How to Use the Command 'safe' (with Examples)

Safe is a command-line tool designed to interact seamlessly with HashiCorp Vault, an open-source secret management tool. Safe simplifies operations such as targeting a Vault server, authentication, and managing secrets. Being able to securely store and manage sensitive data is crucial for maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of applications and infrastructure, and Safe provides the necessary tooling to accomplish this efficiently.

Use Case 1: Add a Safe Target

Code:

safe target vault_addr target_name

Motivation: Setting a target with Safe allows the tool to know which Vault server instance to communicate with. This is essential for any further interactions with HashiCorp Vault, as it acts as a starting point for managing secrets.

Explanation:

• vault_addr: This is the URL of the Vault server you want to target. It defines the location of the server in your network.
• target_name: This is an alias or a name given to the target for easy identification. You can have multiple targets, and this name helps differentiate them.

Example Output:

Target 'target_name' added pointing to 'vault_addr'.

Use Case 2: Authenticate the CLI Client Against the Vault Server

Code:

safe auth authentication_token

Motivation: Authentication is central to ensuring that only authorized users can access the stored secrets. By using a token, Safe validates the identity of the user and grants access accordingly.

Explanation:

• authentication_token: This is a secret token provided by the Vault server to authenticate the client. It contains permissions and a time-to-live for access.

Example Output:

Authenticated to Vault with token.

Use Case 3: Print Environment Variables Describing the Current Target

Code:

safe env

Motivation: Accessing the current configuration and environment related to your target can be crucial for troubleshooting and ensuring that you are operating in the correct environment.

Explanation:

• The command has no additional arguments. It simply prints out environment variables relevant to the current target context.

Example Output:

VAULT_ADDR='https://vault.example.com'
VAULT_TOKEN='s.xxxxx'

Use Case 4: Display a Tree Hierarchy of All Reachable Keys for a Given Path

Code:

safe tree path

Motivation: Understanding the structure of your secrets storage is crucial for effective management. A tree view provides a visual representation of how secrets are organized under a specific path.

Explanation:

• path: This refers to the directory within Vault containing keys you’d like to display. It acts as a root node for the tree hierarchy.

Example Output:

path/
├── secret1
└── secret2

Use Case 5: Move a Secret from One Path to Another

Code:

safe move old/path/to/secret new/path/to/secret

Motivation: Reorganizing the secret storage is sometimes necessary. Safe allows you to move secrets between paths easily without risking exposure or data loss.

Explanation:

• old/path/to/secret: The current path of the secret you want to move.
• new/path/to/secret: The desired destination path for the secret.

Example Output:

Secret moved from 'old/path/to/secret' to 'new/path/to/secret'.

Use Case 6: Generate a New 2048-bit SSH Key-pair and Store It

Code:

safe ssh 2048 path/to/secret

Motivation: Automating the generation and storage of SSH keys ensures that they are kept secure from the moment of creation, reducing the risk of exposure.

Explanation:

• 2048: Specifies the bit-length of the SSH key to be generated, indicating a strong level of encryption.
• path/to/secret: The storage location in Vault where the generated key should be saved.

Example Output:

Generated and stored SSH key in 'path/to/secret'.

Use Case 7: Set Non-Sensitive Keys for a Secret

Code:

safe set path/to/secret key=value

Motivation: While some secrets include sensitive information, others may just include configuration settings or metadata. Safe can efficiently store these non-sensitive values.

Explanation:

• path/to/secret: The Vault path referencing where the data should be stored.
• key=value: The key-value pair(s) representing non-sensitive information to be set in the secret.

Example Output:

Set 'key=value' at 'path/to/secret'.

Use Case 8: Set Auto-Generated Password in a Secret

Code:

safe gen path/to/secret key

Motivation: Automatically generating passwords reduces human error and increases security by ensuring unpredictability and complexity.

Explanation:

• path/to/secret: The Vault location where the password should be stored.
• key: The key under which the generated password will be listed.

Example Output:

Generated password for 'key' and stored in 'path/to/secret'.

Conclusion

Safe provides a powerful and user-friendly interface for interacting with HashiCorp Vault, enabling robust management of secrets and sensitive data. By allowing for easy and secure operations such as targeting, authentication, and secret manipulation, Safe plays a pivotal role in maintain secure infrastructure environments.