name: credential-manager description: MANDATORY security foundation for OpenClaw. Consolidate scattered API keys and credentials into a secure .env file with proper permissions. Includes GPG encryption for high-value secrets, credential rotation tracking, deep scanning, and backup hardening. Use when setting up OpenClaw, migrating credentials, auditing security, or enforcing the .env standard. This is not optional — centralized credential management is a core requirement for secure OpenClaw deployments.

Credential Manager

STATUS: MANDATORY SECURITY FOUNDATION

Consolidate scattered API keys and credentials into a secure, centralized .env file.

⚠️ This Is Not Optional

Centralized .env credential management is a core requirement for OpenClaw security. If your credentials are scattered across multiple files, stop and consolidate them now.

THE RULE: All credentials MUST be in ~/.openclaw/.env ONLY. No workspace, no skills, no scripts directories.

See:

CORE-PRINCIPLE.md - Why this is non-negotiable
CONSOLIDATION-RULE.md - The single source principle

The Foundation

Every OpenClaw deployment MUST have:

~/.openclaw/.env (mode 600)

This is your single source of truth for all credentials. No exceptions.

Why?

Single location = easier to secure
File mode 600 = only you can read
Git-ignored = won't accidentally commit
Validated format = catches errors
Audit trail = know what changed

Scattered credentials = scattered attack surface. This skill fixes that.

What This Skill Does

Scans for credentials in common locations (including deep scan for hardcoded secrets)
Backs up existing credential files (timestamped, mode 600)
Consolidates into ~/.openclaw/.env
Secures with proper permissions (600 files, 700 directories)
Validates security, format, and entropy
Encrypts high-value secrets with GPG (wallet keys, private keys, mnemonics)
Tracks credential rotation schedules
Enforces best practices via fail-fast checks
Cleans up old files after migration

Detection Parameters

The skill automatically detects credentials by scanning for:

File Patterns:

~/.config/*/credentials.json — Service config directories
~/.config/*/*.credentials.json — Nested credential files
~/.openclaw/*.json — Credential files in OpenClaw root
~/.openclaw/*-credentials* — Named credential files (e.g., farcaster-credentials.json)
~/.openclaw/workspace/memory/*-creds.json — Memory credential files
~/.openclaw/workspace/memory/*credentials*.json — Memory credential files
~/.openclaw/workspace/.env — Workspace env files
~/.openclaw/workspace/*/.env — Subdirectory env files
~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/*/.env — Skill env files
~/.local/share/*/credentials.json — Local share directories

Sensitive Key Patterns:

API keys, access tokens, bearer tokens
Secrets, passwords, passphrases
OAuth consumer keys
Private keys, signing keys, wallet keys
Mnemonics and seed phrases

Deep Scan (--deep flag):

Greps .sh, .js, .py, .mjs, .ts files for hardcoded secrets
Detects high-entropy strings matching common key prefixes (sk_, pk_, Bearer, 0x + 64 hex)
Excludes node_modules/, .git/
Reports file, line number, and key pattern matched

Security Checks:

File permissions (must be 600 for files, 700 for directories)
Backup permissions (must be 600 for backup files, 700 for backup dirs)
Git-ignore protection
Format validation (allows quoted values with spaces)
Entropy analysis (flags suspiciously low-entropy secrets)
Private key detection (flags 0x + 64 hex char values)
Mnemonic detection (flags 12/24 word values)
Symlink detection (validates symlinked .env targets)

Quick Start

Full Migration (Recommended)

# Scan for credentials
./scripts/scan.py

# Deep scan (includes hardcoded secrets in scripts)
./scripts/scan.py --deep

# Review and consolidate
./scripts/consolidate.py

# Validate security
./scripts/validate.py

# Encrypt high-value secrets
./scripts/encrypt.py --keys MAIN_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY,CUSTODY_PRIVATE_KEY

# Check rotation status
./scripts/rotation-check.py

Individual Operations

# Scan only
./scripts/scan.py

# Consolidate specific service
./scripts/consolidate.py --service x

# Backup without removing
./scripts/consolidate.py --backup-only

# Clean up old files
./scripts/cleanup.py --confirm

Common Credential Locations

The skill scans these locations:

~/.config/*/credentials.json
~/.openclaw/*.json
~/.openclaw/*-credentials*
~/.openclaw/workspace/memory/*-creds.json
~/.openclaw/workspace/memory/*credentials*.json
~/.openclaw/workspace/*/.env
~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/*/.env
~/.env (if exists, merges)

Security Features

✅ File permissions: Sets .env to mode 600 (owner only) ✅ Directory permissions: Sets backup dirs to mode 700 (owner only) ✅ Backup permissions: Sets backup files to mode 600 (owner only) ✅ Git protection: Creates/updates .gitignore ✅ Backups: Timestamped backups before changes (secured) ✅ Validation: Checks format, permissions, entropy, and duplicates ✅ Template: Creates .env.example (safe to share) ✅ GPG encryption: Encrypts high-value secrets at rest ✅ Rotation tracking: Warns when credentials need rotation ✅ Deep scan: Detects hardcoded secrets in source files ✅ Symlink-aware: Validates symlinked .env targets

Output Structure

After migration:

~/.openclaw/
├── .env                     # All credentials (secure, mode 600)
├── .env.secrets.gpg         # GPG-encrypted high-value keys (mode 600)
├── .env.meta                # Rotation metadata (mode 600)
├── .env.example             # Template (safe to share)
├── .gitignore               # Protects .env and .env.secrets.gpg
└── backups/                 # (mode 700)
    └── credentials-old-YYYYMMDD/  # (mode 700)
        └── *.bak            # Backup files (mode 600)

GPG Encryption for High-Value Secrets

Private keys, wallet keys, and mnemonics should never exist as plaintext on disk. Use GPG encryption for these.

Setup GPG

# First-time setup (generates OpenClaw GPG key, configures agent cache)
./scripts/setup-gpg.sh

Encrypt High-Value Keys

# Encrypt specific keys (moves them from .env to .env.secrets.gpg)
./scripts/encrypt.py --keys MAIN_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY,CUSTODY_PRIVATE_KEY,SIGNER_PRIVATE_KEY

# The .env will contain placeholders:
# MAIN_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY=GPG:MAIN_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY

How Scripts Access Encrypted Keys

The enforce.py module handles this transparently:

from enforce import get_credential

# Works for both plaintext and GPG-encrypted keys
key = get_credential('MAIN_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY')
# If value starts with "GPG:", decrypts from .env.secrets.gpg automatically

GPG Agent Caching

On headless servers (VPS), the GPG agent caches the passphrase:

Default cache TTL: 8 hours
Configurable via setup-gpg.sh
Passphrase required once after reboot, then cached

What to Encrypt

Key Type	Encrypt?	Why
Wallet private keys	✅ Yes	Controls funds
Custody/signer private keys	✅ Yes	Controls identity
Mnemonics / seed phrases	✅ Yes	Master recovery
API keys (services)	❌ No	Revocable, low damage
Agent IDs, names, URLs	❌ No	Not secrets

Credential Rotation Tracking

Setup Rotation Metadata

# Initialize rotation tracking for all keys
./scripts/rotation-check.py --init

Creates ~/.openclaw/.env.meta:

{
  "MAIN_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY": {
    "created": "2026-01-15",
    "lastRotated": null,
    "rotationDays": 90,
    "risk": "critical"
  },
  "MOLTBOOK_API_KEY": {
    "created": "2026-02-04",
    "lastRotated": null,
    "rotationDays": 180,
    "risk": "low"
  }
}

Check Rotation Status

# Check which keys need rotation
./scripts/rotation-check.py

# Output:
# 🔴 MAIN_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY: 26 days old (critical, rotate every 90 days)
# ✅ MOLTBOOK_API_KEY: 7 days old (low, rotate every 180 days)

Rotation Schedules

Risk Level	Rotation Period	Examples
Critical	90 days	Wallet keys, private keys
Standard	180 days	API keys for paid services
Low	365 days	Free-tier API keys, agent IDs

Add to Heartbeat (Optional)

Add rotation checks to HEARTBEAT.md for periodic monitoring:

## Credential Rotation (weekly)
If 7+ days since last rotation check:
1. Run: ./scripts/rotation-check.py
2. If any keys overdue: notify human
3. Update lastRotationCheck timestamp

Supported Services

Common services auto-detected:

X (Twitter): OAuth 1.0a credentials
Farcaster: Custody keys, signer keys, FID credentials
Molten: Agent intent matching
Moltbook: Agent social network
Botchan/4claw: Net Protocol
OpenAI, Anthropic, Google: AI providers
GitHub, GitLab: Code hosting
Coinbase/CDP: Crypto wallet credentials
Generic: API_KEY, *_TOKEN, *_SECRET patterns

See references/supported-services.md for full list.

Scripts

All scripts support --help for detailed usage.

scan.py

# Scan and report
./scripts/scan.py

# Deep scan (includes hardcoded secrets in scripts)
./scripts/scan.py --deep

# Include custom paths
./scripts/scan.py --paths ~/.myapp/config ~/.local/share/creds

# JSON output
./scripts/scan.py --format json

consolidate.py

# Interactive mode (prompts before changes)
./scripts/consolidate.py

# Auto-confirm (no prompts)
./scripts/consolidate.py --yes

# Backup only
./scripts/consolidate.py --backup-only

# Specific service
./scripts/consolidate.py --service molten

validate.py

# Full validation (permissions, format, entropy, security)
./scripts/validate.py

# Check permissions only
./scripts/validate.py --check permissions

# Fix issues automatically
./scripts/validate.py --fix

encrypt.py

# Encrypt specific high-value keys
./scripts/encrypt.py --keys MAIN_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY,CUSTODY_PRIVATE_KEY

# List currently encrypted keys
./scripts/encrypt.py --list

# Decrypt (move back to plaintext .env)
./scripts/encrypt.py --decrypt --keys MAIN_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY

rotation-check.py

# Check rotation status
./scripts/rotation-check.py

# Initialize tracking for all keys
./scripts/rotation-check.py --init

# Record a rotation
./scripts/rotation-check.py --rotated MOLTBOOK_API_KEY

setup-gpg.sh

# First-time GPG setup for OpenClaw
./scripts/setup-gpg.sh

# Configure cache timeout (hours)
./scripts/setup-gpg.sh --cache-hours 12

cleanup.py

# Dry run (shows what would be deleted)
./scripts/cleanup.py

# Actually delete old files
./scripts/cleanup.py --confirm

# Keep backups
./scripts/cleanup.py --confirm --keep-backups

Migration Workflow

This is the exact step-by-step flow, tested and verified on a live OpenClaw deployment.

Step 1: Scan for Scattered Credentials

cd /path/to/openclaw/skills/credential-manager

# Basic scan — finds credential files by path patterns
./scripts/scan.py

# Deep scan — also greps source files for hardcoded secrets
./scripts/scan.py --deep

What to look for in output:

⚠️ files with mode != 600 (insecure permissions)
Symlinked .env files (should point to main ~/.openclaw/.env)
JSON credential files outside ~/.openclaw/.env
Deep scan hits on hardcoded keys in scripts

Example output:

⚠️ /home/user/.openclaw/farcaster-credentials.json
   Type: json
   Keys: custodyPrivateKey, signerPrivateKey, ...
   Mode: 644
   ⚠️  Should be 600 for security

✅ /home/user/.openclaw/.env
   Type: env
   Keys: API_KEY, X_CONSUMER_KEY, ...
   Mode: 600

Step 2: Consolidate into .env

./scripts/consolidate.py

Interactive flow:

Script scans and lists all credential files found
Backs up existing .env to ~/.openclaw/backups/credentials-old-YYYYMMDD/
Loads existing .env keys
Processes each credential file:
- Auto-detects service (x, farcaster, moltbook, molten, etc.)
- Normalizes key names (e.g., custodyPrivateKey → FARCASTER_CUSTODY_PRIVATE_KEY)
- Shows mapping: key → ENV_KEY
Asks for confirmation: Proceed? [y/N]
Writes merged .env (mode 600)
Creates .env.example template (safe to share)
Updates .gitignore

For credentials not auto-detected (e.g., nested JSON like farcaster-credentials.json with multiple accounts), manually add to .env:

cat >> ~/.openclaw/.env << 'EOF'

# FARCASTER (Active: mr-teeclaw, FID 2700953)
FARCASTER_FID=2700953
FARCASTER_FNAME=mr-teeclaw
FARCASTER_CUSTODY_ADDRESS=0x...
FARCASTER_CUSTODY_PRIVATE_KEY=0x...
FARCASTER_SIGNER_PUBLIC_KEY=...
FARCASTER_SIGNER_PRIVATE_KEY=...

# FARCASTER LEGACY (teeclaw, FID 2684290)
FARCASTER_LEGACY_FID=2684290
FARCASTER_LEGACY_CUSTODY_ADDRESS=0x...
FARCASTER_LEGACY_CUSTODY_PRIVATE_KEY=0x...
FARCASTER_LEGACY_SIGNER_PUBLIC_KEY=...
FARCASTER_LEGACY_SIGNER_PRIVATE_KEY=...
EOF

chmod 600 ~/.openclaw/.env

Step 3: Validate

./scripts/validate.py

Checks performed:

✅ .env permissions (must be 600)
✅ .gitignore coverage
✅ Format validation (key format, quoting, duplicates)
✅ Security analysis:
- Detects plaintext private keys (0x + 64 hex chars) → recommends GPG
- Detects mnemonic/seed phrases (12/24 word values) → recommends GPG
- Entropy analysis on SECRET/PRIVATE_KEY/PASSWORD fields
- Flags weak/placeholder values
✅ Backup permissions (files must be 600, directories 700)

Fix issues automatically:

./scripts/validate.py --fix

This fixes: file permissions, directory permissions, backup permissions, gitignore. It does NOT auto-fix format issues or encrypt keys — those require manual action.

Step 4: Setup GPG and Encrypt Private Keys

# First-time GPG setup (configures agent cache, tests encrypt/decrypt)
./scripts/setup-gpg.sh
# Optional: --cache-hours 12 (default: 8)

Encrypt high-value keys:

# Encrypt wallet + Farcaster private keys
./scripts/encrypt.py --keys MAIN_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY,FARCASTER_CUSTODY_PRIVATE_KEY,FARCASTER_SIGNER_PRIVATE_KEY,FARCASTER_LEGACY_CUSTODY_PRIVATE_KEY,FARCASTER_LEGACY_SIGNER_PRIVATE_KEY

What happens:

Prompts for a GPG passphrase (or reads OPENCLAW_GPG_PASSPHRASE env var)
Extracts specified key values from .env
Stores them encrypted in ~/.openclaw/.env.secrets.gpg (AES256, mode 600)
Replaces .env values with GPG:KEY_NAME placeholders
Scripts using get_credential() or _load_cred() decrypt transparently

Save passphrase to .env for automated decryption:

echo 'OPENCLAW_GPG_PASSPHRASE=your-passphrase-here' >> ~/.openclaw/.env
chmod 600 ~/.openclaw/.env

Verify encryption:

# Check .env has GPG placeholders
grep "GPG:" ~/.openclaw/.env

# List all encrypted keys
./scripts/encrypt.py --list

Step 5: Initialize Rotation Tracking

./scripts/rotation-check.py --init

Auto-classifies all keys by risk:

Critical (90-day rotation): *PRIVATE_KEY, *MNEMONIC, *SEED, *WALLET_KEY, *CUSTODY*, *SIGNER*
Standard (180-day rotation): *API_KEY, *SECRET, *TOKEN, *BEARER, *CONSUMER*, *ACCESS*
Low (365-day rotation): Everything else

Creates ~/.openclaw/.env.meta (mode 600) with creation dates and rotation schedules.

Check rotation status anytime:

./scripts/rotation-check.py

Step 6: Cleanup Old Credential Files

# Dry run first — see what would be deleted
./scripts/cleanup.py

# Actually delete (prompts for 'DELETE' confirmation)
./scripts/cleanup.py --confirm

Also manually remove migrated files not caught by the scanner:

# Example: farcaster-credentials.json was manually migrated
cp ~/.openclaw/farcaster-credentials.json ~/.openclaw/backups/credentials-old-YYYYMMDD/farcaster-credentials.json.bak
chmod 600 ~/.openclaw/backups/credentials-old-YYYYMMDD/farcaster-credentials.json.bak
rm ~/.openclaw/farcaster-credentials.json

Step 7: Update Scripts That Referenced Old Files

Any scripts that loaded from JSON credential files or hardcoded paths need updating.

Pattern — Bash scripts:

# OLD (insecure):
FARCASTER_CREDS="/home/user/.openclaw/farcaster-credentials.json"
fid=$(jq -r '.fid' "$FARCASTER_CREDS")
private_key=$(jq -r '.custodyPrivateKey' "$FARCASTER_CREDS")

# NEW (secure, GPG-aware):
ENV_FILE="$HOME/.openclaw/.env"

_load_cred() {
  local key="$1"
  local value
  value=$(grep "^${key}=" "$ENV_FILE" | head -1 | cut -d= -f2-)
  if [[ "$value" == GPG:* ]]; then
    local gpg_key="${value#GPG:}"
    local passphrase="${OPENCLAW_GPG_PASSPHRASE:-}"
    if [ -n "$passphrase" ]; then
      value=$(echo "$passphrase" | gpg -d --batch --quiet --passphrase-fd 0 "$HOME/.openclaw/.env.secrets.gpg" | python3 -c "import json,sys; print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('$gpg_key',''))")
    else
      value=$(gpg -d --batch --quiet "$HOME/.openclaw/.env.secrets.gpg" | python3 -c "import json,sys; print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('$gpg_key',''))")
    fi
  fi
  echo "$value"
}

fid=$(_load_cred "FARCASTER_FID")
private_key=$(_load_cred "FARCASTER_CUSTODY_PRIVATE_KEY")

Pattern — Node.js scripts:

// OLD (insecure):
const creds = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('~/.openclaw/farcaster-credentials.json'));
const privateKey = creds.custodyPrivateKey;

// NEW (secure, GPG-aware):
const ENV_PATH = path.join(os.homedir(), '.openclaw/.env');
const SECRETS_PATH = path.join(os.homedir(), '.openclaw/.env.secrets.gpg');

function loadCred(key) {
  const content = fs.readFileSync(ENV_PATH, 'utf8');
  for (const line of content.split('\n')) {
    if (line.startsWith(key + '=')) {
      let value = line.slice(key.length + 1).trim();
      if (value.startsWith('GPG:')) {
        const { execSync } = require('child_process');
        const passphrase = process.env.OPENCLAW_GPG_PASSPHRASE || '';
        const cmd = passphrase
          ? `echo "${passphrase}" | gpg -d --batch --quiet --passphrase-fd 0 "${SECRETS_PATH}"`
          : `gpg -d --batch --quiet "${SECRETS_PATH}"`;
        const secrets = JSON.parse(execSync(cmd, { encoding: 'utf8' }));
        return secrets[value.slice(4)] || '';
      }
      return value;
    }
  }
  return '';
}

const privateKey = loadCred('FARCASTER_CUSTODY_PRIVATE_KEY');

Pattern — Python scripts:

# Use the enforce module (recommended):
import sys
from pathlib import Path
sys.path.insert(0, str(Path.home() / 'openclaw/skills/credential-manager/scripts'))
from enforce import get_credential

private_key = get_credential('FARCASTER_CUSTODY_PRIVATE_KEY')  # Auto-decrypts GPG

Step 8: Final Validation

# Run full validation — should show all green
./scripts/validate.py

# Verify encrypted keys
./scripts/encrypt.py --list

# Check rotation status
./scripts/rotation-check.py

# Test a script that uses credentials
bash /path/to/your/script.sh

Expected final state:

~/.openclaw/
├── .env                     # All credentials (mode 600, private keys = GPG:*)
├── .env.secrets.gpg         # GPG-encrypted private keys (mode 600)
├── .env.meta                # Rotation tracking metadata (mode 600)
├── .env.example             # Template (safe to share)
├── .gitignore               # Protects .env, .env.secrets.gpg, .env.meta
└── backups/                 # (mode 700)
    └── credentials-old-YYYYMMDD/  # (mode 700)
        └── *.bak            # Backup files (mode 600)

For Skill Developers: Enforce This Standard

Other OpenClaw skills MUST validate credentials are secure before using them:

Python Skills

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import sys
from pathlib import Path

# Add credential-manager scripts to path
sys.path.insert(0, str(Path.home() / '.openclaw/skills/credential-manager/scripts'))

# Enforce secure .env (exits if not compliant)
from enforce import require_secure_env, get_credential

require_secure_env()

# Now safe to load credentials (handles GPG-encrypted keys transparently)
api_key = get_credential('SERVICE_API_KEY')
wallet_key = get_credential('MAIN_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY')  # Auto-decrypts from GPG

Bash Skills

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# Validate .env exists and is secure
if ! python3 ~/.openclaw/skills/credential-manager/scripts/enforce.py; then
    exit 1
fi

# Now safe to load
source ~/.openclaw/.env

This creates a fail-fast system: If credentials aren't properly secured, skills refuse to run. Users are forced to fix it.

Loading Credentials

After migration, load from .env:

Python

import os
from pathlib import Path

# Load .env
env_file = Path.home() / '.openclaw' / '.env'
with open(env_file) as f:
    for line in f:
        if '=' in line and not line.strip().startswith('#'):
            key, val = line.strip().split('=', 1)
            os.environ[key] = val

# Use credentials
api_key = os.getenv('SERVICE_API_KEY')

Bash

# Load .env
set -a
source ~/.openclaw/.env
set +a

# Use credentials
echo "$SERVICE_API_KEY"

Using Existing Loaders

If you migrated using OpenClaw scripts:

from load_credentials import get_credentials
creds = get_credentials('x')

Adding New Credentials

Edit ~/.openclaw/.env:

# Add new service
NEW_SERVICE_API_KEY=your_key_here
NEW_SERVICE_SECRET=your_secret_here

Update template too:

# Edit .env.example
NEW_SERVICE_API_KEY=your_key_here
NEW_SERVICE_SECRET=your_secret_here

If the new credential is high-value (private key, wallet key):

# Add to .env first, then encrypt
./scripts/encrypt.py --keys NEW_SERVICE_PRIVATE_KEY

Security Best Practices

See references/security.md for detailed security guidelines.

Quick checklist:

✅ .env has 600 permissions
✅ .env is git-ignored
✅ Backup files have 600 permissions
✅ Backup directories have 700 permissions
✅ No credentials in code or logs (use --deep scan to verify)
✅ Private keys encrypted with GPG
✅ Rotation schedule established and tracked
✅ Symlinked .env files point to the main .env only
✅ No credentials in shell history (use source, not export KEY=val)

Rollback

If something goes wrong:

# Find your backup
ls -la ~/.openclaw/backups/

# Restore specific file
cp ~/.openclaw/backups/credentials-old-YYYYMMDD/x-credentials.json.bak \
   ~/.config/x/credentials.json

# Decrypt GPG secrets back to plaintext
./scripts/encrypt.py --decrypt --keys MAIN_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY

Notes

Non-destructive by default: Original files backed up before removal
Idempotent: Safe to run multiple times
Extensible: Add custom credential patterns in scripts
Secure: Never logs full credentials, only metadata
GPG-aware: Transparently handles encrypted and plaintext credentials
Backup-hardened: All backups secured with proper permissions
Symlink-aware: Detects and validates symlinked credential files

OpenClaw Credential Manager

Description