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# systemd-creds

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systemd-creds is a utility and service provided by systemd, designed to securely store and retrieve credentials used by systemd units. It aims to simplify the management of sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords, API keys, and other authentication data, required by various services and applications.

See https://systemd.io/CREDENTIALS/ and systemd-creds(1) for more information.

## Credential encryption

Credentials may optionally be encrypted and authenticated, either with a key derived from a local TPM2 chip, or one stored in `/var/`, or both (the default) if available. To check if your system uses TPM2 encryption or only the key stored in `/var/`, run

    $ systemd-analyze has-tpm2

    yes
    +firmware
    +driver
    +system
    +subsystem

To encrypt a secret stored in `plaintext.txt`, run

    # systemd-creds --name=foobar encrypt plaintext.txt ciphertext.cred

Note: In case of sensitive credentials, consider using a tmpfs for `plaintext.txt`

Encrypted credentials carry the intended name in them, so they cannot be mispurposed. If you omit `--name`, then the filename will be used as credential name.

You can check that encryption was successful with

    # shred -u plaintext.txt
    # systemd-run -P --wait -p LoadCredentialEncrypted=foobar:$(pwd)/ciphertext.cred systemd-creds cat foobar

Without using `--name` above, the correct command would be

    # systemd-run -P --wait -p LoadCredentialEncrypted=ciphertext.cred:$(pwd)/ciphertext.cred systemd-creds cat ciphertext.cred

Alternatively, you can use `systemd-ask-password` to provide the secret without first writing it to disk. The `-p` switch allows outputting a credential in a format ready to be included in a service file:

    # systemd-ask-password -n | systemd-creds encrypt --name=mysql-password -p - -
    🔐 Password: ***************
    SetCredentialEncrypted=mysql-password: \
           k6iUCUh0RJCQyvL8k8q1UyAAAAABAAAADAAAABAAAAD42X4T5h86ynMHG5MAAAAAgAAAA \
           AAAAAALACMA8AAAACAAAAAAngAgws4cwpkrOvpxVf4/GSyOYCoQ4dmPs3Vcfg3D0eH/Ov \
           cAEC/U9JTyeHgktYBDl8U5jOq/NqFX3IPc24EX7aeTevsL6OKwlTDcF04W1M6eodqngRo \
           1JfRqHWnSfVHHYVXgMjIkWT4AcC0OoqAzQobK5e5G1zjTPygiG/ewGttY9sueKCL/INUu \
           n1e6/QB6D9T0x9Sl18CeBtoASepCAE4ACAALAAAAEgAgY9RHOefBR+mMgV/Frr+UzQX1S \
           IsLFItIbfB6Ep76It0AEAAgKH2Tduip205Dw0GVkME+yvOUNYVhnSHYqWHQoxelKrdj1E \
           c558FH6YyBX8Wuv5TNBfVIiwsUi0ht8HoSnvoi3QAAAAA3WzuXTYG2OFX9wFo740b3YjE \
           ZtiCWakoAOxzX+D/vIFyB3INROxpfXUCV7LY4eRITI9PJZiE6lGn4kjZBnbUf47yo1WDG \
           Wg==

Edit the service file to include the relevant credential

## User credential encryption

The systemd-creds utility can also be used by a regular user.

    $ echo -n hunter2 | systemd-creds --user encrypt - ciphertext.cred
    $ systemd-creds --user decrypt password.cred
    hunter2
    $ cat <(systemd-creds --user decrypt ciphertext.cred)
    hunter2$

As mentioned in systemd-creds(1), the user's scope and the `/etc/machine-id` are used to encrypt the credential. For example, a root user may decrypt it, but only matching the user scope:

    $ systemd-creds --uid anotheruser decrypt ciphertext.cred
    Failed to decrypt: io.systemd.InteractiveAuthenticationRequired
    # systemd-creds decrypt ciphertext.cred
    Encrypted file is scoped to a user, but no user selected.
    # systemd-creds --uid user decrypt ciphertext.cred
    hunter2

Category:

- Security