Secrets

A Secret stores a credential for one OpenClaw Namespace. OpenClaw Control Plane (OCC) returns its ID and metadata, never its value. An Agent can use a Secret for model authentication, or its Configuration can map a Secret to a gateway environment variable. Use the path that matches the consumer:

Credential	Where to bind it
Model API key	Agent `harnessAuth`; the selected Harness receives it.
Gateway credential, such as a Slack token	Configuration `secretBindings`; the selected gateway receives it.
Backend-issued model access token	Service accounts; this follows its own credential lifecycle.
Model API key held by a Credential Gateway	Credential source; the Harness receives only a placeholder. OpenShell only.

Create and bind a Secret

For browser management, follow Manage Secrets in the console. The API procedure below supports protected-file input.

Wait for the Namespace to become ready. Use the Kubernetes Secret Driver procedure to send a value from a protected file. Retain the sec_… ID returned in the metadata.
Bind that ID through the Agent or its Configuration. The Secret, Configuration, and Agent must belong to the same Namespace. Never put credential values in Configuration values or a ConfigMap.
Confirm permissions before deployment. Assigning a Secret requires the caller to have operate on that exact Secret. Once an Agent's draft is bound to a Secret for model authentication, every later edit of that draft, including a switch to another Secret, also requires operate on the Secret bound now. Deploying also requires the Agent's service principal to have operate. The driver guide explains who can grant it. Namespace access or possession of the Secret ID does not grant permission to consume the value.

Follow Grant the Agent access to its model Secret. This requires an administrator with access to the configured IAM authority.

Rotate or remove a Secret

Updating a Secret changes the stored value. It does not restart a workload or change a running process's environment. Redeploy each consumer through OCE and verify the new version. occ secret get lists the consumers you may read and counts the others; see Find a Secret's consumers. There is no value history or automatic rotation. If a credential is exposed, stop the affected workloads, revoke it at the upstream provider, store a replacement, and redeploy. OCC rejects deletion while a current Configuration, credential source, Agent draft, selected version, pending deployment, or pending Agent provisioning request still references the Secret; the 409 names the references you may read. See Update and redeploy.