# Secrets Secrets are handled using [Agenix](https://github.com/ryantm/agenix). ## Cheat sheet ### Adding a secret As an example, let us add a secret in a file “cheeses” whose content should be “best ones come unpasteurised”. 1. Edit [`secrets.nix`](./secrets.nix), adding a field to the final record with the file name mapped to the systems that should be able to decrypt the secret, for instance: ```nix cheeses = [ vm02116 forgejo-ci ]; ``` 2. Run Agenix to add the content of the file. Agenix is provided by the development Shell but can also be run directly with `nix run github:ryantm/agenix --`. Run `agenix -e cheeses.age` (with the `.age` extension); this will open your `$EDITOR` ; enter “best ones come unpasteurised”, save and close. 3. If you are doing something flake-related such as NixOps4, remember to commit or at least stage the secret. 4. In the machine's configuration, load our `ageSecrets` NixOS module, declare the machine's host key and start using your secrets, eg.: ```nix { self, config, ... }: { imports = [ self.nixosModules.ageSecrets ]; fediversity.hostPublicKey = self.keys.systems.vmFromage; services.imaginaryCheeseFactory.frenchSecretFile = config.age.secrets.cheeses.path; } ``` If the secrets requires specific owner/group/mode, those can be set with: ```nix age.secrets.cheeses.owner = "jeanpierre"; age.secrets.cheeses.group = "france"; age.secrets.cheeses.mode = "440"; ``` 5. Never read the content of the file in Nix, that is never do anything like: ```nix services.imaginaryCheeseFactory.frenchSecret = readFile config.age.secrets.cheeses.path; ``` This will put the secret as a world-readable file in the Nix store. The service that you are using must be able to read from a file at runtime, and if the NixOS default module options do not provide that, you must find a way around it.