Secrets Management

Paperclip encrypts secrets at rest using a local master key. Agent environment variables that contain sensitive values (API keys, tokens) are stored as encrypted secret references.

Default Provider: local_encrypted

Secrets are encrypted with a local master key stored at:

~/.paperclip/instances/default/secrets/master.key

This key is auto-created during onboarding. The key never leaves your machine.

Configuration

CLI Setup

Onboarding writes default secrets config:

pnpm paperclipai onboard

Update secrets settings:

pnpm paperclipai configure --section secrets

Validate secrets config:

pnpm paperclipai doctor

Environment Overrides

Variable	Description
PAPERCLIP_SECRETS_MASTER_KEY	32-byte key as base64, hex, or raw string
PAPERCLIP_SECRETS_MASTER_KEY_FILE	Custom key file path
PAPERCLIP_SECRETS_STRICT_MODE	Set to true to enforce secret refs

Strict Mode

When strict mode is enabled, sensitive env keys (matching *_API_KEY, *_TOKEN, *_SECRET) must use secret references instead of inline plain values.

PAPERCLIP_SECRETS_STRICT_MODE=true

Recommended for any deployment beyond local trusted.

Migrating Inline Secrets

If you have existing agents with inline API keys in their config, migrate them to encrypted secret refs:

pnpm secrets:migrate-inline-env         # dry run
pnpm secrets:migrate-inline-env --apply # apply migration

Secret References in Agent Config

Agent environment variables use secret references:

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": {
      "type": "secret_ref",
      "secretId": "8f884973-c29b-44e4-8ea3-6413437f8081",
      "version": "latest"
    }
  }
}

The server resolves and decrypts these at runtime, injecting the real value into the agent process environment.