Env & Secrets Manager

Complete environment variable and secrets management lifecycle: .env file structure across dev/staging/production, .env.example auto-generation that strips sensitive values, required-variable validation at startup, secret leak detection in git history, credential rotation playbooks, environment drift detection, and integration with HashiCorp Vault, AWS SSM, 1Password CLI, and Doppler.

Core Capabilities

• .env lifecycle — structured layout with categorized sections, auto-generated .env.example (strips secrets), environment-specific files, and fail-fast startup validation.
• Secret leak detection — regex scan of git history, working tree, and staged files; pre-commit hooks; patterns for API keys, tokens, passwords, private keys.
• Credential rotation — per-secret playbooks, scope analysis, zero-downtime dual-read rotation, post-rotation verification and monitoring.
• Secret manager integration — HashiCorp Vault (KV v2 + OIDC), AWS SSM Parameter Store (KMS), 1Password CLI (template injection), Doppler (project/config).
• Drift detection — compare variable key sets between staging and production and report missing/extra keys.

When to Use

• Setting up a new project — scaffold .env.example and validation.
• Before every commit — scan for accidentally staged secrets.
• Post-incident — rotate leaked credentials systematically.
• Onboarding developers — provide complete environment setup.
• Auditing — detect environment drift between staging and production.
• Compliance — demonstrate secret management practices.

Clarify First

Before running, confirm these inputs. If any is unknown or vague, ASK — do not assume:

• Task — scaffold/validate a .env, scan for leaked secrets, or check env drift (selects env_validator.py vs secret_scanner.py vs env_sync_checker.py)
• Target paths — the .env/.env.example files or directory to scan (the input the tools read)
• Secret manager — Vault, AWS SSM, 1Password, or Doppler (determines the integration and rotation commands generated)

Stop rule: ask only the 2-3 that most change the output. If the user says "just draft it," proceed and list your assumptions at the top of the artifact.

Tools

Tool	Purpose	Command
env_validator.py	Validate a .env against .env.example: missing/extra vars, empty secrets, leaked credentials	python scripts/env_validator.py .env.example .env --strict --check-secrets
secret_scanner.py	Scan a directory/file for hardcoded secrets via pattern matching	python scripts/secret_scanner.py ./src --severity high --json
env_sync_checker.py	Compare env configs across dev/staging/prod and report drift	python scripts/env_sync_checker.py .env.* --baseline .env.example

References

Load the reference that matches the task — keep this file lean and pull detail on demand:

• references/env-file-structure.md — canonical .env layout, the .env.* file hierarchy, required .gitignore patterns, and the full Python startup-validation script. Read when scaffolding a project or wiring validation.
• references/leak-detection-and-rotation.md — the git-history secret scanner, pre-commit hook, the 4-step credential rotation playbook (scope, generate, dual-write, verify), and the environment-drift detection script. Read when scanning for leaks or rotating credentials.
• references/secret-manager-integration.md — concrete Vault, AWS SSM, and Doppler commands for storing, reading, and rotating secrets. Read when integrating a secret manager.
• references/best-practices-and-troubleshooting.md — common pitfalls, the 8 best practices, the troubleshooting table, and the success-criteria bar. Read when reviewing a setup or debugging.

Scope & Limitations

This skill covers:

• .env file scaffolding, hierarchy, and validation for any language/framework
• Secret leak detection in git history, staged files, and working tree
• Credential rotation playbooks with zero-downtime dual-read strategy
• Integration patterns for HashiCorp Vault, AWS SSM, 1Password CLI, and Doppler

This skill does NOT cover:

• Runtime secret injection in Kubernetes (see engineering/ci-cd-pipeline-builder for deployment pipeline secrets)
• Infrastructure-as-code for provisioning Vault clusters or SSM policies (see engineering/ci-cd-pipeline-builder)
• Application-level encryption at rest or in transit (see engineering/api-design-reviewer for API security patterns)
• Identity and access management (IAM) role design or SSO/OIDC provider configuration (see ra-qm-team/ compliance skills for access control frameworks)

Integration Points

Skill	Integration	Data Flow
engineering/ci-cd-pipeline-builder	Inject secrets from Vault/SSM/Doppler into CI/CD pipeline stages	Rotation playbook outputs feed pipeline secret-update steps
engineering/dependency-auditor	Flag dependencies that bundle or require hardcoded credentials	Dependency audit findings trigger secret leak scans on affected repos
engineering/skill-security-auditor	Validate that no skill packages ship embedded secrets or credentials	Security audit references this skill's regex patterns for detection
engineering/codebase-onboarding	Include .env.example setup and secret-manager access in onboarding checklists	Onboarding workflow consumes the .env hierarchy and validation script
engineering/observability-designer	Monitor authentication failures post-rotation; alert on anomalous secret access	Post-rotation verification metrics flow into observability dashboards
ra-qm-team/soc2-compliance-auditor	Demonstrate secret management controls for SOC 2 CC6.1 and CC6.6 criteria	Rotation audit logs and access policies serve as SOC 2 evidence artifacts