Secret Scanner

Scans files, repos, and directories for leaked secrets — API keys, tokens, passwords, connection strings, private keys, and credentials. Detects 40+ secret patterns across all major cloud providers and services.

Security skill that scans code, config files, and repos for accidentally leaked secrets and credentials.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when the user:

• Asks to "check for leaked secrets" or "scan for API keys"
• Wants to audit a repo or folder before committing or publishing
• Says "are there any hardcoded passwords in this code?"
• Asks to "find credentials" or "check for exposed tokens"
• Wants pre-commit or pre-publish security checks
• Mentions concern about accidentally checking in secrets

Capabilities

• Detect 40+ secret patterns including:
  • AWS Access Keys, Secret Keys, Session Tokens
  • Azure Storage Keys, Connection Strings, SAS Tokens
  • GCP Service Account Keys, API Keys
  • GitHub / GitLab / Bitbucket Personal Access Tokens
  • OpenAI, Anthropic, Hugging Face API Keys
  • Slack Bot Tokens, Webhooks
  • Stripe, Twilio, SendGrid Keys
  • Database connection strings (MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis)
  • SSH Private Keys, PEM/PFX Certificates
  • JWT Tokens, Bearer Tokens
  • Generic passwords in config files (password=, secret=, token=)
• Scan individual files, directories, or entire repos recursively
• Ignore binary files, node_modules, .git, and other non-relevant paths
• Output results as Markdown report or JSON
• Provide severity ratings (Critical, High, Medium, Low)
• Suggest remediation for each finding

How to Scan

Scan a directory

bash

python secret_scanner.py /path/to/project

Scan with JSON output

bash

python secret_scanner.py /path/to/project --json

Scan and save report

bash

python secret_scanner.py /path/to/project --output report.md

Within an Agent

text

"Scan this project for leaked secrets"
"Check if there are any API keys in the codebase"
"Run secret-scanner on the current directory"
"Find hardcoded passwords in my config files"
"Audit this repo before I push to GitHub"

Secret Patterns Detected

Cloud Provider Keys

Provider	Secrets Detected
AWS	Access Key ID (AKIA...), Secret Access Key, Session Token
Azure	Storage Account Key, Connection String, SAS Token, Client Secret
GCP	API Key (AIza...), Service Account JSON, OAuth Client Secret

AI / LLM Keys

Service	Pattern
OpenAI	sk- prefixed API keys
Anthropic	sk-ant- prefixed keys
Hugging Face	hf_ prefixed tokens
Cohere	API keys in config

Developer Platforms

Platform	Secrets Detected
GitHub	ghp_, gho_, ghu_, ghs_, ghr_ tokens
GitLab	glpat- tokens
Slack	xoxb-, xoxp-, xoxs- tokens, webhook URLs
Stripe	sk_live_, sk_test_, rk_live_ keys
Twilio	Account SID, Auth Token
SendGrid	SG. prefixed API keys

Databases & Infrastructure

Type	Pattern
MongoDB	mongodb:// or mongodb+srv:// with credentials
PostgreSQL	postgresql:// with embedded password
MySQL	mysql:// with embedded password
Redis	redis:// with password
SSH	-----BEGIN (RSA|EC|OPENSSH) PRIVATE KEY-----
Certificates	PEM, PFX, P12 with embedded keys

Generic Patterns

Pattern	Description
password=	Hardcoded passwords in config/env files
secret=	Hardcoded secrets
token=	Hardcoded tokens
Bearer	Bearer tokens in code
Basic Auth	Base64-encoded basic auth headers
JWT	eyJ prefixed JWT tokens
High Entropy	Long random strings that look like secrets

Severity Levels

Severity	Description	Examples
🔴 Critical	Active production credentials	AWS Secret Key, Private Keys, DB passwords
🟠 High	Service tokens with broad access	GitHub PAT, Slack Bot Token, Stripe Live Key
🟡 Medium	Keys that may be test/dev	Test API keys, example tokens
🟢 Low	Potential false positives	Generic password= in comments, placeholder values

Files Scanned

Scans these file types by default:

• Source code: .py, .js, .ts, .java, .go, .rb, .php, .cs, .rs
• Config: .json, .yaml, .yml, .toml, .ini, .cfg, .conf
• Environment: .env, .env.local, .env.production
• Shell: .sh, .bash, .zsh, .ps1
• Docs: .md, .txt
• Other: Dockerfile, docker-compose.yml, Makefile

Ignored Paths

Automatically skips:

• node_modules/, vendor/, venv/, .venv/
• .git/, .svn/
• __pycache__/, .pytest_cache/
• Binary files, images, compiled outputs
• package-lock.json, yarn.lock

Remediation Guidance

When secrets are found, the skill recommends:

1. Rotate the secret immediately — assume it's compromised
2. Remove from code — use environment variables or a secrets manager instead
3. Add to .gitignore — prevent .env and credential files from being committed
4. Use git-filter-repo — to remove secrets from git history
5. Enable pre-commit hooks — to catch secrets before they're committed

Requirements

• Python 3.7+
• No additional dependencies (uses Python standard library)

Entry Point

• CLI: secret_scanner.py

Tags

#security #secrets #credentials #api-keys #tokens #passwords #scanner #audit #pre-commit #leak-detection #cloud #aws #azure #gcp #devops