vantage-docs/docs/vantage/secrets.md

id, title, sidebar_label

id	title	sidebar_label
secrets	Secrets vault	Secrets

Key/value pairs, grouped by name, encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM under KEY_ENCRYPTION_KEY. Two things consume them: workflow steps, and Kubernetes External Secrets Operator.

Groups and values

A group is a named bundle, such as prod-db, registry or acme-api. Inside it are key/value pairs.

Group by who uses them rather than by what they are. A workflow step references a whole group, so a group that matches one job stays tidy, while a group holding everything hands all of it to every step that needs any of it.

Managing them

Secrets → New group, then add keys.

Once saved, a value is hidden. The list shows key names only. Reveal is a separate action, and it is written to the audit log.

Deleting a single key and deleting the whole group are separate operations.

Using secrets in workflows

Add the group to a step's secret references. When the step runs, the group's pairs are available to it as environment variables:

# with the "registry" group attached to this step
echo "$REGISTRY_PASSWORD" | docker login registry.example.com -u "$REGISTRY_USER" --password-stdin

A workflow can change which groups a step uses without changing the step in the library.

:::warning A step can print its own secrets Values arrive as environment variables. If your script prints them, or runs with set -x, they end up in the run log, which anyone who can see the run can read. Vantage does not filter step output. :::

Kubernetes External Secrets Operator

Kubernetes can read a secret group directly, using a token rather than a sign-in.

1. Generate the token at Settings → Integrations. It is shown once, and Vantage stores only a fingerprint of it.
2. Put it in a Kubernetes secret.
3. Point an External Secrets Operator SecretStore at your Vantage address with that token.

Generating a new token replaces the old one immediately.

:::danger This token reads every group It is instance-wide, not scoped to one group. Treat it as a credential to the whole vault: store it as a secret in the cluster, never in a manifest in git, and rotate it when anyone with access leaves. :::

What the vault is not

• Not a password manager. There is no sharing, expiry or per-user visibility. Anyone who can sign in and reveal, can reveal.
• Not versioned. Overwriting a value loses the previous one.
• Not recoverable without the key. If KEY_ENCRYPTION_KEY is lost, so is every value. Back it up separately from the database.