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SecretRef credential surface

docs/reference/secretref-credential-surface.md

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This page defines the canonical SecretRef credential surface: which credential fields accept a SecretRef (env/file/exec-backed reference) instead of a raw secret value.

Scope:

  • In scope: strictly user-supplied credentials that OpenClaw does not mint or rotate.
  • Out of scope: runtime-minted or rotating credentials, OAuth refresh material, and session-like artifacts.

The lists below are generated from the source target registry and checked against docs/reference/secretref-user-supplied-credentials-matrix.json in CI; do not hand-edit entries.

Supported credentials

openclaw.json targets (secrets configure + secrets apply + secrets audit)

  • models.providers.*.apiKey
  • models.providers.*.headers.*
  • models.providers.*.request.auth.token
  • models.providers.*.request.auth.value
  • models.providers.*.request.headers.*
  • models.providers.*.request.proxy.tls.ca
  • models.providers.*.request.proxy.tls.cert
  • models.providers.*.request.proxy.tls.key
  • models.providers.*.request.proxy.tls.passphrase
  • models.providers.*.request.tls.ca
  • models.providers.*.request.tls.cert
  • models.providers.*.request.tls.key
  • models.providers.*.request.tls.passphrase
  • skills.entries.*.apiKey
  • agents.defaults.memorySearch.remote.apiKey
  • agents.list[].tts.providers.*.apiKey
  • agents.list[].memorySearch.remote.apiKey
  • talk.providers.*.apiKey
  • talk.realtime.providers.*.apiKey
  • messages.tts.providers.*.apiKey
  • tools.web.fetch.firecrawl.apiKey
  • plugins.entries.acpx.config.mcpServers.*.env.*
  • plugins.entries.brave.config.webSearch.apiKey
  • plugins.entries.codex.config.appServer.authToken
  • plugins.entries.codex.config.appServer.headers.*
  • plugins.entries.exa.config.webSearch.apiKey
  • plugins.entries.google-meet.config.realtime.providers.*.apiKey
  • plugins.entries.google.config.webSearch.apiKey
  • plugins.entries.xai.config.webSearch.apiKey
  • plugins.entries.moonshot.config.webSearch.apiKey
  • plugins.entries.perplexity.config.webSearch.apiKey
  • plugins.entries.firecrawl.config.webSearch.apiKey
  • plugins.entries.minimax.config.webSearch.apiKey
  • plugins.entries.tavily.config.webSearch.apiKey
  • plugins.entries.parallel.config.webSearch.apiKey
  • plugins.entries.voice-call.config.realtime.providers.*.apiKey
  • plugins.entries.voice-call.config.streaming.providers.*.apiKey
  • plugins.entries.voice-call.config.tts.providers.*.apiKey
  • plugins.entries.voice-call.config.twilio.authToken
  • tools.web.search.*.apiKey
  • tools.web.search.apiKey
  • gateway.auth.password
  • gateway.auth.token
  • gateway.remote.token
  • gateway.remote.password
  • cron.webhookToken
  • channels.telegram.botToken
  • channels.telegram.webhookSecret
  • channels.telegram.accounts.*.botToken
  • channels.telegram.accounts.*.webhookSecret
  • channels.slack.botToken
  • channels.slack.appToken
  • channels.slack.relay.authToken
  • channels.slack.userToken
  • channels.slack.signingSecret
  • channels.slack.accounts.*.botToken
  • channels.slack.accounts.*.appToken
  • channels.slack.accounts.*.relay.authToken
  • channels.slack.accounts.*.userToken
  • channels.slack.accounts.*.signingSecret
  • channels.sms.authToken
  • channels.sms.accounts.*.authToken
  • channels.discord.token
  • channels.discord.pluralkit.token
  • channels.discord.voice.tts.providers.*.apiKey
  • channels.discord.accounts.*.token
  • channels.discord.accounts.*.pluralkit.token
  • channels.discord.accounts.*.voice.tts.providers.*.apiKey
  • channels.irc.password
  • channels.irc.nickserv.password
  • channels.irc.accounts.*.password
  • channels.irc.accounts.*.nickserv.password
  • channels.feishu.appSecret
  • channels.feishu.encryptKey
  • channels.feishu.verificationToken
  • channels.feishu.accounts.*.appSecret
  • channels.feishu.accounts.*.encryptKey
  • channels.feishu.accounts.*.verificationToken
  • channels.qqbot.clientSecret
  • channels.qqbot.accounts.*.clientSecret
  • channels.msteams.appPassword
  • channels.mattermost.botToken
  • channels.mattermost.accounts.*.botToken
  • channels.matrix.accessToken
  • channels.matrix.password
  • channels.matrix.accounts.*.accessToken
  • channels.matrix.accounts.*.password
  • channels.nextcloud-talk.botSecret
  • channels.nextcloud-talk.apiPassword
  • channels.nextcloud-talk.accounts.*.botSecret
  • channels.nextcloud-talk.accounts.*.apiPassword
  • channels.zalo.botToken
  • channels.zalo.webhookSecret
  • channels.zalo.accounts.*.botToken
  • channels.zalo.accounts.*.webhookSecret
  • channels.googlechat.serviceAccount via sibling serviceAccountRef (compatibility exception)
  • channels.googlechat.accounts.*.serviceAccount via sibling serviceAccountRef (compatibility exception)

auth-profiles.json targets (secrets configure + secrets apply + secrets audit)

  • profiles.*.keyRef (type: "api_key"; unsupported when auth.profiles.<id>.mode = "oauth")
  • profiles.*.tokenRef (type: "token"; unsupported when auth.profiles.<id>.mode = "oauth")

Notes:

  • Auth-profile plan targets require agentId; plan entries target profiles.*.key / profiles.*.token and write sibling refs (keyRef / tokenRef). Auth-profile refs are included in runtime resolution and audit coverage.
  • In openclaw.json, SecretRefs must use structured objects such as {"source":"env","provider":"default","id":"DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN"}. Legacy secretref-env:<ENV_VAR> marker strings are rejected on SecretRef credential paths; run openclaw doctor --fix to migrate valid markers.
  • OAuth policy guard: auth.profiles.<id>.mode = "oauth" cannot be combined with SecretRef inputs for that profile. Startup/reload and auth-profile resolution fail fast when this policy is violated.
  • For SecretRef-managed model providers, generated agents/*/agent/models.json entries persist non-secret markers (not resolved secret values) for apiKey/header surfaces. Marker persistence is source-authoritative: OpenClaw writes markers from the active source config snapshot (pre-resolution), not from resolved runtime secret values.
  • For web search: in explicit provider mode (tools.web.search.provider set), only the selected provider key is active. In auto mode (tools.web.search.provider unset), only the first provider key that resolves by precedence is active, and non-selected provider refs are treated as inactive until selected. Legacy tools.web.search.* provider paths still resolve during the compatibility window, but the canonical SecretRef surface is plugins.entries.<plugin>.config.webSearch.*.

Unsupported credentials

These credentials are minted, rotated, session-bearing, or OAuth-durable classes that do not fit read-only external SecretRef resolution:

  • commands.ownerDisplaySecret
  • hooks.token
  • hooks.gmail.pushToken
  • hooks.mappings[].sessionKey
  • auth-profiles.oauth.*
  • channels.discord.threadBindings.webhookToken
  • channels.discord.accounts.*.threadBindings.webhookToken
  • channels.whatsapp.creds.json
  • channels.whatsapp.accounts.*.creds.json