What belongs with the project, and what stays private?
The encrypted file still shows setting names and any values that were left unencrypted. The private decryption key must stay separate, including any local key file. Review the file before sharing it so private values and comments never go out as ordinary text.
How do you decide who should get the key?
Start from which app or person needs to open the file. Use separate environment files and matching keys for different access needs. The core tool is open source. The optional paid Armor offering lists access and audit features separately. If a key was exposed, plan how to replace the key and any underlying credentials that could have been read.
What should you keep so another approved environment can run?
Keep the intended encrypted file, the mapping from app to environment, and an approved separate way to recover or replace the corresponding key. Someone with only the encrypted file needs the matching key to use the encrypted settings. Test the recovery plan on a fictional sample.
Which file would you hand to a teammate?
Draw two fictional files, one labelled encrypted settings and one labelled private key. Add a third note showing that a comment contains an invented private value.
- Check what would be visibleKeep the key out of the handoff. Remove the fictional private comment from the file you plan to share.
- Trace the approved pathMark how the intended test app would get its key separately, without writing down a real key or using an actual repository.