redact
Use when printing, logging, or verifying any credential, API key, token, or secret — pipe through redact to show only first/last 4 chars (e.g. fc1d...4439) instead of the full value
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- Repository
- ryanmaclean/skills
- Last source activity
- April 15, 2026 at 03:58
- Detected SKILL.md language
- English
- Stars
- 1
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- 0
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- redact
- description
- Use when printing, logging, or verifying any credential, API key, token, or secret — pipe through redact to show only first/last 4 chars (e.g. fc1d...4439) instead of the full value
# redact
Pipe-based secret masking. Shows first 4 + last 4 chars for identification without exposing the full value.
## Usage
```bash
# Pipe any output containing secrets
echo $GITEA_API_KEY | redact # → fc1d...4439
curl -s http://host/api | redact # masks tokens in JSON
some-command 2>&1 | redact # masks in logs
# Direct arg
redact $SOME_TOKEN # → abcd...wxyz
# Custom reveal length
echo $TOKEN | redact --head 6 --tail 6 # → fc1df7...345360
```
## When to Use
**Always** when you need to reference or verify a secret:
```bash
# ❌ NEVER
echo "Token: $GITEA_API_KEY"
TOKEN="abc123..."
echo $TOKEN
# ✅ ALWAYS
echo $GITEA_API_KEY | redact
echo "Token: $(echo $GITEA_API_KEY | redact)"
```
## Auto-Detected Patterns
- 40-char hex strings (Gitea, SHA-like)
- `ghp_` / `ghs_` GitHub tokens
- `glpat-` GitLab tokens
- `Authorization: bearer/token <value>` headers
- `api_key=`, `auth_token=`, `password=`, `secret=`, `token=` key-value pairs
## Installation
Script lives at `~/.local/bin/redact` (Python 3, no dependencies).
Available on all hosts where `~/.local/bin` is in PATH.
## Fleet Distribution
```bash
ansible pis:nas:workstations -i ansible/inventory -m copy \
-a "src=~/.local/bin/redact dest=~/.local/bin/redact mode=0755"
```
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