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Secret Key and Local Secret

Secret Key and Local Secret

Jul 15, 2024

Overview

When importing data via HTTP, you sometimes need to provide authentication to an external site. There are several options for how to store and then reference the username and password; see Authenticating for an API. One option is to use the Secret Key section to create a key associated with the username or password, which is encrypted and stored in the PhixFlow database.

For Private Secret Keys, see Private Secrets.

Secret Key

Basic Settings

Field

Description

Field

Description

Name

Enter a name.  

 the properties. Use this name in expressions to refer to this key using ${_datasource.key} .

Key

Read-only. When you save the secret key, PhixFlow automatically generates a unique key in this field. The key is a combination of the Name and the internal ID of the HTTP datasource.

This key remains the same if you change the name of the secret key. 

Enabled

 

 to indicate you have completed configuring the secret key and associated local secret value, and it is ready to use. The local secret value may be null.

 means a reference to this secret key in an expression will fail.

Secret

Click 

 to create a local secret item, where you can enter the value, such as a password, that is paired with this secret key; see Local Secret Properties, below.

When you save the local secret, PhixFlow displays asterisks here to show that the secret value has been encrypted.

To edit a secret value, click 

.
To delete a secret value, click 
.

You can save the secret key without adding a secret. In this case, you must add the secret key and a value to the keystore; see Authenticating for an API and Adding Data to a Keystore.

Local Secret 

 

Basic Settings

Field

Description

Field

Description

Key

Read-only. The same automatically-generated key in the secret key is paired with this local secret.

In PhixFlow version 11.1.1+, this field is not visible.

Secret

Enter the value that you want to encrypt, such as a password. To switch between displaying or hiding the value, click 

.

PhixFlow encrypts the value when storing it in the database, but when it is required to authenticate to an external site, PhixFlow supplies the unencrypted string. 

External Secret (Keystore)

Secret values such as passwords can be held in the Java Keystore used as part of your PhixFlow installation. This enables a single instance of the secret to exist outside off PhixFlow.

Setup

  1. In PhixFlow, open the Properties of the HTTP of Database Datasource where the secret value will be used.

  2. In the Advanced section, record the 32 character Internal ID.

  3. Create an entry on the server Keystore with the naming convention datasourceInternalID.KeyName. Where the KeyName should be unique from any other secret name used in PhixFlow.

  4. The Datasource can now reference the secret using the syntax, _datasource.KeyName

  5. PhixFlow will now use the Keystore value secret.

    1. Note, PhixFlow checks for a local secret with the KeyName first and if one exists it will be used. If one is not found PhixFlow checks the keystore for the value and uses it where found. All names are case-sensitive.

Using a Secret

For HTTP objects connected to the HTTP datasource, and HTTP Action nodes you can reference a secret key in:

  • HTTP Collectors and HTTP Exporters → URL Expression or Statement Expression 

  • HTTP Headers Properties → Basic Settings → Value.

  • HTTP Action → Headers

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