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openclaw secrets

Use openclaw secrets to migrate credentials from plaintext to SecretRefs and keep the active secrets runtime healthy. Command roles:
  • reload: gateway RPC (secrets.reload) that re-resolves refs and swaps runtime snapshot only on full success (no config writes).
  • audit: read-only scan of config + auth stores + legacy residues (.env, auth.json) for plaintext, unresolved refs, and precedence drift.
  • configure: interactive planner for provider setup + target mapping + preflight (TTY required).
  • apply: execute a saved plan (--dry-run for validation only), then scrub migrated plaintext residues.
Recommended operator loop: 
openclaw secrets audit --check
openclaw secrets configure
openclaw secrets apply --from /tmp/openclaw-secrets-plan.json --dry-run
openclaw secrets apply --from /tmp/openclaw-secrets-plan.json
openclaw secrets audit --check
openclaw secrets reload
Exit code note for CI/gates:
  • audit --check returns 1 on findings, 2 when refs are unresolved.
Related:

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Reload runtime snapshot

Re-resolve secret refs and atomically swap runtime snapshot. 
openclaw secrets reload
openclaw secrets reload --json
Notes:
  • Uses gateway RPC method secrets.reload.
  • If resolution fails, gateway keeps last-known-good snapshot and returns an error (no partial activation).
  • JSON response includes warningCount.

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Audit

Scan OpenClaw state for:
  • plaintext secret storage
  • unresolved refs
  • precedence drift (auth-profiles shadowing config refs)
  • legacy residues (auth.json, OAuth out-of-scope notes)
openclaw secrets audit
openclaw secrets audit --check
openclaw secrets audit --json
Exit behavior:
  • --check exits non-zero on findings.
  • unresolved refs exit with a higher-priority non-zero code.
Report shape highlights:
  • status: clean | findings | unresolved
  • summary: plaintextCount, unresolvedRefCount, shadowedRefCount, legacyResidueCount
  • finding codes:
    • PLAINTEXT_FOUND
    • REF_UNRESOLVED
    • REF_SHADOWED
    • LEGACY_RESIDUE

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Configure (interactive helper)

Build provider + SecretRef changes interactively, run preflight, and optionally apply: 
openclaw secrets configure
openclaw secrets configure --plan-out /tmp/openclaw-secrets-plan.json
openclaw secrets configure --apply --yes
openclaw secrets configure --providers-only
openclaw secrets configure --skip-provider-setup
openclaw secrets configure --json
Flow:
  • Provider setup first (add/edit/remove for secrets.providers aliases).
  • Credential mapping second (select fields and assign {source, provider, id} refs).
  • Preflight and optional apply last.
Flags:
  • --providers-only: configure secrets.providers only, skip credential mapping.
  • --skip-provider-setup: skip provider setup and map credentials to existing providers.
Notes:
  • Requires an interactive TTY.
  • You cannot combine --providers-only with --skip-provider-setup.
  • configure targets secret-bearing fields in openclaw.json.
  • Include all secret-bearing fields you intend to migrate (for example both models.providers.*.apiKey and skills.entries.*.apiKey) so audit can reach a clean state.
  • It performs preflight resolution before apply.
  • Generated plans default to scrub options (scrubEnv, scrubAuthProfilesForProviderTargets, scrubLegacyAuthJson all enabled).
  • Apply path is one-way for migrated plaintext values.
  • Without --apply, CLI still prompts Apply this plan now? after preflight.
  • With --apply (and no --yes), CLI prompts an extra irreversible-migration confirmation.
Exec provider safety note:
  • Homebrew installs often expose symlinked binaries under /opt/homebrew/bin/*.
  • Set allowSymlinkCommand: true only when needed for trusted package-manager paths, and pair it with trustedDirs (for example ["/opt/homebrew"]).

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Apply a saved plan

Apply or preflight a plan generated previously: 
openclaw secrets apply --from /tmp/openclaw-secrets-plan.json
openclaw secrets apply --from /tmp/openclaw-secrets-plan.json --dry-run
openclaw secrets apply --from /tmp/openclaw-secrets-plan.json --json
Plan contract details (allowed target paths, validation rules, and failure semantics): What apply may update:
  • openclaw.json (SecretRef targets + provider upserts/deletes)
  • auth-profiles.json (provider-target scrubbing)
  • legacy auth.json residues
  • ~/.openclaw/.env known secret keys whose values were migrated

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Why no rollback backups

secrets apply intentionally does not write rollback backups containing old plaintext values. Safety comes from strict preflight + atomic-ish apply with best-effort in-memory restore on failure.

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Example

# Audit first, then configure, then confirm clean:
openclaw secrets audit --check
openclaw secrets configure
openclaw secrets audit --check
If audit --check still reports plaintext findings after a partial migration, verify you also migrated skill keys (skills.entries.*.apiKey) and any other reported target paths.