aws-secrets-rotation
Automate AWS secrets rotation for RDS, API keys, and credentials
Best use case
aws-secrets-rotation is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.
Automate AWS secrets rotation for RDS, API keys, and credentials
Teams using aws-secrets-rotation should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.
When to use this skill
- You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.
When not to use this skill
- You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
- You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/aws-secrets-rotation/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How aws-secrets-rotation Compares
| Feature / Agent | aws-secrets-rotation | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Not specified | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | Unknown | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Automate AWS secrets rotation for RDS, API keys, and credentials
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
SKILL.md Source
# AWS Secrets Rotation
Automate rotation of secrets, credentials, and API keys using AWS Secrets Manager and Lambda.
## When to Use
Use this skill when you need to implement automated secrets rotation, manage credentials securely, or comply with security policies requiring regular key rotation.
## Supported Secret Types
**AWS Services**
- RDS database credentials
- DocumentDB credentials
- Redshift credentials
- ElastiCache credentials
**Third-Party Services**
- API keys
- OAuth tokens
- SSH keys
- Custom credentials
## Secrets Manager Setup
### Create a Secret
```bash
# Create RDS secret
aws secretsmanager create-secret \
--name prod/db/mysql \
--description "Production MySQL credentials" \
--secret-string '{
"username": "admin",
"password": "CHANGE_ME",
"engine": "mysql",
"host": "mydb.cluster-abc.us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com",
"port": 3306,
"dbname": "myapp"
}'
# Create API key secret
aws secretsmanager create-secret \
--name prod/api/stripe \
--secret-string '{
"api_key": "sk_live_xxxxx",
"webhook_secret": "whsec_xxxxx"
}'
# Create secret from file
aws secretsmanager create-secret \
--name prod/ssh/private-key \
--secret-binary fileb://~/.ssh/id_rsa
```
### Retrieve Secrets
```bash
# Get secret value
aws secretsmanager get-secret-value \
--secret-id prod/db/mysql \
--query 'SecretString' --output text
# Get specific field
aws secretsmanager get-secret-value \
--secret-id prod/db/mysql \
--query 'SecretString' --output text | \
jq -r '.password'
# Get binary secret
aws secretsmanager get-secret-value \
--secret-id prod/ssh/private-key \
--query 'SecretBinary' --output text | \
base64 -d > private-key.pem
```
## Automatic Rotation Setup
### Enable RDS Rotation
```bash
# Enable automatic rotation (30 days)
aws secretsmanager rotate-secret \
--secret-id prod/db/mysql \
--rotation-lambda-arn arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789012:function:SecretsManagerRDSMySQLRotation \
--rotation-rules AutomaticallyAfterDays=30
# Rotate immediately
aws secretsmanager rotate-secret \
--secret-id prod/db/mysql
# Check rotation status
aws secretsmanager describe-secret \
--secret-id prod/db/mysql \
--query 'RotationEnabled'
```
### Lambda Rotation Function
```python
# lambda_rotation.py
import boto3
import json
import os
secrets_client = boto3.client('secretsmanager')
rds_client = boto3.client('rds')
def lambda_handler(event, context):
"""Rotate RDS MySQL password"""
secret_arn = event['SecretId']
token = event['ClientRequestToken']
step = event['Step']
# Get current secret
current = secrets_client.get_secret_value(SecretId=secret_arn)
secret = json.loads(current['SecretString'])
if step == "createSecret":
# Generate new password
new_password = generate_password()
secret['password'] = new_password
# Store as pending
secrets_client.put_secret_value(
SecretId=secret_arn,
ClientRequestToken=token,
SecretString=json.dumps(secret),
VersionStages=['AWSPENDING']
)
elif step == "setSecret":
# Update RDS password
rds_client.modify_db_instance(
DBInstanceIdentifier=secret['dbInstanceIdentifier'],
MasterUserPassword=secret['password'],
ApplyImmediately=True
)
elif step == "testSecret":
# Test new credentials
import pymysql
conn = pymysql.connect(
host=secret['host'],
user=secret['username'],
password=secret['password'],
database=secret['dbname']
)
conn.close()
elif step == "finishSecret":
# Mark as current
secrets_client.update_secret_version_stage(
SecretId=secret_arn,
VersionStage='AWSCURRENT',
MoveToVersionId=token,
RemoveFromVersionId=current['VersionId']
)
return {'statusCode': 200}
def generate_password(length=32):
import secrets
import string
alphabet = string.ascii_letters + string.digits + "!@#$%^&*()"
return ''.join(secrets.choice(alphabet) for _ in range(length))
```
### Custom Rotation for API Keys
```python
# api_key_rotation.py
import boto3
import requests
import json
secrets_client = boto3.client('secretsmanager')
def rotate_stripe_key(secret_arn, token, step):
"""Rotate Stripe API key"""
current = secrets_client.get_secret_value(SecretId=secret_arn)
secret = json.loads(current['SecretString'])
if step == "createSecret":
# Create new Stripe key via API
response = requests.post(
'https://api.stripe.com/v1/api_keys',
auth=(secret['api_key'], ''),
data={'name': f'rotated-{token[:8]}'}
)
new_key = response.json()['secret']
secret['api_key'] = new_key
secrets_client.put_secret_value(
SecretId=secret_arn,
ClientRequestToken=token,
SecretString=json.dumps(secret),
VersionStages=['AWSPENDING']
)
elif step == "testSecret":
# Test new key
response = requests.get(
'https://api.stripe.com/v1/balance',
auth=(secret['api_key'], '')
)
if response.status_code != 200:
raise Exception("New key failed validation")
elif step == "finishSecret":
# Revoke old key
old_key = json.loads(current['SecretString'])['api_key']
requests.delete(
f'https://api.stripe.com/v1/api_keys/{old_key}',
auth=(secret['api_key'], '')
)
# Promote to current
secrets_client.update_secret_version_stage(
SecretId=secret_arn,
VersionStage='AWSCURRENT',
MoveToVersionId=token
)
```
## Rotation Monitoring
### CloudWatch Alarms
```bash
# Create alarm for rotation failures
aws cloudwatch put-metric-alarm \
--alarm-name secrets-rotation-failures \
--alarm-description "Alert on secrets rotation failures" \
--metric-name RotationFailed \
--namespace AWS/SecretsManager \
--statistic Sum \
--period 300 \
--evaluation-periods 1 \
--threshold 1 \
--comparison-operator GreaterThanThreshold \
--alarm-actions arn:aws:sns:us-east-1:123456789012:alerts
```
### Rotation Audit Script
```bash
#!/bin/bash
# audit-rotations.sh
echo "Secrets Rotation Audit"
echo "====================="
aws secretsmanager list-secrets --query 'SecretList[*].[Name,RotationEnabled,LastRotatedDate]' \
--output text | \
while read name enabled last_rotated; do
echo ""
echo "Secret: $name"
echo " Rotation Enabled: $enabled"
echo " Last Rotated: $last_rotated"
if [ "$enabled" = "True" ]; then
# Check rotation schedule
rules=$(aws secretsmanager describe-secret --secret-id "$name" \
--query 'RotationRules.AutomaticallyAfterDays' --output text)
echo " Rotation Schedule: Every $rules days"
# Calculate days since last rotation
if [ "$last_rotated" != "None" ]; then
days_ago=$(( ($(date +%s) - $(date -d "$last_rotated" +%s)) / 86400 ))
echo " Days Since Rotation: $days_ago"
if [ $days_ago -gt $rules ]; then
echo " ⚠️ OVERDUE for rotation!"
fi
fi
fi
done
```
## Application Integration
### Python SDK
```python
import boto3
import json
def get_secret(secret_name):
"""Retrieve secret from Secrets Manager"""
client = boto3.client('secretsmanager')
try:
response = client.get_secret_value(SecretId=secret_name)
return json.loads(response['SecretString'])
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error retrieving secret: {e}")
raise
# Usage
db_creds = get_secret('prod/db/mysql')
connection = pymysql.connect(
host=db_creds['host'],
user=db_creds['username'],
password=db_creds['password'],
database=db_creds['dbname']
)
```
### Node.js SDK
```javascript
const AWS = require('aws-sdk');
const secretsManager = new AWS.SecretsManager();
async function getSecret(secretName) {
try {
const data = await secretsManager.getSecretValue({
SecretId: secretName
}).promise();
return JSON.parse(data.SecretString);
} catch (err) {
console.error('Error retrieving secret:', err);
throw err;
}
}
// Usage
const dbCreds = await getSecret('prod/db/mysql');
const connection = mysql.createConnection({
host: dbCreds.host,
user: dbCreds.username,
password: dbCreds.password,
database: dbCreds.dbname
});
```
## Rotation Best Practices
**Planning**
- [ ] Identify all secrets requiring rotation
- [ ] Define rotation schedules (30, 60, 90 days)
- [ ] Test rotation in non-production first
- [ ] Document rotation procedures
- [ ] Plan for emergency rotation
**Implementation**
- [ ] Use AWS managed rotation when possible
- [ ] Implement proper error handling
- [ ] Add CloudWatch monitoring
- [ ] Test application compatibility
- [ ] Implement gradual rollout
**Operations**
- [ ] Monitor rotation success/failure
- [ ] Set up alerts for failures
- [ ] Regular rotation audits
- [ ] Document troubleshooting steps
- [ ] Maintain rotation runbooks
## Emergency Rotation
```bash
# Immediate rotation (compromise detected)
aws secretsmanager rotate-secret \
--secret-id prod/db/mysql \
--rotate-immediately
# Force rotation even if recently rotated
aws secretsmanager rotate-secret \
--secret-id prod/api/stripe \
--rotation-lambda-arn arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789012:function:RotateStripeKey \
--rotate-immediately
# Verify rotation completed
aws secretsmanager describe-secret \
--secret-id prod/db/mysql \
--query 'LastRotatedDate'
```
## Compliance Tracking
```python
#!/usr/bin/env python3
# compliance-report.py
import boto3
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
client = boto3.client('secretsmanager')
def generate_compliance_report():
secrets = client.list_secrets()['SecretList']
compliant = []
non_compliant = []
for secret in secrets:
name = secret['Name']
rotation_enabled = secret.get('RotationEnabled', False)
last_rotated = secret.get('LastRotatedDate')
if not rotation_enabled:
non_compliant.append({
'name': name,
'issue': 'Rotation not enabled'
})
continue
if last_rotated:
days_ago = (datetime.now(last_rotated.tzinfo) - last_rotated).days
if days_ago > 90:
non_compliant.append({
'name': name,
'issue': f'Not rotated in {days_ago} days'
})
else:
compliant.append(name)
else:
non_compliant.append({
'name': name,
'issue': 'Never rotated'
})
print(f"Compliant Secrets: {len(compliant)}")
print(f"Non-Compliant Secrets: {len(non_compliant)}")
print("\nNon-Compliant Details:")
for item in non_compliant:
print(f" - {item['name']}: {item['issue']}")
if __name__ == "__main__":
generate_compliance_report()
```
## Example Prompts
- "Set up automatic rotation for my RDS credentials"
- "Create a Lambda function to rotate API keys"
- "Audit all secrets for rotation compliance"
- "Implement emergency rotation for compromised credentials"
- "Generate a secrets rotation report"
## Kiro CLI Integration
```bash
kiro-cli chat "Use aws-secrets-rotation to set up RDS credential rotation"
kiro-cli chat "Create a rotation audit report with aws-secrets-rotation"
```
## Additional Resources
- [AWS Secrets Manager Rotation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/secretsmanager/latest/userguide/rotating-secrets.html)
- [Rotation Lambda Templates](https://github.com/aws-samples/aws-secrets-manager-rotation-lambdas)
- [Best Practices for Secrets](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/secretsmanager/latest/userguide/best-practices.html)Related Skills
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