Post-Tyranny-Tech-Infrastructure/secrets/clients

Client Secrets Directory

This directory contains SOPS-encrypted secrets files for each deployed client.

Files

Active Clients

• dev.sops.yaml - Development/canary server secrets
  • Status: Deployed
  • Purpose: Testing and canary deployments

Templates

• template.sops.yaml - Template for creating new client secrets
  • Status: Reference only (not deployed)
  • Purpose: Copy this file when onboarding new clients

Creating Secrets for a New Client

# 1. Copy the template
cp secrets/clients/template.sops.yaml secrets/clients/newclient.sops.yaml

# 2. Edit with SOPS
export SOPS_AGE_KEY_FILE="./keys/age-key.txt"
sops secrets/clients/newclient.sops.yaml

# 3. Update all fields:
#    - client_name: newclient
#    - client_domain: newclient.vrije.cloud
#    - authentik_domain: auth.newclient.vrije.cloud
#    - nextcloud_domain: nextcloud.newclient.vrije.cloud
#    - REGENERATE all passwords and tokens (never reuse!)

# 4. Deploy the client
./scripts/deploy-client.sh newclient

Important Security Notes

⚠️ Never commit plaintext secrets!

• Only *.sops.yaml files should be committed
• Temporary files (*-temp.yaml, *.tmp) are gitignored
• Always verify secrets are encrypted: file secrets/clients/*.sops.yaml

⚠️ Always regenerate secrets for new clients!

• Never copy passwords between clients
• Use strong random passwords (32+ characters)
• Each client must have unique credentials

File Naming Convention

• Production clients: clientname.sops.yaml
• Development/test: dev.sops.yaml
• Templates: template.sops.yaml
• Never commit: *-temp.yaml, *.tmp, *_plaintext.yaml

Viewing Secrets

# View encrypted file (shows SOPS metadata)
cat secrets/clients/dev.sops.yaml

# Decrypt and view (requires age key)
export SOPS_AGE_KEY_FILE="./keys/age-key.txt"
sops -d secrets/clients/dev.sops.yaml

Required Secrets per Client

Each client secrets file must contain:

Authentik (Identity Provider)

• authentik_db_password - PostgreSQL database password
• authentik_secret_key - Django secret key
• authentik_bootstrap_password - Initial admin (akadmin) password
• authentik_bootstrap_token - API token for automation
• authentik_bootstrap_email - Admin email address

Nextcloud (File Storage)

• nextcloud_admin_user - Admin username (usually "admin")
• nextcloud_admin_password - Admin password
• nextcloud_db_password - MariaDB database password
• nextcloud_db_root_password - MariaDB root password
• redis_password - Redis cache password

Optional

• collabora_admin_password - Collabora Online admin password (if using)

Troubleshooting

"No such file or directory: age-key.txt"

# Ensure SOPS_AGE_KEY_FILE is set correctly
export SOPS_AGE_KEY_FILE="./keys/age-key.txt"
# Or use absolute path
export SOPS_AGE_KEY_FILE="/full/path/to/infrastructure/keys/age-key.txt"

"Failed to decrypt"

• Verify you have the correct age private key
• Check that .sops.yaml references the correct age public key
• Ensure the file was encrypted with the same age key

"File contains plaintext secrets"

# Check if file is properly encrypted
file secrets/clients/dev.sops.yaml
# Should show: ASCII text (with SOPS encryption metadata)

# Re-encrypt if needed
sops -e -i secrets/clients/dev.sops.yaml

See Also

• ../README.md - Secrets management overview
• ../../docs/architecture-decisions.md - SOPS decision rationale
• SOPS Documentation