Secret Scanner Skill
Prevent accidental secret exposure in your codebase.
When I Activate
- ✅ Before git commits
- ✅ Files modified/saved
- ✅ User mentions secrets, keys, or credentials
- ✅ .env files changed
- ✅ Configuration files modified
What I Detect
API Keys & Tokens
- AWS access keys (AKIA...)
- Stripe API keys (sk_live_..., pk_live_...)
- GitHub tokens (ghp_...)
- Google API keys
- OAuth tokens
- JWT secrets
Database Credentials
- Database connection strings
- MySQL/PostgreSQL passwords
- MongoDB connection URIs
- Redis passwords
Private Keys
- SSH private keys
- RSA/DSA keys
- PGP/GPG keys
- SSL certificates
Authentication Secrets
- Password variables
- Auth tokens
- Session secrets
- Encryption keys
Alert Examples
API Key Detection
// You type:
const apiKey = 'sk_live_1234567890abcdef';
// I immediately alert:
🚨 CRITICAL: Exposed Stripe API key detected!
📍 File: config.js, Line 3
🔧 Fix: Use environment variables
const apiKey = process.env.STRIPE_API_KEY;
📖 Add to .gitignore: .env
AWS Credentials
# You type:
aws_access_key = "AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE"
# I alert:
🚨 CRITICAL: AWS access key exposed!
📍 File: aws_config.py, Line 1
🔧 Fix: Use AWS credentials file or environment variables
aws_access_key = os.getenv("AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID")
📖 Never commit AWS credentials
Database Password
# You type in docker-compose.yml:
environment:
DB_PASSWORD: "mySecretPassword123"
# I alert:
🚨 CRITICAL: Database password in configuration file!
📍 File: docker-compose.yml, Line 5
🔧 Fix: Use .env file
DB_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
📖 Add .env to .gitignore
Detection Patterns
Pattern Types
High Confidence:
- Known API key formats (Stripe, AWS, etc.)
- Private key headers
- JWT tokens
- Connection strings with credentials
Medium Confidence:
- Variables named "password", "secret", "key"
- Base64 encoded strings in sensitive contexts
- Long random strings in assignments
Low Confidence (Flagged for Review):
- Generic secret patterns
- Potential credentials in comments
Git Integration
Pre-Commit Protection
# Before commit, I scan:
git add .
git commit
# I block if secrets found:
🚨 CRITICAL: Cannot commit - secrets detected!
📍 3 secrets found:
- config.js:12 - API key
- .env:5 - Database password (in gitignore - OK)
- auth.js:45 - JWT secret
❌ Commit blocked - remove secrets first
.gitignore Validation
I check if sensitive files are in .gitignore:
✅ .env - In .gitignore (good)
⚠️ config/secrets.json - NOT in .gitignore (add it!)
✅ .aws/credentials - In .gitignore (good)
False Positive Handling
Example Files
// I understand these are examples:
// Example: const apiKey = 'your_api_key_here';
// TODO: Add your API key from environment
Test Files
// Test fixtures are OK (but flagged for review):
const mockApiKey = 'sk_test_1234567890abcdef'; // ✅ Test key
Documentation
<!-- Documentation examples are flagged but low priority -->
Set your API key: `export API_KEY=your_key_here`
Relationship with security-auditor
secret-scanner (me): Exposed secrets and credentials security-auditor: Code vulnerability patterns
Together
secret-scanner: Finds hardcoded API key
security-auditor: Finds how the key is used insecurely
Combined: Complete security picture
Quick Fixes
Move to Environment Variables
// Before:
const apiKey = 'sk_live_abc123';
// After:
const apiKey = process.env.API_KEY;
// .env file (add to .gitignore):
API_KEY=sk_live_abc123
Use Secret Management
// AWS Secrets Manager
const AWS = require('aws-sdk');
const secrets = new AWS.SecretsManager();
const secret = await secrets.getSecretValue({ SecretId: 'myApiKey' }).promise();
Configuration Files
# docker-compose.yml
services:
app:
environment:
- API_KEY=${API_KEY} # From .env file
# .env (gitignored)
API_KEY=sk_live_abc123
Sandboxing Compatibility
Works without sandboxing: ✅ Yes (recommended) Works with sandboxing: ✅ Yes
- Filesystem: Read-only access
- Network: None required
- Configuration: None required
Customization
Add company-specific secret patterns:
cp -r ~/.claude/skills/security/secret-scanner \
~/.claude/skills/security/company-secret-scanner
# Edit SKILL.md to add:
# - Internal API key formats
# - Company-specific secret patterns
# - Custom detection rules
Best Practices
- Never commit secrets - Use environment variables
- Use .gitignore - Add .env, secrets.json, etc.
- Rotate exposed secrets - If committed, rotate immediately
- Use secret management - AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault
- Audit regularly - Review code for exposed secrets
Emergency Response
If Secret Committed
- Rotate the secret immediately
- Remove from git history
git filter-branch --force --index-filter \ "git rm --cached --ignore-unmatch config/secrets.json" \ --prune-empty --tag-name-filter cat -- --all - Force push (coordinate with team)
- Update all deployments with new secret
Related Tools
- security-auditor skill: Vulnerability detection
- @code-reviewer sub-agent: Security review
- /review command: Comprehensive security check