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Secrets Management in GitHub Actions

Properly managing secrets like API keys, access tokens, and other credentials is a critical aspect of security. This guide explains the best practice of using GitHub Actions secrets to handle sensitive information.

Why Secret Management is Important

Never commit secrets directly to your repository. Once a secret is in your git history, it should be considered compromised, even if you later remove it from the current version of the code. A public repository is visible to everyone, and malicious actors actively scan for exposed credentials.

Leaked secrets can lead to:

• Unauthorized access to your accounts and services.
• Financial loss (e.g., if an API key for a paid service is stolen).
• Damage to your project’s reputation.

Using GitHub Actions Secrets

GitHub provides a secure way to store and use secrets within your repository for use in GitHub Actions workflows.

How it Works

1. Encrypted Storage: Secrets are stored as encrypted values at the repository or organization level.
2. Limited Access: Secrets are only exposed to the specific GitHub Actions workflows you choose. They are not accessible to collaborators or even the repository owner once they are set.
3. Redacted Logs: GitHub automatically redacts secrets from workflow logs, preventing them from being accidentally exposed in build outputs.

How to Add a Repository Secret

1. Navigate to your repository on GitHub.
2. Go to Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions.
3. Click the New repository secret button.
4. Enter a name for your secret (e.g., NPM_TOKEN, AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID). This name will be used to reference the secret in your workflow files.
5. Paste the secret value into the Value field.
6. Click Add secret.

How to Use a Secret in a Workflow

Once a secret is stored, you can access it in your workflow .yml files using the secrets context.

Here’s an example of a workflow step that uses a secret to publish a package to the npm registry:

- name: Publish to npm
  uses: actions/setup-node@v3
  with:
    node-version: "18"
    registry-url: "https://registry.npmjs.org"
- run: npm publish
  env:
    NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: $

In this example:

• secrets.NPM_TOKEN refers to a repository secret named NPM_TOKEN.
• The secret’s value is assigned to the NODE_AUTH_TOKEN environment variable, which is used by the npm publish command for authentication.

By using GitHub Actions secrets, you can automate workflows that require access to sensitive information without compromising on security. It’s a fundamental practice for any project that interacts with external services.

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