AWS API keys
Amazon Web Services credentials belong in configuration, not in a commit. This page covers where to create one, what it looks like, and how APIKeyConnect stores it without ever being able to read it.
The facts
- Category
- Cloud Services
- API host
*.amazonaws.com- Key format
AKIAXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX- Env variable
AWS · AMAZON- Sensitivity
- Critical
- Create a key
- https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/home#/security_credentials — Under Access keys click "Create access key". For another user: IAM → Users → (user) → Security credentials.
- Documentation
- https://docs.aws.amazon.com/
A leaked key here can move money, delete data, or impersonate your organisation. Rotate immediately if one is ever exposed, and never let one reach a client bundle.
Kinds of AWS key
Access Key ID
Public identifier for your AWS account
Secret Access Key
Secret key used for signing AWS API requests
How APIKeyConnect stores it
The key is encrypted in your browser with AES-256-GCM, under a key derived from your master password with PBKDF2-SHA-256 at 600,000 iterations. The password never leaves your device, and the server holds ciphertext it has no way to open.
What the server can see — and what this design does not protect against — is written out in full on the security page. That section exists because a page with no limits section is marketing.
Questions
Where do I get a AWS API key?
AWS issues keys from https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/home#/security_credentials. Under Access keys click "Create access key". For another user: IAM → Users → (user) → Security credentials. Once you have it, store it in APIKeyConnect rather than in a .env file you might commit — the key is encrypted on your device with a master password we never receive.
What does a AWS API key look like?
AWS keys follow the pattern AKIAXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. Knowing the shape is useful for spotting one that has been pasted into a commit, a log line, or a support ticket — the places keys leak from most often.
What environment variable should I use for AWS?
Most projects use AWS, AMAZON. APIKeyConnect recognises these names, so importing an existing .env maps the value onto AWS automatically instead of leaving it as an unlabelled string, and generating a .env writes it back under the same name.
How dangerous is a leaked AWS key?
Critical sensitivity. A leaked key here can move money, delete data, or impersonate your organisation. Rotate immediately if one is ever exposed, and never let one reach a client bundle.
Does AWS have more than one kind of key?
Yes — Access Key ID, Secret Access Key. They differ in scope, so keeping them as separate entries rather than one "the AWS key" is what lets you rotate the risky one without touching the others.
Can APIKeyConnect see my AWS key?
No. The key is encrypted in your browser with AES-256-GCM under a key derived from your master password (PBKDF2-SHA-256, 600,000 iterations). The password never leaves your device and the server stores ciphertext it cannot open. What the server can see is documented in full on the security page, including what this design does not protect against.