secretctl init
secretctl set MY_API_KEY
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Key Features

  • 🔐 Local-first: Your secrets never leave your machine
  • 🤖 AI-Safe Access: MCP integration without plaintext exposure
  • 🛡️ Strong encryption: AES-256-GCM + Argon2id
  • 📝 Audit logging: Track all secret access
  • 📦 Single binary: No dependencies, no server required
  • 🖥️ Desktop App: Full GUI for visual management

Try It Out

GitHub: https://github.com/forest6511/secretctl
Documentation: https://forest6511.github.io/secretctl/

The project is open source (MIT license). Star it if you find it useful!

Have questions or feedback? Drop a comment below or open an issue on GitHub.

Top comments (2)

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scriptorpro profile image
Baudouin •

in

secretctl set MY_API_KEY
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do I need to come up with a value I choose arbitrarily or should I use ChatGPT API key or Claude API key ?

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forest6511_23bcd0a045b1ff profile image
forest6511 •

Hi @baudouin! Great question - let me clarify:

You should use your actual API key from your AI service provider.

Where to get your API key:

How to store it:

Option 1: Interactive (prompts for value)

secretctl set OPENAI_API_KEY
# Then paste your key when prompted
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Option 2: Pipe (one-liner)

echo "sk-proj-abc123..." | secretctl set OPENAI_API_KEY
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The key name (like OPENAI_API_KEY) can be anything you choose - it's just an identifier. The value is your actual secret key from the provider.

Once stored, you can use it with Claude Code without exposing the plaintext:

secretctl run -k OPENAI_API_KEY -- python my_script.py
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Hope this helps! Feel free to ask if you have more questions.