Credentials for Agent tools

Credentials are the API keys, tokens, connection strings, and other private values an Agent needs to use external services.

How credentials work

SandBase stores each credential as an encrypted, write-only value. The Console and public API expose its name, scope, status, and a masked hint—not the saved value. At execution time, the runtime resolves active credentials that match the Agent or Service configuration.

Managing credentials

In the Console

Navigate to Developer → Credentials.

When adding a credential, choose the narrowest useful scope:

Scope	Use it for
Workspace	A value available to eligible Agents in the current workspace
Agent	A value associated with one Agent ID
Service	A value available to a published Service workflow

Saved values cannot be read back. To replace one, use the credential's Manage action and rotate it. A credential can be disabled; disabled records remain visible as metadata.

Common Variables

Variable	Example	Purpose
GITHUB_TOKEN	ghp_xxxx	Authenticate with GitHub API
DATABASE_URL	postgres://...	Connect to a database
SLACK_WEBHOOK	https://hooks.slack.com/...	Post notifications
OPENAI_API_KEY	sk-...	Call OpenAI directly from a tool

Security

• Values are encrypted before storage and omitted from credential responses
• The Console shows only masked metadata after creation
• Scopes control where a credential can be selected; use Agent scope when a workspace-wide value is unnecessary
• Keep secrets out of prompts, instructions, test input, and manually authored event payloads

Next steps

• Define an Agent — create an Agent that uses credentials
• Tools and credentials — capabilities that consume these secrets
• Services — publish an Agent with its credentials available at runtime