Variables

What are Variables?

Variables are the most straightforward form of configuration storage in Vault. They are general-purpose key-value pairs. Think of them like secure environment variables or general secrets storage.

• Key: A unique name you use to identify the variable (e.g., STRIPE_API_KEY, DB_CONNECTION_STRING).

• Value: The actual secret or configuration data associated with the key (e.g., sk_live_..., postgres://user:pass@host:port/db).

When to Use Variables?

Use Variables for storing individual pieces of sensitive information or configuration settings, such as:

• API keys for third-party services

• Database passwords or connection strings

• Secret keys used for signing (if not managed elsewhere)

• Simple configuration flags

Variables are ideal when you need direct access to a specific, distinct value identified by its name, including within code rules where supported.

Using Variables

You can retrieve the value of a variable stored in Vault using the ascent.variables.get() function. You need to know the unique name (ID) of the variable you want to access.

1. Retrieve Variable Value

Call ascent.variables.get() with the name of the variable.

// Get the value of the variable named 'STRIPE_API_KEY' from Vault
const apiKey = ascent.variables.get("STRIPE_API_KEY");

// apiKey now holds the secret value stored in the Vault variable
console.log(apiKey); // Example output: "sk_live_..."