GitHub_Secrets_and_Environment_Variables

GitHub Secrets and Environment Variables

Manage sensitive data in workflows.

🔐 Types of Secrets

➕ Add Secrets

Add via CLI

gh secret set API_KEY

Prompts for value interactively.

Add with Value

gh secret set API_KEY --body "your-api-key-value"

Sets secret directly.

Add from File

gh secret set API_KEY < key.txt

Sets secret from file.

Add for Environment

gh secret set API_KEY --env production

Sets secret for specific environment.

Add for Organization

gh secret set ORG_SECRET --org my-org

Sets organization-level secret.

📋 List Secrets

List Repository Secrets

gh secret list

Shows secret names (not values).

List Environment Secrets

gh secret list --env production

Shows secrets for environment.

🗑️ Delete Secrets

Delete Secret

gh secret delete API_KEY

Removes secret.

Delete Environment Secret

gh secret delete API_KEY --env production

Removes environment secret.

📊 Use Secrets in Workflows

Environment Variable

steps:
  - run: echo "Deploying..."
    env:
      API_KEY: ${{ secrets.API_KEY }}

Sets as environment variable.

In Step Input

- uses: some-action@v1
  with:
    api-key: ${{ secrets.API_KEY }}

Passes to action input.

Conditional on Secret

- name: Deploy if key exists
  if: ${{ secrets.DEPLOY_KEY != '' }}
  run: deploy

Checks if secret exists.

🔧 Environment Variables

Set Repository Variable

gh variable set NODE_ENV --body "production"

Sets repository variable.

List Variables

gh variable list

Shows repository variables.

Use Variables in Workflow

env:
  NODE_ENV: ${{ vars.NODE_ENV }}

Uses repository variable.

📁 .env Files

Use dotenv

- name: Load .env
  run: |
    set -a
    source .env
    npm run build

Loads local .env file.

⚠️ Security Best Practices

Never Echo Secrets

# ❌ BAD - exposes secret
- run: echo ${{ secrets.API_KEY }}

# ✅ GOOD - use in env
- run: ./deploy.sh
  env:
    API_KEY: ${{ secrets.API_KEY }}

Mask Custom Values

- run: |
    echo "::add-mask::$CUSTOM_SECRET"

Masks value in logs.

💡 Tips

🔗 Related

• GitHub Actions
• CI/CD

#github #secrets #environment #security