Viewing and Editing Credentials

When to Use This Skill

• Adding or updating API keys and secrets
• Verifying what credentials are currently stored
• Retrieving a specific credential value
• Checking credential structure before referencing in code

Commands

Edit (Opens $EDITOR)

bash
# Edit global credentials
npx output credentials edit

# Edit environment-specific
npx output credentials edit -e production
npx output credentials edit -e staging

# Edit per-workflow credentials
npx output credentials edit -w my_workflow

The file is decrypted to a temp file, opened in $EDITOR, then re-encrypted on save. The temp file is securely wiped (overwritten with null bytes) after closing.

Show (Print to stdout)

bash
# Show global credentials (plaintext — use carefully)
npx output credentials show

# Show environment-specific
npx output credentials show -e production

# Show per-workflow
npx output credentials show -w my_workflow

Get (Single value)

bash
# Get a single credential by dot-notation path
npx output credentials get anthropic.api_key
npx output credentials get aws.region
npx output credentials get stripe.secret_key -w payment_processing

Returns the raw string value (or JSON for nested objects).

YAML Format

Credentials are stored as structured YAML with dot-notation access:

yaml
anthropic:
  api_key: sk-ant-...

openai:
  api_key: sk-...

aws:
  region: us-east-1
  access_key_id: AKIA...
  secret_access_key: ...

stripe:
  secret_key: sk_live_...
  webhook_secret: whsec_...

_env:
  ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: anthropic.api_key
  OPENAI_API_KEY: openai.api_key

The _env section maps credential paths to environment variables. See output-credentials-env-vars.

Accessing Credentials in Code

typescript
import { credentials } from '@outputai/credentials';

// Safe read — returns undefined if not found
const region = credentials.get('aws.region');

// Read with default
const region = credentials.get('aws.region', 'us-east-1');

// Strict read — throws MissingCredentialError if not found
const apiKey = credentials.require('anthropic.api_key');

Credential Merging

Per-workflow credentials deep-merge over global credentials at runtime. Workflow values take precedence:

yaml
# Global: anthropic.api_key = "sk-ant-global"
# Workflow: anthropic.api_key = "sk-ant-workflow"
# Runtime result: credentials.get('anthropic.api_key') → "sk-ant-workflow"

Troubleshooting

| Error | Cause | Fix | |-------|-------|-----| | MissingKeyError | Key file not found and env var not set | Run output credentials init or set OUTPUT_CREDENTIALS_KEY | | MissingCredentialError | Path not found in credentials | Run npx output credentials edit and add the value | | aes/gcm: invalid ghash tag | Key doesn't match encrypted file | Key and .yml.enc are out of sync — re-init or use correct key |

Verification Checklist

• ] npx output credentials show prints expected values
• ] npx output credentials get anthropic.api_key returns the correct key
• ] No empty string values remain for required secrets
• ] Per-workflow credentials merge correctly with global

Related Skills

• output-credentials-init — Create credentials files for the first time
• output-credentials-env-vars — Automatically wire credentials to env vars
• output-dev-credentials — Full credentials system reference