Learn about encrypted secrets in GitHub Actions and how they allow you to securely store sensitive information like API keys, passwords, and certificates as encrypted environment variables.
Table of Contents
Question
What are encrypted secrets?
A. Encrypted secrets are authentication tokens you can generate in your account settings.
B. Encrypted secrets are the equivalent of SSH keys in GitHub.
C. Encrypted secrets are encrypted environment variables you can create to store sensitive information.
Answer
C. Encrypted secrets are encrypted environment variables you can create to store sensitive information.
Explanation
Once created, encrypted secrets become available for use in your workflows and actions at the level at which they were created (organization or repository).
Encrypted secrets in GitHub Actions are a way to securely store and manage sensitive data that your workflows need access to, such as API keys, passwords, certificates, and other confidential information.
When you create an encrypted secret in your repository or organization settings, GitHub uses a libsodium sealed box to encrypt the secret with a unique key for each repository and organization. This ensures that secrets are encrypted before they reach GitHub and remain encrypted until your workflow needs them.
To use an encrypted secret in a workflow, you reference the secret using the `secrets` context. For example, if you have an encrypted secret named `API_TOKEN`, you can access its value in a workflow step like this:
steps:
- name: Use API token
env:
TOKEN: ${{ secrets.API_TOKEN }}
run: |
# Use TOKEN in your script
When the workflow runs, GitHub automatically decrypts the `API_TOKEN` secret and makes it available as the `TOKEN` environment variable for that step only. The decrypted value is never exposed to the workflow’s logs or to anyone who doesn’t have access to the repository.
By using encrypted secrets, you can safely store and use sensitive data in your GitHub Actions workflows without fear of exposing it. It’s a secure and convenient way to manage things like deployment credentials, signing certificates, access tokens, and more.
In summary, encrypted secrets provide a robust way to encrypt sensitive information as environment variables that your GitHub Actions workflows can securely access as needed, while keeping the data protected from unauthorized access.
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