How to Implement Secrets Management
Securely store, rotate, and access secrets, API keys, and credentials across your application and infrastructure.
What You'll Learn
This intermediate-level guide walks you through how to implement secrets management step by step. Estimated time: 10 min.
Step 1: Choose your secrets manager
Select AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, or Doppler based on your cloud provider and complexity requirements.
Step 2: Migrate existing secrets
Audit all hardcoded secrets, environment variables, and config files, then migrate them to your secrets manager.
Step 3: Configure access policies
Set up least-privilege access policies so each service can only access the secrets it needs.
Step 4: Implement secret rotation
Configure automatic rotation for database passwords, API keys, and certificates with zero-downtime rotation procedures.
Step 5: Audit and monitor
Enable audit logging for all secret access, set up alerts for unusual access patterns, and review permissions quarterly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should I store secrets?▾
Use a dedicated secrets manager, never source code or environment files. For Kubernetes, use external-secrets-operator to sync from your secrets manager.
How often should I rotate secrets?▾
Rotate database passwords every 90 days, API keys every 6 months, and immediately if a breach is suspected. Automate rotation to reduce operational burden.
How do I handle secrets in development?▾
Use .env files locally with a .gitignore entry. Use Doppler or similar tools to sync development secrets. Never share production secrets with development environments.