check-security

name	check-security
description	Scan the repository for accidentally committed secrets (API keys, passwords, tokens, private keys, etc.) using the `detect-secrets` CLI (https://github.com/Yelp/detect-secrets). Checks whether `detect-secrets` is installed and, if it isn't, first checks for its Python prerequisite (installing Python via `winget`/`choco` on Windows if missing — Linux/macOS ship Python already) before attempting to install `detect-secrets` itself (`pip`/`pip3`/`pipx`, falling back to `brew` on macOS); if any prerequisite or install attempt fails, warns the user with the actual error and asks whether to continue without scanning or stop. For a whole-repository run (no argument), maintains a `.secrets.baseline` file at the repository root and reports only secrets that are new since the last baseline or were never triaged (audited); for a scoped run (`<path-or-glob>` argument) it scans just that path ad hoc and reports every finding, without touching the baseline. Invoke as `/check-security` to scan the whole repository, or `/check-security <path-or-glob>` to scope the scan to specific files/directories. Use whenever the user wants a secret-scanning pass before committing/pushing/opening a PR, instead of eyeballing diffs for accidentally committed credentials.
allowed-tools	Read Bash(detect-secrets *) Bash(pip install *) Bash(pip3 install *) Bash(pipx install *) Bash(brew install *) Bash(winget install *) Bash(choco install *) Bash(python *) Bash(python3 *) Bash(which *) Bash(command -v *) Bash(uname *) Bash(git status *) Bash(git diff *) Bash(git ls-files *)

Check Security

Run detect-secrets against the repository (or a scoped path) to catch secrets that were accidentally committed or staged, and report every finding clearly enough to act on. This skill only scans and reports — it never removes, rotates, or edits a discovered secret, and never stages or commits the baseline file it may create.

Step 1 — Check whether detect-secrets is installed

Run command -v detect-secrets (or detect-secrets --version). If it succeeds, skip to Step 4.

Step 2 — Check whether Python is installed

detect-secrets is a Python package — installing it via pip/pip3/pipx requires a working Python first. Run command -v python3 or command -v python (or python3 --version / python --version).

• Found: continue to Step 3.
• Not found: determine the platform first (uname -s):

  • Linux or macOS (uname -s reports Linux or Darwin): both ship Python by default, so a genuine absence here is unusual. Warn the user explicitly that Python is missing and is required before detect-secrets can be installed, then use AskUserQuestion to ask whether to stop here or continue without scanning — same as the failure path in Step 3. Don't attempt to install Python yourself on these platforms; system Python is managed differently across distros/versions and isn't this skill's call to make.

  • Windows (uname -s reports something other than Linux/Darwin, e.g. MINGW*/MSYS*/CYGWIN*, or the command isn't found at all): unlike Linux/macOS, Windows doesn't ship Python, so attempt to install it before proceeding:

    1. winget install --id Python.Python.3.12 -e --source winget (Windows' built-in package manager, present on Windows 10/11 by default).
    2. choco install python -y (if Chocolatey is available and winget failed or isn't present).

    Re-check command -v python3 / command -v python after each attempt, stopping at the first success, then continue to Step 3. If both attempts fail, warn the user explicitly — state that Python could not be installed and show the actual error output from the last attempt — then use AskUserQuestion to ask whether to stop here or continue without scanning, same as Step 3's failure path. Respect whichever the user picks; do not retry installation again on your own after the user has answered.

Step 3 — Attempt installation if missing

Try installation methods in order, re-checking command -v detect-secrets after each attempt, and stop at the first one that succeeds:

1. pip install detect-secrets
2. pip3 install detect-secrets
3. pipx install detect-secrets
4. On macOS (uname -s reports Darwin) only: brew install detect-secrets

If every applicable method fails, warn the user explicitly — state that detect-secrets could not be installed and show the actual error output from the last attempt (don't paraphrase it away) — then use AskUserQuestion to ask whether to:

• stop here — report that no scan was performed and why, or
• continue without scanning — report that no scan was performed and why, but let the calling flow (if any) proceed anyway.

Respect whichever the user picks; do not retry installation again on your own after the user has answered.

Step 4 — Determine scope

• Argument provided (a path or glob): scope the scan to it, ad hoc, without touching any baseline file — go to Step 6.
• No argument: scope to the whole repository using the baseline workflow — go to Step 5.

Step 5 — Whole-repository scan via baseline

detect-secrets uses a baseline file (.secrets.baseline) to remember which findings have already been seen and triaged, so a run only needs to surface what's new.

• No .secrets.baseline at the repository root: create one with detect-secrets scan > .secrets.baseline. Every finding in a freshly created baseline is "new" by definition — report all of them (Step 7).
• .secrets.baseline already exists: before rescanning, keep a copy of its current contents (e.g. Read it, or note its git diff is empty beforehand) so you can tell what changed. Then run detect-secrets scan --baseline .secrets.baseline, which rescans the codebase and updates the file in place, preserving any labels from prior audits. Compare the old and new contents (git diff .secrets.baseline if it's tracked, otherwise the copy you kept) to identify:
  • newly appeared entries — not present in the old baseline at all.
  • entries still lacking a triage label (no is_secret: true/false recorded for them, i.e. never resolved by detect-secrets audit) — these are outstanding regardless of whether they're new this run. Entries already labeled is_secret: false in the old baseline are confirmed false positives; don't re-report them. Entries already labeled is_secret: true are known, already-accepted findings — mention them only as a reminder that they remain in the codebase, not as new alarms.

Go to Step 7 to report.

Step 6 — Scoped ad hoc scan

Run detect-secrets scan <path-or-glob> --all-files and report every finding from its output directly — there is no baseline in this mode, so every result is reported regardless of whether it would otherwise be "known."

Go to Step 7 to report.

Step 7 — Report

State plainly whether the scan ran at all (per Steps 1–3). If it did, report:

• Whether this was a whole-repository (baseline) or scoped (ad hoc) run.
• Every finding that needs attention: file path, line number, and secret type (from the type field), grouped by file. For baseline runs, label each as new or previously-flagged-but-unaudited.
• If a .secrets.baseline file was created or updated, say so explicitly and note that it now belongs in the repository (the user can commit it) but that this skill does not stage or commit anything itself.
• If anything is flagged, recommend the user either remove/rotate the real secret, or run detect-secrets audit .secrets.baseline themselves to interactively mark false positives — do not run audit on the user's behalf, since labeling a finding as a false positive is a judgment call only they should make.
• If the scan found nothing to flag, report a clean result plainly.