Gitleaks is a tool for detecting secrets such as passwords, API keys, and tokens across git repositories, files, and standard input. The project is feature complete, with future releases restricted to security patches.
Project overview
The project supports secret detection across multiple input sources including git repositories, files, and standard input, and the maintainer has stated that future focus is shifting to a separate project called Betterleaks.
Project type
AI Coding
Use cases
Coding & Development
Deployment
Refer to project documentation
License
MIT
Best for
Developers who need to detect secrets in git repositories, files, or standard input.
Teams looking to implement secret detection directly in repository pre-commit hooks.
Key capabilities
Detects secrets such as passwords, API keys, and tokens in git repositories, files, and standard input.
Can be implemented directly in a repository as a pre-commit hook.
Limitations and risks
The project is feature complete and is not merging new features; future releases are described as security patches only.
The maintainer states that focus is shifting to Betterleaks, which may reduce future feature development for this project.
Getting started
Installation is documented as easy using Homebrew, Docker, Go, or a binary release. After installation, you run the command-line tool against a supported input.
Evidence and sources
README: Gitleaks is a tool for **detecting** secrets like passwords, API keys, and tokens in git repos, files, and whatever else you wanna throw at it via `stdin`.
README: Gitleaks is feature complete. I'm not merging new features into Gitleaks. Future releases will be security patches only. I'm shifting my focus to [Betterleaks](https://github.com/…
README: Gitleaks can be installed using Homebrew, Docker, or Go. Gitleaks is also available in binary form for many popular platforms and OS types on the [releases page](https://github.co…