Show HN: Scoped, expiring API keys for AI agents

(github.com)

4 points | by lexokoh 13 hours ago

2 comments

  • skyzouwdev 7 hours ago
    Makes sense — handing full API keys to agents is a huge risk surface. Even with fake UUIDs at MVP stage, the scoped/expiring pattern seems useful. Curious if you’ve thought about integrating with existing secrets managers (Vault, Doppler, etc.) instead of rolling custom crypto later on.
    • lexokoh 4 hours ago
      Thank you. Yes, it's one of the things I'm already looking into. So will work well with any Secrets manager, not compete with them.

      Curious if you'd want to use it?

  • sinharishabh 12 hours ago
    interesting project, what is the primary use-case for something like this? i'm still giving the agent access anyway or is it just scoped-access? i'm trying to understand how the short-lived nature of these keys can help
    • lexokoh 12 hours ago
      Thank you. Instead of giving the agent your real API key, it gets a scoped, short-lived capability (e.g. “can post 1 message to Slack channel X in the next 30s”).

      The short-lived nature means that if the token is leaked or the agent goes rogue, the blast radius is tiny, you can instantly revoke/deny new mints, and you get full audit and policy control. It turns “here’s my permanent master key” into “here’s a disposable permit slip for just this action.”

      Let me know if that makes sense.