---
title: "Overview"
description: "Connect external secret management systems to securely store and retrieve credentials"
---

Secret Managers allow you to integrate external secret management systems with Activepieces, enabling centralized credential management and enhanced security for your global connections.

<Snippet file="enterprise-feature.mdx" />

## Benefits

- **Centralized Management**: Store all credentials in one secure location
- **Enhanced Security**: Credentials are managed by dedicated secret management systems
- **Audit & Compliance**: Track access and changes to secrets
- **Rotation Support**: Easily rotate credentials without updating flows
- **Access Control**: Use your existing secret manager access policies

## Supported Providers

- **[HashiCorp Vault](./hashicorp)** - Enterprise-grade secrets management
- **[CyberArk Conjur](./cyberark-conjur)** - Centralized secrets management with host-based authentication
- **[AWS Secrets Manager](./aws)** - Managed secrets storage on AWS
- **[1Password](./onepassword)** - Consumer and team password manager with Secrets Automation

## How to Connect

1. Go to **Platform Admin → Security → Secret Managers**
2. Click **New Connection**
3. Select the secret manager provider you want to connect
4. Enter a **Name** for the connection
5. Choose a **Scope** (see [Connection Scopes](#connection-scopes) below)
6. Follow the provider-specific setup instructions in the provider documentation
7. Enter the required connection details
8. Click **Save** to test and save the connection

The connection will be encrypted and stored securely. You can edit or delete it at any time from the Secret Managers page.

## Connection Scopes

Each secret manager connection has a **scope** that controls which projects can use it:

| Scope | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| **Platform** | Available to all projects on the platform |
| **Project** | Restricted to specific projects you select |

When creating or editing a connection, select **Project** scope and choose the projects that should have access. Platform-scoped connections are always visible to all projects.

## Using Secret Managers in Connection Dialogs

Once connected, you can reference secrets from your secret managers when configuring piece connections:

1. Open a connection dialog (either a global connection or one inside the flow builder)
2. Click the **key icon** (🔑) next to a credential field
3. Select a secret manager connection from the dropdown
4. Enter the secret path/identifier required by your provider (see provider-specific documentation)
5. The connection will automatically retrieve the secret from your secret manager when needed

**Global connections (Platform Admin):** All platform-scoped and project-scoped secret manager connections are available to select.

**Flow builder connections:** Only secret manager connections that are accessible to the current project are shown — this includes platform-scoped connections and project-scoped connections assigned to that project.

![Manage Oauth2 apps](/resources/screenshots/secret-manager.png)

## How It Works

When you use a secret manager in a connection:

- The global connection stores a reference to the secret (not the actual credential)
- When the flow runs, Activepieces authenticates with your secret manager and retrieves the secret
- Secrets are fetched on-demand and never stored in Activepieces
- If the secret is updated in your secret manager, flows will use the new value after the cache expires (up to 1 hour), or immediately after clearing the cache

## Caching

Connection checks and retrieved secrets are cached in Redis (encrypted) for **1 hour** to reduce latency and provider API load.

To force a refresh (e.g. after rotating credentials or updating secrets), platform admins can clear the cache per connection using the **refresh icon** next to each connection row in the Secret Managers page.

![Clear secret manager cache](/resources/screenshots/clear-secret-manager-cache.png)

You can also clear the cache via the API. Omit `connectionId` to clear all cached entries for the platform, or pass a `connectionId` to clear only that connection's cache:

```bash
# Clear cache for a specific connection
curl --request DELETE \
  --url 'https://<domain>/api/v1/secret-managers/cache?connectionId=<connectionId>' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>'

# Clear all platform cache entries
curl --request DELETE \
  --url 'https://<domain>/api/v1/secret-managers/cache' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>'
```

## Security Considerations

- **Encryption**: Secret managers authentication configuration is encrypted
- **Access Control**: Use your secret manager's access policies to control who can access secrets
- **Network Security**: Ensure your secret manager is accessible from your Activepieces instance
- **Credential Management**: Regularly rotate authentication credentials for secret managers

## Troubleshooting

**Connection Failed:**
- Verify the connection details are correct and accessible
- Check that authentication credentials are valid
- Ensure network connectivity between Activepieces and your secret manager
- Review provider-specific troubleshooting guides

**Secret Not Found:**
- Verify the secret path/name is correct
- Check that the secret exists in your secret manager
- Ensure the authentication credentials have permissions to read the secret

**Permission Denied:**
- Verify the authentication credentials have the necessary permissions
- Check your secret manager's access control policies
- Review audit logs in your secret manager for detailed error information
