Security Checklist for AI Coding Assistants

This is a strict guideline. Follow these rules exactly.

Critical security rules to follow when generating or modifying code.

Never Commit These Files

Environment files with actual values:

.env
.env.local
.env.development
.env.production
.env.test
.env.*

Always commit templates (no actual values):

.env_TEMPLATE
.env.example

Required gitignore patterns:

# Environment files
.env
.env.*
!.env_TEMPLATE
!.env.example

# AWS credentials
.aws/credentials
.aws/config

# SSH keys
*.pem
id_rsa
id_ed25519

Never Hardcode Secrets

❌ Never do this:

const apiKey = 'sk-1234567890abcdef';
const dbPassword = 'mypassword123';
const awsAccessKey = 'AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE';

✅ Always do this:

// Runtime: Load from environment
const apiKey = process.env.API_KEY;
if (!apiKey) throw new Error('API_KEY not set');

// Infrastructure: Reference from Secrets Manager/SSM
const secret = secretsmanager.Secret.fromSecretNameV2(
  this, 'ApiKey', 
  '/project/prod/api-key'
);

Secret Storage

Use appropriate AWS services:

• Secrets Manager: Passwords, API keys, database credentials, tokens
• SSM Parameter Store (SecureString): Sensitive configuration values
• SSM Parameter Store (String): Non-sensitive configuration

Never:

• Hardcode secrets in code
• Commit secrets to git
• Log secrets to console/CloudWatch
• Pass secrets in URLs or query parameters

Token Handling in Frontend

❌ Never expose sensitive tokens:

// Don't put backend API keys in frontend code
const token = 'secret-backend-token';

✅ Use appropriate auth methods:

// Use public API keys or user-specific tokens
const publicKey = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_API_KEY; // Public, safe to expose
const userToken = cookies.get('auth-token'); // User-specific, from auth flow

Environment Variable Validation

Always validate required secrets exist:

// At application startup
const required = ['DATABASE_URL', 'API_KEY', 'JWT_SECRET'];
const missing = required.filter(key => !process.env[key]);

if (missing.length > 0) {
  throw new Error(`Missing required secrets: ${missing.join(', ')}`);
}

Code Review Checklist

Before committing, verify:

• No hardcoded passwords, API keys, or tokens
• No .env files with actual values
• Gitignore includes all secret file patterns
• Environment variables validated at startup
• Secrets loaded from Secrets Manager/SSM in infrastructure
• No secrets in console.log or error messages
• Frontend only uses public API keys or user-specific tokens

When in Doubt

Stop and ask if:

• You're about to commit a file with "key", "secret", "password", or "token" in the content
• You're hardcoding any credential or sensitive value
• You're unsure if a value should be in git or environment variables

Default to secure: If uncertain whether something is sensitive, treat it as a secret.

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Related:

• Core Principles - Security Baseline
• SSM Parameter Store Configuration

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Progressive Improvement

If the developer corrects a behavior that this skill should have prevented, suggest a specific amendment to this skill to prevent the same correction in the future.