---
title: Managing your account-specific secrets for GitHub Codespaces
shortTitle: Codespaces secrets
intro: 'You can store sensitive information, like tokens, that you want to access in your codespaces via environment variables.'
versions:
  fpt: '*'
  ghec: '*'
redirect_from:
  - /codespaces/managing-your-codespaces/managing-secrets-for-your-codespaces
  - /github/developing-online-with-codespaces/managing-encrypted-secrets-for-codespaces
  - /codespaces/working-with-your-codespace/managing-encrypted-secrets-for-codespaces
  - /codespaces/managing-your-codespaces/managing-encrypted-secrets-for-your-codespaces
type: how_to
topics:
  - Codespaces
  - Developer
  - Security
  - Secret store
---

## About secrets for {% data variables.product.prodname_github_codespaces %}

You can add development environment secrets to your personal account that you want to use in your codespaces. For example, you may want to store and access the following sensitive information as secrets:

* Access tokens to cloud services
* Service principals
* Subscription identifiers
* Credentials for a private image registry (for more information, see [AUTOTITLE](/codespaces/reference/allowing-your-codespace-to-access-a-private-registry))

You can choose which repositories should have access to each secret. Then, you can use the secret in any codespace you create for a repository that has access to the secret. To share a secret with a codespace created from a template, you will need to publish the codespace to a repository on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}, then give that repository access to the secret.

{% data reusables.codespaces.secrets-on-start %}

### Naming secrets

{% data reusables.codespaces.secrets-naming %} For example, a secret created at the repository level must have a unique name in that repository.

{% data reusables.codespaces.secret-precedence %}

### Limits for secrets

You can store up to 100 secrets for {% data variables.product.prodname_github_codespaces %}.

Secrets are limited to 48 KB in size.

## Adding a secret

{% data reusables.user-settings.access_settings %}
{% data reusables.user-settings.codespaces-tab %}
1. To the right of "Codespaces secrets", click **New secret**.
1. Under "Name," type a name for your secret.
{% data reusables.user-settings.codespaces-secret-value %}
{% data reusables.user-settings.codespaces-secret-repository-access %}
1. Click **Add secret**.

## Editing a secret

You can update the value of an existing secret, and you can change which repositories can access a secret.

{% data reusables.user-settings.access_settings %}
{% data reusables.user-settings.codespaces-tab %}
1. Under "Codespaces secrets," to the right of the secret you want to edit, click **Update**.
1. Under "Value," click the link "**enter a new value**."

   ![Screenshot of the "Codespaces / Update secret" page. The "enter a new value" link is highlighted with a dark orange outline.](/assets/images/help/codespaces/codespaces-secret-update-value-text.png)

{% data reusables.user-settings.codespaces-secret-value %}
{% data reusables.user-settings.codespaces-secret-repository-access %}
1. Optionally, to remove the secret's access to a repository, deselect the repository.

   ![Screenshot showing a list of two repositories. Each has a selected checkbox.](/assets/images/help/codespaces/codespaces-secret-repository-checkboxes.png)

1. Click **Save changes**.

## Deleting a secret

{% data reusables.user-settings.access_settings %}
{% data reusables.user-settings.codespaces-tab %}
1. Under "Codespaces secrets," to the right of the secret you want to delete, click **Delete**.
1. Read the warning, then click **OK**.

## Using secrets

A development environment secret is exported as an environment variable into the user's terminal session.

![Screenshot of the Terminal in {% data variables.product.prodname_vscode_shortname %}. The command "echo $EXAMPLE_API_KEY" has returned "aBCdeFG1234567."](/assets/images/help/codespaces/exported-codespace-secret.png)

You can use development environment secrets after the codespace is built and is running. For example, a secret can be used:

* When launching an application from the integrated terminal or ssh session.
* Within a dev container lifecycle script that is run after the codespace is running. For more information about dev container lifecycle scripts, see the documentation on the Development Containers website: [Specification](https://containers.dev/implementors/json_reference/#lifecycle-scripts).

Development environment secrets cannot be used:

* During codespace build time (that is, within a Dockerfile or custom entry point).
* Within a dev container feature. For more information, see the `features` property in the [dev containers specification](https://containers.dev/implementors/json_reference/#general-properties) on the Development Containers website.

## Further reading

* [AUTOTITLE](/codespaces/managing-codespaces-for-your-organization/managing-development-environment-secrets-for-your-repository-or-organization)
* [AUTOTITLE](/codespaces/developing-in-a-codespace/creating-a-codespace-for-a-repository#recommended-secrets)
* [AUTOTITLE](/codespaces/setting-your-user-preferences)
* [AUTOTITLE](/codespaces/customizing-your-codespace)