whatisgithub

What is sops?

srgom/sops — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-18 · repo last pushed 2017-05-28

GoAudience · ops devopsComplexity · 3/5DormantSetup · moderate

In one sentence

A tool that encrypts secrets like passwords and API keys inside files so you can safely commit them to git, editing them like normal text files.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Encrypts sensitive files
      Decrypts for editing
      Re-encrypts on save
    Tech stack
      Go
      AWS KMS
      PGP
    Use cases
      Store secrets in git
      Protect API credentials
      Configure per-file key rules
    Audience
      Developers
      Ops teams
    Design
      Originally Python
      Rewritten in Go
      Keeps YAML JSON format readable

Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Commit a YAML file of database passwords and API keys to a private repo without exposing plaintext secrets.

USE CASE 2

Set up a .sops.yaml rule so production config files always use production encryption keys.

USE CASE 3

Let team members with AWS or PGP credentials decrypt and edit shared secrets safely.

USE CASE 4

Use both AWS KMS and PGP together so you can still recover secrets if one key is lost.

What is it built with?

GoAWS KMSPGPYAML

How does it compare?

srgom/sops42wim/fabio42wim/go-xmpp
LanguageGoGoGo
Last pushed2017-05-282018-02-042020-01-24
MaintenanceDormantDormantDormant
Setup difficultymoderatemoderatemoderate
Complexity3/53/53/5
Audienceops devopsops devopsdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires AWS KMS or PGP keys configured before you can encrypt or decrypt files.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Show me how to set up SOPS to encrypt a YAML file of secrets using AWS KMS.
Prompt 2
Help me write a .sops.yaml config so files matching *.prod.yaml use different encryption keys than staging.
Prompt 3
Explain how SOPS decrypts a file for editing and re-encrypts it automatically on save.
Prompt 4
Walk me through migrating a plaintext secrets file in my git repo to SOPS-encrypted format.

Frequently asked questions

What is sops?

A tool that encrypts secrets like passwords and API keys inside files so you can safely commit them to git, editing them like normal text files.

What language is sops written in?

Mainly Go. The stack also includes Go, AWS KMS, PGP.

Is sops actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2017-05-28).

How hard is sops to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is sops for?

Mainly ops devops.

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