openclaw/docs/reference/secretref-credential-surface.md

summary, read_when, title

summary	read_when	title
Canonical supported vs unsupported SecretRef credential surface	Verifying SecretRef credential coverage Auditing whether a credential is eligible for `secrets configure` or `secrets apply` Verifying why a credential is outside the supported surface	SecretRef credential surface

This page defines the canonical SecretRef credential surface.

Scope intent:

• 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.

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
• messages.tts.providers.*.apiKey
• tools.web.fetch.firecrawl.apiKey
• plugins.entries.acpx.config.mcpServers.*.env.*
• plugins.entries.brave.config.webSearch.apiKey
• plugins.entries.exa.config.webSearch.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.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
• 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.userToken
• channels.slack.signingSecret
• channels.slack.accounts.*.botToken
• channels.slack.accounts.*.appToken
• channels.slack.accounts.*.userToken
• channels.slack.accounts.*.signingSecret
• 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)

SQLite auth-profile 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, stored model catalog 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.
  • In auto mode, 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

Out-of-scope credentials include:

• 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

Rationale:

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

Related

• Secrets management
• Auth credential semantics