Glossary

Secrets versioning is the practice of maintaining a history of changes to sensitive data, such as API keys, database credentials, and encryption secrets. Just like source code versioning, it enables teams to track modifications, roll back to previous versions when needed, and audit changes for compliance and security.

Without proper versioning, updating secrets can be risky. If a newly rotated secret breaks an application, rolling back without a previous version can cause downtime. Secrets versioning mitigates this by preserving older values, allowing a seamless transition if issues arise.

Beyond rollback capabilities, versioning also enhances security. Knowing when and why a secret was changed helps identify unauthorized modifications or potential security breaches.

Implementing secrets versioning manually can be complex. Developers may try using environment variable files with Git, but this approach introduces risks, such as exposing secrets in commit history. A dedicated secrets management tool eliminates these risks by securely storing each version, enforcing access controls, and providing an audit log.