itsmostafa/aws-agent-skills/secrets-manager

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AWS Secrets Manager for secure secret storage and rotation. Use when storing credentials, configuring automatic rotation, managing secret versions, retrieving secrets in applications, or integrating with RDS.

Install

npx vskill@latest install itsmostafa/aws-agent-skills/secrets-manager

SKILL.md

AWS Secrets Manager

AWS Secrets Manager helps protect access to applications, services, and IT resources. Store, retrieve, and automatically rotate credentials, API keys, and other secrets.

Table of Contents

Core Concepts

Secrets

Encrypted data stored in Secrets Manager. Can contain:

  • Database credentials
  • API keys
  • OAuth tokens
  • Any key-value pairs (up to 64 KB)
Versions

Each secret can have multiple versions:

  • AWSCURRENT: Current active version
  • AWSPENDING: Version being rotated to
  • AWSPREVIOUS: Previous version
Rotation

Automatic credential rotation using Lambda functions. Built-in support for:

  • Amazon RDS
  • Amazon Redshift
  • Amazon DocumentDB
  • Custom secrets

Common Patterns

Create a Secret

AWS CLI:

bash
# Create secret with JSON
aws secretsmanager create-secret \
--name prod/myapp/database \
--description "Production database credentials" \
--secret-string '{"username":"admin","password":"MySecurePassword123!","host":"mydb.cluster-xyz.us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com","port":5432,"database":"myapp"}'
# Create secret with binary data
aws secretsmanager create-secret \
--name prod/myapp/certificate \
--secret-binary fileb://certificate.pem

boto3:

python
import boto3
import json
secrets = boto3.client('secretsmanager')
response = secrets.create_secret(
Name='prod/myapp/database',
Description='Production database credentials',
SecretString=json.dumps({
'username': 'admin',
'password': 'MySecurePassword123!',
'host': 'mydb.cluster-xyz.us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com',
'port': 5432,
'database': 'myapp'
}),
Tags=[
{'Key': 'Environment', 'Value': 'production'},
{'Key': 'Application', 'Value': 'myapp'}
]
)
Retrieve a Secret
python
import boto3
import json
secrets = boto3.client('secretsmanager')
def get_secret(secret_name):
response = secrets.get_secret_value(SecretId=secret_name)
if 'SecretString' in response:
return json.loads(response['SecretString'])
else:
import base64
return base64.b64decode(response['SecretBinary'])
# Usage
credentials = get_secret('prod/myapp/database')
db_password = credentials['password']
Caching Secrets
python
from aws_secretsmanager_caching import SecretCache, SecretCacheConfig
# Configure cache
cache_config = SecretCacheConfig(
max_cache_size=100,
secret_refresh_interval=3600,
secret_version_stage_refresh_interval=3600
)
cache = SecretCache(config=cache_config)
def get_cached_secret(secret_name):
secret = cache.get_secret_string(secret_name)
return json.loads(secret)
Update a Secret
bash
# Update secret value
aws secretsmanager update-secret \
--secret-id prod/myapp/database \
--secret-string '{"username":"admin","password":"NewPassword456!"}'
# Put new version with staging labels
aws secretsmanager put-secret-value \
--secret-id prod/myapp/database \
--secret-string '{"username":"admin","password":"NewPassword456!"}' \
--version-stages AWSCURRENT
Enable Rotation for RDS
bash
aws secretsmanager rotate-secret \
--secret-id prod/myapp/database \
--rotation-lambda-arn arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789012:function:SecretsManagerRDSPostgreSQLRotation \
--rotation-rules AutomaticallyAfterDays=30
Create Secret with Rotation
bash
# Use CloudFormation for RDS secret with rotation
aws cloudformation deploy \
--template-file rds-secret.yaml \
--stack-name rds-secret
yaml
# rds-secret.yaml
AWSTemplateFormatVersion: '2010-09-09'
Resources:
DBSecret:
Type: AWS::SecretsManager::Secret
Properties:
Name: prod/myapp/database
GenerateSecretString:
SecretStringTemplate: '{"username": "admin"}'
GenerateStringKey: password
PasswordLength: 32
ExcludeCharacters: '"@/\'
DBSecretRotation:
Type: AWS::SecretsManager::RotationSchedule
Properties:
SecretId: !Ref DBSecret
RotationLambdaARN: !GetAtt RotationLambda.Arn
RotationRules:
AutomaticallyAfterDays: 30
Use in Lambda with Extension
python
import json
import urllib.request
def handler(event, context):
# Use AWS Parameters and Secrets Lambda Extension
secrets_port = 2773
secret_name = 'prod/myapp/database'
url = f'http://localhost:{secrets_port}/secretsmanager/get?secretId={secret_name}'
headers = {'X-Aws-Parameters-Secrets-Token': os.environ['AWS_SESSION_TOKEN']}
request = urllib.request.Request(url, headers=headers)
response = urllib.request.urlopen(request)
secret = json.loads(response.read())['SecretString']
credentials = json.loads(secret)
return credentials

CLI Reference

Secret Management
CommandDescription
aws secretsmanager create-secretCreate secret
aws secretsmanager describe-secretGet secret metadata
aws secretsmanager get-secret-valueRetrieve secret value
aws secretsmanager update-secretUpdate secret
aws secretsmanager delete-secretDelete secret
aws secretsmanager restore-secretRestore deleted secret
aws secretsmanager list-secretsList secrets
Versions
CommandDescription
aws secretsmanager put-secret-valueAdd new version
aws secretsmanager list-secret-version-idsList versions
aws secretsmanager update-secret-version-stageMove staging labels
Rotation
CommandDescription
aws secretsmanager rotate-secretConfigure/trigger rotation
aws secretsmanager cancel-rotate-secretCancel rotation

Best Practices

Secret Organization
  • Use hierarchical names: environment/application/secret-type
  • Tag secrets for organization and cost allocation
  • Separate by environment (dev, staging, prod)
Security
  • Use resource policies to control access
  • Enable encryption with customer-managed KMS keys
  • Rotate secrets regularly (30-90 days)
  • Audit access with CloudTrail
  • Use VPC endpoints for private access
Access Control
json
{
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": [
"secretsmanager:GetSecretValue",
"secretsmanager:DescribeSecret"
],
"Resource": "arn:aws:secretsmanager:us-east-1:123456789012:secret:prod/*",
"Condition": {
"StringEquals": {
"secretsmanager:ResourceTag/Environment": "production"
}
}
}
]
}
Application Integration
  • Cache secrets to reduce API calls
  • Handle rotation gracefully (retry with new credentials)
  • Use Lambda extension for faster access
  • Never log secrets

Troubleshooting

AccessDeniedException

Causes:

  • IAM policy missing secretsmanager:GetSecretValue
  • Resource policy denying access
  • KMS key policy missing permissions

Debug:

bash
# Check secret resource policy
aws secretsmanager get-resource-policy --secret-id my-secret
# Check IAM permissions
aws iam simulate-principal-policy \
--policy-source-arn arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/my-role \
--action-names secretsmanager:GetSecretValue \
--resource-arns arn:aws:secretsmanager:us-east-1:123456789012:secret:my-secret
Rotation Failed

Debug:

bash
# Check rotation status
aws secretsmanager describe-secret --secret-id my-secret
# Check Lambda logs
aws logs filter-log-events \
--log-group-name /aws/lambda/SecretsManagerRotation \
--filter-pattern "ERROR"

Common causes:

  • Lambda timeout (increase to 30+ seconds)
  • Network connectivity (VPC configuration)
  • Database connection issues
  • Wrong secret format
Secret Not Found
bash
# List secrets to find correct name
aws secretsmanager list-secrets \
--filters Key=name,Values=myapp
# Check if deleted (within recovery window)
aws secretsmanager list-secrets \
--include-planned-deletion

References

Security

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Source

Popularity

Repository stars
1,050
Repository forks
437
7-day trend score
35

Stars and forks are for the whole GitHub repository, not this skill alone. Refreshed 16 Mar 2026, 7 months ago.

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