> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://anaconda.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Secrets

Secrets are a core component of Kubernetes that enable you to securely store sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, API keys, or authentication tokens for external resource authentication. When you create a secret, it is stored as a base64 encoded file within the Kubernetes cluster, with the name of the secret corresponding to the name of the file.

These encoded secrets can be accessed by mounting the file into your project sessions and deployments, allowing your applications to securely retrieve and use this sensitive information without exposing it in your source code.

<Note>
  Anaconda *strongly* recommends using secrets as opposed to including credentials in your project, due to the security risk associated with storing them in version control.
</Note>

## Creating a secret

1. Open the <Icon icon="circle-user" iconType="light" />   **My account** dropdown menu in the top navigation, then select *Settings*.
2. Under **Secrets**, click <Icon icon="plus" iconType="light" /> **Add**.
3. Enter a name and value for the secret you want to store, then click **Add**.

   <Note>
     Because secret names are file names, they can only contain alphanumeric characters and underscores.
   </Note>

Secrets you create are listed here, and are stored in the `/var/run/secrets/user_credentials/` directory.

## Using secrets

To use a secret in a project, you must install the `ae5-tools` package in your project’s environment.

<Note>
  * The `ae5-tools` package is available from Workbench’s internal repository.
  * If you are using an external package repository, you can pull the `ae5-tools` package from [anaconda.org](https://anaconda.org/ae5-admin/ae5-tools).
  * If you are working in an air-gapped environment, you can [download the package here](https://airgap.svc.anaconda.com/?prefix=misc/), then transfer it to your cluster.
</Note>

Then, from within your project, add the following code:

```py theme={null}
import os
from ae5_tools import load_ae5_user_secrets
```

This function reads all secrets stored in the `/var/run/secrets/user_credentials/` directory and creates environment variables for each defined secret.

For example, let’s say you have defined the following secrets:

```py theme={null}
MLFLOW_ACCESS_SECRET = "Pa55w0rd"
REDIS_ACCESS_TOKEN = "N0Haxh3r3"
```

From within one of your projects, you could do the following:

```py theme={null}
import os
from ae5_tools import load_ae5_user_secrets

mlflow_secret: str = os.environ["MLFLOW_ACCESS_SECRET"]
redis_secret: str = os.environ["REDIS_ACCESS_TOKEN"]

print(mlflow_secret)
print(redis_secret)

```

<Tip>
  There are multiple ways to call environment variables! For example, you could also import the `demand_env_var` function from the `ae5-tools` package and call environment variables like this:

  ```py theme={null}
  import os
  from ae5_tools import load_ae5_user_secrets, demand_env_var

  mlflow_secret: str = os.environ["MLFLOW_ACCESS_SECRET"]
  redis_secret: str = demand_env_var("REDIS_ACCESS_TOKEN")

  print(mlflow_secret)
  print(redis_secret)
  ```
</Tip>

## Editing a secret

1. Open the <Icon icon="circle-user" iconType="light" /> **My account** dropdown menu, then select *Settings*.
2. Open the <Icon icon="ellipsis-vertical" iconType="light" /> actions dropdown menu for your secret and select *Edit*.
3. Update the Value for your secret, then click **Save**.

<Note>
  If you edit the name of a secret, a new secret is created instead.
</Note>

## Deleting a secret

1. Open the <Icon icon="circle-user" iconType="light" /> **My account** dropdown menu, then select *Settings*.
2. Open the <Icon icon="ellipsis-vertical" iconType="light" /> actions dropdown menu for your secret and select *Delete*.
3. Click **Delete**.