Load secrets from 1Password into GitHub Actions

With the Load secrets from 1Password GitHub Action , you can securely load secrets from 1Password into GitHub Actions using secret references. Secret references sync automatically with 1Password and remove the risk of exposing plaintext secrets in code. You can authenticate load-secrets-action with a 1Password Connect Server or a 1Password Service Account. See the video below for a brief introduction to using the GitHub Action with a service account.

Similar to regular GitHub repository secrets , 1Password automatically masks sensitive fields that appear in GitHub Actions logs. If one of these values accidentally gets printed, it’s replaced with ***.

Requirements

You can configure the action to authenticate to 1Password with either a service account or a Connect server.

Service account
Connect

Before using the Load secrets from 1Password GitHub Action with a service account, you must:

Sign up for 1Password.
Create a service account.
Have the service account token on hand.

The Load secrets from 1Password GitHub Action only supports Mac and Linux runners . It doesn’t work with Windows runners.

Get started

The steps to get started vary depending on whether you use a service account or a Connect server.

Service account
Connect

Add the Load secrets from 1Password GitHub Action to your workflow. See Adding an action to your workflow .
Add the service account token to your workflow. Create a secret for your GitHub repository named OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN and set it to the service account token value. Visit Using secrets in GitHub Actions to learn how.
Configure your workflow. Use the 1password/load-secrets-action/configure action to specify the token of the service account you plan to get secrets from. The following example uses the configure command to set the service-account-token to the OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN secret.
config.yml
```
  uses: 1password/load-secrets-action/configure@v2
  with:
    service-account-token: ${{ secrets.OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN }}
```
Setting the service-account-token in the configure step makes the value available to all subsequent steps. You can limit step access to the service account token by only using the service account token in specific steps.To use the service account token in a specific step, set it in the env variables for that step.
config.yml
env: OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN }}
Load a secret. Use the 1password/load-secrets-action action to set an environment variable to a secret reference URI that points to where a secret is stored in your 1Password account. The following example sets the SECRET environment variable to the value of a field titled secret within an item titled hello-world saved in a vault titled app-cicd.
config.yml
```
uses: 1password/load-secrets-action@v2
env:
  SECRET: op://app-cicd/hello-world/secret
```
The action makes the referenced secret available as the SECRET environment variable for the next steps.

Add the Load secrets from 1Password GitHub Action (load-secrets-action) to your workflow. See Adding an action to your workflow .
Add the Connect server token to your workflow. Create a secret named OP_CONNECT_TOKEN in your repository and set it to the Connect server token value. Visit Using secrets in GitHub Actions to learn how.
Configure your workflow. Use the 1password/load-secrets-action/configure action to specify the Connect server environment variable. The following example uses the configure command to:
- Set the connect-host to the Connect server hostname (OP_CONNECT_HOST).
- Set the connect-token to the OP_CONNECT_TOKEN secret.
config.yml
```
uses: 1password/load-secrets-action/configure@v2
with:
  connect-host: OP_CONNECT_HOST
  connect-token: ${{ secrets.OP_CONNECT_TOKEN }}
```
Setting the connect-token in the configure step makes the value available to all subsequent steps. You can limit step access to the service account token by only using the service account token in specific steps.To use the service account token in a specific step, set it in the env variables for that step.
config.yml
env: OP_CONNECT_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.OP_CONNECT_TOKEN }}
Load a secret. Use the 1password/load-secrets-action action to set an environment variable to a secret reference URI that points to where a secret is stored in your 1Password account. The following example sets the SECRET environment variable to the value of a field titled secret within an item titled hello-world saved in a vault titled app-cicd.
config.yml
```
uses: 1password/load-secrets-action@v2
env:
  SECRET: op://app-cicd/hello-world/secret
```
The action makes the referenced secret available as the SECRET environment variable for the next steps.

Reference

The following sections document the action inputs and secret reference syntax for the Load secrets from 1Password GitHub Action .

Action inputs

The following table contains the available configure action inputs.

Action input	Environment variable	Description
`connect-host`	`OP_CONNECT_HOST`	The Connect server, hostname, IP address, or instance URL.
`connect-token`	`OP_CONNECT_TOKEN`	The Connect server token.
`service-account-token`	`OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN`	The service account token.

Secret reference syntax

Secret reference URIs point to where a secret is saved in your 1Password account using the names (or unique identifiers) of the vault, item, section, and field where the information is stored.

op://vault-name/item-name/[section-name/]field-name

Set an environment variable to a secret reference in your workflow YAML file, and the action will make the referenced secret available as the environment variable for the next steps.

Example

The following example shows how to reference the secret-access-key field of the aws item in the app-cicd vault.

config.yml

- name: Load secret
  uses: 1password/load-secrets-action@v2
  env:
    SECRET: op://app-cicd/aws/secret-access-key

Vault: app-cicd
Item: aws
Field: secret-access-key

Usage examples

You can load secrets using the action in two ways:

Use secrets from the action’s output
Export secrets as environment variables

Use secrets from the action’s output

You can use the Load secrets from 1Password GitHub Action to access secrets as environment variables.

Service account
Connect

The following examples show how to load a secret from a service account and print the output when a push event occurs.You need to set an ID for the step to access its outputs. See outputs.<output_id> .

Simple example
Advanced example

The following example shows how to use a service account to load (and print) a secret (as the SECRET env variable) from 1Password. When you print a secret, 1Password automatically replaces it with ***.

config.yml

on: push
jobs:
  hello-world:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Load secret
        id: op-load-secret
        uses: 1password/load-secrets-action@v2
        with:
          export-env: false
        env:
          OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN }}
          SECRET: op://app-cicd/hello-world/secret

      - name: Print masked secret
        run: 'echo "Secret: ${{ steps.op-load-secret.outputs.SECRET }}"'
        # Prints: Secret: ***

The following example shows how to use a service account to load the username and token fields from the docker secret in 1Password (as DOCKERHUB_USERNAME and DOCKERHUB_TOKEN), then use them to log into Docker Hub.

config.yml

on: push
name: Deploy app

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Configure 1Password Service Account
        uses: 1password/load-secrets-action/configure@v2
        with:
          # Persist the 1Password Service Account Authorization token
          # for next steps.
          # Keep in mind that every single step in the job is now
          # able to access the token.
          service-account-token: ${{ secrets.OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN }}

      - name: Load Docker credentials
        id: load-docker-credentials
        uses: 1password/load-secrets-action@v2
        with:
          export-env: false
        env:
          DOCKERHUB_USERNAME: op://app-cicd/docker/username
          DOCKERHUB_TOKEN: op://app-cicd/docker/token

      - name: Login to Docker Hub
        uses: docker/login-action@v1
        with:
          username: ${{ steps.load-docker-credentials.outputs.DOCKERHUB_USERNAME }}
          password: ${{ steps.load-docker-credentials.outputs.DOCKERHUB_TOKEN }}

      - name: Build and push Docker image
        uses: docker/build-push-action@v2
        with:
          push: true
          tags: acme/app:latest

The following examples show how to load a secret from a Connect server and print the output when a push event occurs.

Simple example
Advanced example

The following example shows how to use a Connect server to load (and print) a secret (as the SECRET env variable) from 1Password. When you print a secret, 1Password automatically replaces it with ***.

config.yml

on: push
jobs:
  hello-world:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Load secret
        id: op-load-secret
        uses: 1password/load-secrets-action@v2
        with:
          export-env: false
        env:
          OP_CONNECT_HOST: connect-host
          OP_CONNECT_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.OP_CONNECT_TOKEN }}
          SECRET: op://app-cicd/hello-world/secret

      - name: Print masked secret
        run: 'echo "Secret: ${{ steps.op-load-secret.outputs.SECRET }}"'
        # Prints: Secret: ***

The following example shows how to use a Connect server to load the username and token fields from the docker secret in 1Password (as DOCKERHUB_USERNAME and DOCKERHUB_TOKEN), then use them to log into Docker Hub.

config.yml

on: push
name: Deploy app

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Configure 1Password Connect
        uses: 1password/load-secrets-action/configure@v2
        with:
          # Persist the 1Password Connect URL for next steps. You can also persist
          # the Connect token using input `connect-token`, but keep in mind that
          # every single step in the job would then be able to access the token.
          connect-host: OP_CONNECT_HOST
      - name: Load Docker credentials
        id: load-docker-credentials
        uses: 1password/load-secrets-action@v2
        with:
          export-env: false
        env:
          OP_CONNECT_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.OP_CONNECT_TOKEN }}
          DOCKERHUB_USERNAME: op://app-cicd/docker/username
          DOCKERHUB_TOKEN: op://app-cicd/docker/token

      - name: Login to Docker Hub
        uses: docker/login-action@v1
        with:
          username: ${{ steps.load-docker-credentials.outputs.DOCKERHUB_USERNAME }}
          password: ${{ steps.load-docker-credentials.outputs.DOCKERHUB_TOKEN }}

      - name: Build and push Docker image
        uses: docker/build-push-action@v2
        with:
          push: true
          tags: acme/app:latest

Export secrets as environment variables

You can use the Load secrets from 1Password GitHub Action to use loaded secret outputted from the steps.step-id.outputs.secret-name.

Service account
Connect

The following examples show how to use a service account to load a 1Password secret as an environment variable.

Simple example
Advanced example

The following example shows how to use a service account to load a secret as an environment variable named SECRET. When you print a secret, 1Password automatically replaces it with ***.

config.yml

on: push
jobs:
  hello-world:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Load secret
        uses: 1password/load-secrets-action@v2
        with:
          # Export loaded secrets as environment variables
          export-env: true
        env:
          OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN }}
          SECRET: op://app-cicd/hello-world/secret

      - name: Print masked secret
        run: 'echo "Secret: $SECRET"'
        # Prints: Secret: ***

The following example shows how to use a service account to load the username and token fields from the docker secret in 1Password as environment variables named DOCKERHUB_USERNAME and DOCKERHUB_TOKEN, then uses them to log into Docker Hub.It also loads the access-key-id and secret-access-key fields from the aws secret in 1Password as environment variables named AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, then uses them to deploy to AWS.

config.yml

on: push
name: Deploy app

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Configure 1Password Service Account
        uses: 1password/load-secrets-action/configure@v2
        with:
          # Persist the 1Password Service Account Authorization token
          # for next steps.
          # Keep in mind that every single step in the job is now able
          # to access the token.
          service-account-token: ${{ secrets.OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN }}

      - name: Load Docker credentials
        uses: 1password/load-secrets-action@v2
        with:
          # Export loaded secrets as environment variables
          export-env: true
        env:
          DOCKERHUB_USERNAME: op://app-cicd/docker/username
          DOCKERHUB_TOKEN: op://app-cicd/docker/token

      - name: Login to Docker Hub
        uses: docker/login-action@v1
        with:
          username: ${{ env.DOCKERHUB_USERNAME }}
          password: ${{ env.DOCKERHUB_TOKEN }}

      - name: Print environment variables with masked secrets
        run: printenv

      - name: Build and push Docker image
        uses: docker/build-push-action@v2
        with:
          push: true
          tags: acme/app:latest

      - name: Load AWS credentials
        uses: 1password/load-secrets-action@v2
        with:
          # Export loaded secrets as environment variables
          export-env: true
          # Remove local copies of the Docker credentials, which are not needed anymore
          unset-previous: true
        env:
          AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: op://app-cicd/aws/access-key-id
          AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: op://app-cicd/aws/secret-access-key

      - name: Deploy app
        # This script expects AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY to be set, which was
        # done automatically by the step above
        run: ./deploy.sh

The folowing examples show how to use a Connect server to load a secret from 1Password as an environment variable.

Simple example
Advanced example

The following example shows how to use a Connect server to load a secret as an environment variable named SECRET. When you print a secret, 1Password automatically replaces it with ***.

config.yml

on: push
jobs:
  hello-world:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Load secret
        uses: 1password/load-secrets-action@v2
        with:
          # Export loaded secrets as environment variables
          export-env: true
        env:
          OP_CONNECT_HOST: connect-host
          OP_CONNECT_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.OP_CONNECT_TOKEN }}
          SECRET: op://app-cicd/hello-world/secret

      - name: Print masked secret
        run: 'echo "Secret: $SECRET"'
        # Prints: Secret: ***

The following example shows how to use a Connect server to load the username and token fields from the docker secret in 1Password as environment variables named DOCKERHUB_USERNAME and DOCKERHUB_TOKEN, then uses them to log into Docker Hub.It also loads the access-key-id and secret-access-key fields from the aws secret in 1Password as environment variables named AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, then uses them to deploy to AWS.

config.yml

on: push
name: Deploy app

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Configure 1Password Connect
        uses: 1password/load-secrets-action/configure@v2
        with:
          # Persist the 1Password Connect hostname for next steps.
          # You can also persist the Connect token using input
          # `connect-token`, but keep in mind that every single
          # step in the job would then be able to access the token.
          connect-host: OP_CONNECT_HOST

      - name: Load Docker credentials
        uses: 1password/load-secrets-action@v2
        with:
          # Export loaded secrets as environment variables
          export-env: true
        env:
          OP_CONNECT_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.OP_CONNECT_TOKEN }}
          DOCKERHUB_USERNAME: op://app-cicd/docker/username
          DOCKERHUB_TOKEN: op://app-cicd/docker/token

      - name: Login to Docker Hub
        uses: docker/login-action@v1
        with:
          username: ${{ env.DOCKERHUB_USERNAME }}
          password: ${{ env.DOCKERHUB_TOKEN }}

      - name: Print environment variables with masked secrets
        run: printenv

      - name: Build and push Docker image
        uses: docker/build-push-action@v2
        with:
          push: true
          tags: acme/app:latest

      - name: Load AWS credentials
        uses: 1password/load-secrets-action@v2
        with:
          # Export loaded secrets as environment variables
          export-env: true
          # Remove local copies of the Docker credentials, which are not needed anymore
          unset-previous: true
        env:
          OP_CONNECT_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.OP_CONNECT_TOKEN }}
          AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: op://app-cicd/aws/access-key-id
          AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: op://app-cicd/aws/secret-access-key

      - name: Deploy app
        # This script expects AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY to be set, which was
        # done automatically by the step above
        run: ./deploy.sh

Troubleshooting

If you try to create items using 1Password CLI in your GitHub pipelines (without using load-secrets-action), the command fails with the following error: For example, the following results in an error: The pipeline environment is in piped mode. This triggers the CLI’s pipe detection, which expects a piped input. To create items in this environment, use a JSON template with your item details.

Get the template for the category of item you want to create:

op item template get --out-file=new-item.json <category>

Edit the template to add your information.

Pipe the item content to the command:

cat new-item.json | op item create --vault <vault>

Documentation Index

​Requirements

​Get started

​Reference

​Action inputs

​Secret reference syntax

​Example

​Usage examples

​Use secrets from the action’s output

​Export secrets as environment variables

​Troubleshooting

Requirements

Get started

Reference

Action inputs

Secret reference syntax

Example

Usage examples

Use secrets from the action’s output

Export secrets as environment variables

Troubleshooting