Skip to main content

Getting Started with Node SOPS

This guide will walk you through the installation process and basic usage of Node SOPS.

Installation​

Node SOPS is available on npm and can be installed using npm or yarn:

npm install node-sops

Or with Yarn:

yarn add node-sops

Quick Start​

Following is a step-by-step guide to get up and running with Node SOPS.

Step 1: Initialize a new encryption key​

First, you need to generate an encryption key:

npx node-sops init

This command creates a .sops-key file in your current directory. This file contains your encryption key and should be kept secure.

Important: Never commit the .sops-key file to version control. Add it to your .gitignore file immediately.

Step 2: Create a YAML or JSON file with your secrets​

Create a file named secrets.yaml with your sensitive data:

# secrets.yaml
data:
  api:
    key: "your-api-key"
    secret: "your-api-secret"
  database:
    username: "db_user"
    password: "db_password"

Or if you prefer JSON, create a file named secrets.json:

{
  "data": {
    "api": {
      "key": "your-api-key",
      "secret": "your-api-secret"
    },
    "database": {
      "username": "db_user",
      "password": "db_password"
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Encrypt your secrets file​

Encrypt your secrets file using the CLI:

npx node-sops encrypt -i secrets.yaml -o secrets.enc.json

This will generate an encrypted file named secrets.enc.json. This encrypted file is safe to commit to your repository.

Step 4: Access your secrets in code​

Now you can use Node SOPS in your application to access your secrets:

const { Sops } = require('node-sops');

// Create a new Sops instance
const sops = new Sops();

// Read and decrypt the secrets
const secrets = sops.view('secrets.enc.json');

// Access specific values
const apiKey = secrets.data.api.key;
const dbPassword = secrets.data.database.password;

console.log(`API Key: ${apiKey}`);
console.log(`Database Password: ${dbPassword}`);

With TypeScript:

import { Sops } from 'node-sops';

// Create a new Sops instance
const sops = new Sops();

// Read and decrypt the secrets
const secrets = sops.view('secrets.enc.json');

// Access specific values
const apiKey = secrets.data.api.key;
const dbPassword = secrets.data.database.password;

console.log(`API Key: ${apiKey}`);
console.log(`Database Password: ${dbPassword}`);

Next Steps​

Now that you have the basics down, check out these guides for more detailed information: