Secrets

Secrets are environment variables for your app's server, used by backend functions.

Add a secret

1. Open Dashboard → Secrets.
2. Enter a name in UPPER_SNAKE_CASE (for example STRIPE_API_KEY) and the value.
3. Click Save. Your app restarts so the value takes effect.

In code, read it with process.env.STRIPE_API_KEY inside a function.

Safety

• Values are encrypted at rest and never shown again after saving — only names are listed.
• Secrets are only available on the server. Never put them in client components.
• Names starting with DRAFTSHIP_, NEXT_ or NODE_ are reserved.
• When you deploy to Vercel from Draftship, your secrets are passed to that deployment. They are never committed to GitHub.

Secrets in the chat

When the AI needs a key, it shows a form in the chat. Enter the key there. It's encrypted and saved here, and the AI only sees its name.

If you paste a recognized key into a chat message, Draftship saves it as a secret and replaces it in your message before the AI reads it. This works for well-known services such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Stripe, AWS, GitHub, Google and Slack, and for values labeled as a key or token, like TMDB API key: .... For anything else, add it here yourself.