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Using Secrets

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Keep sensitive data secure when automating tasks that require passwords, API keys, or other confidential information. Gobii encrypts your secrets at rest and ensures the AI model never sees the actual values.

How Secrets Work

When you provide secrets to a task:

  1. Placeholders in prompts: Use placeholder names (like x_username, x_password) in your task description
  2. Secure encryption: Actual secret values are encrypted using AES-256-GCM before storage
  3. Protected from AI: The language model only sees placeholder names, never the real secrets
  4. Runtime substitution: During browser automation, placeholders are replaced with actual values

Basic Example

curl -X POST https://gobii.ai/api/v1/tasks/browser-use/ \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $GOBII_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "prompt": "Login to example.com using x_username and x_password, then navigate to the dashboard",
    "secrets": {
      "x_username": "alice@company.com",
      "x_password": "mySecretPassword123"
    }
  }'

The AI agent will:

  • See the task: "Login to example.com using x_username and x_password..."
  • Not see the actual username or password values
  • Use the real credentials only when filling login forms

Secret Key Requirements

Secret keys must follow these rules:

  • ✅ Alphanumeric characters and underscores only: x_api_key, user123, db_password
  • ✅ Cannot start with a number: x_token (good), 1_token (bad)
  • ❌ No spaces, dashes, or special characters: api-key, my password

Multiple Secrets

You can provide multiple secrets in a single task:

curl -X POST https://gobii.ai/api/v1/tasks/browser-use/ \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $GOBII_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "prompt": "Login to admin panel using x_username and x_password, then configure the API with x_api_key",
    "secrets": {
      "x_username": "admin",
      "x_password": "admin123",
      "x_api_key": "sk-1234567890abcdef"
    }
  }'

With Structured Output

Secrets work seamlessly with output schemas:

curl -X POST https://gobii.ai/api/v1/tasks/browser-use/ \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $GOBII_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "prompt": "Login to dashboard using x_username and x_password, then extract the account balance and return it as JSON",
    "secrets": {
      "x_username": "user@example.com",
      "x_password": "secretpass"
    },
    "output_schema": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "balance": { "type": "string" },
        "currency": { "type": "string" }
      },
      "required": ["balance", "currency"]
    }
  }'

Synchronous Tasks with Secrets

Use the wait parameter for immediate results:

curl -X POST https://gobii.ai/api/v1/tasks/browser-use/ \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $GOBII_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "prompt": "Login to my account using x_email and x_password and check if there are any new notifications",
    "secrets": {
      "x_email": "user@example.com",
      "x_password": "mypassword"
    },
    "wait": 60
  }'

Security Features

Encryption at Rest

  • All secrets are encrypted using AES-256-GCM with authenticated encryption
  • Encryption keys are securely managed and rotated
  • Secrets are never stored in plaintext

AI Model Protection

  • The language model never sees actual secret values
  • Only placeholder names appear in the model's context
  • Even if the agent reads a page containing your password, it's masked from the model

Audit Logging

  • Secret usage is logged (placeholder names only, never values)
  • Track which tasks used secrets and when
  • No sensitive data appears in logs

Best Practices

1. Use Descriptive Placeholder Names

{
  "secrets": {
    "x_admin_username": "admin",
    "x_admin_password": "secret",
    "x_api_key": "sk-123",
    "x_database_password": "dbpass"
  }
}

2. Minimize Secret Scope

Only include secrets that are actually needed for the specific task.

3. Regular Rotation

Rotate passwords and API keys regularly as part of your security practices.

4. Environment Variables

Store secrets in environment variables in your application:

# In your environment
ADMIN_PASSWORD="secure-password-123"
API_KEY="sk-1234567890abcdef"

# In your script
curl -X POST https://gobii.ai/api/v1/tasks/browser-use/ \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $GOBII_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{
    \"prompt\": \"Login using x_username and x_password\",
    \"secrets\": {
      \"x_username\": \"admin\",
      \"x_password\": \"$ADMIN_PASSWORD\"
    }
  }"

Error Handling

If your secrets contain invalid characters or format:

{
  "secrets": ["Secrets must be a dictionary"],
  "status": 400
}

If a secret key is invalid:

{
  "secrets": ["Secret key 'invalid-key' must be alphanumeric with underscores only"],
  "status": 400
}

Backwards Compatibility

Tasks without secrets continue to work exactly as before. The secrets field is optional and only affects tasks that explicitly use it.

Next Steps