ggshield Secret Scanner

Detect 500+ types of hardcoded secrets (API keys, credentials, tokens) before they leak into git. Wraps GitGuardian's ggshield CLI.

Overview

ggshield is a CLI tool that detects hardcoded secrets in your codebase. This Moltbot skill brings secret scanning capabilities to your AI agent.

What Are "Secrets"?

Secrets are sensitive credentials that should NEVER be committed to version control:

• AWS Access Keys, GCP Service Accounts, Azure credentials
• API tokens (GitHub, Slack, Stripe, etc.)
• Database passwords and connection strings
• Private encryption keys and certificates
• OAuth tokens and refresh tokens
• PayPal/Stripe API keys
• Email server credentials

Why This Matters

A single leaked secret can:

• 🔓 Compromise your infrastructure
• 💸 Incur massive cloud bills (attackers abuse your AWS account)
• 📊 Expose customer data (GDPR/CCPA violation)
• 🚨 Trigger security incidents and audits

ggshield catches these before they reach your repository.

Features

Commands Available

1. scan-repo

Scans an entire git repository for secrets (including history).

text

@clawd scan-repo /path/to/my/project

Output:

text

🔍 Scanning repository...
✅ Repository clean: 1,234 files scanned, 0 secrets found

Output on detection:

text

❌ Found 2 secrets:

- AWS Access Key ID in config/prod.py:42
- Slack API token in .env.backup:8

Use 'ggshield secret ignore --last-found' to ignore, or remove them.

2. scan-file

Scans a single file for secrets.

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@clawd scan-file /path/to/config.py

3. scan-staged

Scans only staged git changes (useful pre-commit check).

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@clawd scan-staged

This runs on your git add-ed changes only (fast!).

4. install-hooks

Installs ggshield as a git pre-commit hook.

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@clawd install-hooks

After this, every commit is automatically scanned:

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$ git commit -m "Add config"
🔍 Running ggshield pre-commit hook...
❌ Secrets detected! Commit blocked.
Remove the secrets and try again.

5. scan-docker

Scans Docker images for secrets in their layers.

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@clawd scan-docker my-app:latest

Installation

Prerequisites

1. ggshield CLI: Install via pip

   bash

   pip install ggshield>=1.15.0
   

2. GitGuardian API Key: Required for secret detection

   • Sign up: https://dashboard.gitguardian.com (free)
   • Generate API key in Settings
   • Set environment variable:

bash

export GITGUARDIAN_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

3. Python 3.8+: Required by ggshield

Install Skill

bash

clawdhub install ggshield-scanner

The skill is now available in your Moltbot workspace.

In Your Moltbot Workspace

Start a new Moltbot session to pick up the skill:

bash

moltbot start
# or via messaging: @clawd list-skills

Usage Patterns

Pattern 1: Before Pushing (Security Check)

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Dev: @clawd scan-repo .
Moltbot: ✅ Repository clean. All good to push!

Dev: git push

Pattern 2: Audit Existing Repo

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Dev: @clawd scan-repo ~/my-old-project
Moltbot: ❌ Found 5 secrets in history!
         - AWS keys in config/secrets.json
         - Database password in docker-compose.yml
         - Slack webhook in .env.example
Moltbot: Recommendation: Rotate these credentials immediately.
         Consider using git-filter-repo to remove from history.

Pattern 3: Pre-Commit Enforcement

text

Dev: @clawd install-hooks
Moltbot: ✅ Installed pre-commit hook

Dev: echo "SECRET_TOKEN=xyz" > config.py
Dev: git add config.py
Dev: git commit -m "Add config"
Moltbot: ❌ Pre-commit hook detected secret!
Dev: rm config.py && git reset
Dev: (add config to .gitignore and to environment variables instead)
Dev: git commit -m "Add config" # Now works!

Pattern 4: Docker Image Security

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Dev: @clawd scan-docker my-api:v1.2.3
Moltbot: ✅ Docker image clean

Configuration

Environment Variables

These are required for the skill to work:

Variable	Value	Where to Set
GITGUARDIAN_API_KEY	Your API key from https://dashboard.gitguardian.com	~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
GITGUARDIAN_ENDPOINT	https://api.gitguardian.com (default, optional)	Usually not needed

Optional ggshield Config

Create ~/.gitguardian/.gitguardian.yml for persistent settings:

yaml

verbose: false
output-format: json
exit-code: true

For details: https://docs.gitguardian.com/ggshield-docs/

Privacy & Security

What Data is Sent to GitGuardian?

✅ ONLY metadata is sent:

• Hash of the secret pattern (not the actual secret)
• File path (relative path only)
• Line number

❌ NEVER sent:

• Your actual secrets or credentials
• File contents
• Private keys
• Credentials

Reference: GitGuardian Enterprise customers can use on-premise scanning with no data sent anywhere.

How Secrets Are Detected

ggshield uses:

1. Entropy-based detection: Identifies high-entropy strings (random tokens)
2. Pattern matching: Looks for known secret formats (AWS key prefixes, etc.)
3. Public CVEs: Cross-references disclosed secrets
4. Machine learning: Trained on leaked secrets database

Troubleshooting

"ggshield: command not found"

ggshield is not installed or not in your PATH.

Fix:

bash

pip install ggshield
which ggshield  # Should return a path

"GITGUARDIAN_API_KEY not found"

The environment variable is not set.

Fix:

bash

export GITGUARDIAN_API_KEY="your-key"
# For persistence, add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:
echo 'export GITGUARDIAN_API_KEY="your-key"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

"401 Unauthorized"

API key is invalid or expired.

Fix:

bash

# Test the API key
ggshield auth status

# If invalid, regenerate at https://dashboard.gitguardian.com → API Tokens
# Then: export GITGUARDIAN_API_KEY="new-key"

"Slow on large repositories"

Scanning a 50GB monorepo takes time. ggshield is doing a lot of work.

Workaround:

bash

# Scan only staged changes (faster):
@clawd scan-staged

# Or specify a subdirectory:
@clawd scan-file ./app/config.py

Advanced Topics

Ignoring False Positives

Sometimes ggshield flags a string that's NOT a secret (e.g., a test key):

bash

# Ignore the last secret found
ggshield secret ignore --last-found

# Ignore all in a file
ggshield secret ignore --path ./config-example.py

This creates .gitguardian/config.json with ignore rules.

Integrating with CI/CD

You can add secret scanning to GitHub Actions / GitLab CI:

yaml

# .github/workflows/secret-scan.yml
name: Secret Scan
on: [push]
jobs:
  scan:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - run: pip install ggshield
      - run: ggshield secret scan repo .
        env:
          GITGUARDIAN_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.GITGUARDIAN_API_KEY }}

Enterprise: On-Premise Scanning

If your company uses GitGuardian Enterprise, you can scan without sending data to the cloud:

bash

export GITGUARDIAN_ENDPOINT="https://your-instance.gitguardian.com"
export GITGUARDIAN_API_KEY="your-enterprise-key"

Related Resources

• ggshield Documentation: https://docs.gitguardian.com/ggshield-docs/
• GitGuardian Dashboard: https://dashboard.gitguardian.com (view all secrets found)
• Moltbot Skills: https://docs.molt.bot/tools/clawdhub
• Secret Management Best Practices: https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Secrets_Management_Cheat_Sheet.html

Support

• Bug reports: https://github.com/GitGuardian/ggshield-skill/issues
• Questions: Open an issue or comment on ClawdHub
• ggshield issues: https://github.com/GitGuardian/ggshield/issues

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file

Contributors

• GitGuardian Team
• [Your contributions welcome!]

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Version: 1.0.0 Last updated: January 2026 Maintainer: GitGuardian