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Skills/doppler
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doppler

Manage secrets and environment variables using the Doppler CLI. Use when the user wants to set up Doppler, inject secrets into processes, manage projects and configs, upload or download secrets, create service tokens, use secret templates, or integrate Doppler with Docker, Kubernetes, or CI/CD pipelines. Trigger words: doppler, secrets manager, env vars, secret injection, doppler run, doppler setup, service token, secret rotation.

#doppler#secrets#environment-variables#devops#security
terminal-skillsv1.0.0
Works with:claude-codeopenai-codexgemini-clicursor
Source

Usage

$
✓ Installed doppler v1.0.0

Getting Started

  1. Install the skill using the command above
  2. Open your AI coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, or Cursor)
  3. Reference the skill in your prompt
  4. The AI will use the skill's capabilities automatically

Example Prompts

  • "Deploy the latest build to the staging environment and run smoke tests"
  • "Check the CI pipeline status and summarize any recent failures"

Documentation

Overview

Manage application secrets and environment variables through the Doppler CLI. Covers authentication, project/config setup, secret injection into processes, secret CRUD operations, bulk import/export, service tokens for CI/CD, template-based secret substitution, and integrations with Docker and Kubernetes.

Instructions

1. Install and authenticate

bash
# macOS
brew install dopplerhq/cli/doppler
# Debian/Ubuntu — see https://docs.doppler.com/docs/install-cli for full apt setup
# Windows
winget install doppler.doppler

Authenticate and verify:

bash
doppler login
doppler me

2. Set up a project directory

Link the current directory to a Doppler project and config (creates doppler.yaml):

bash
doppler setup
doppler setup --project my-api --config dev --no-interactive

3. Inject secrets into processes

Run any command with secrets injected as environment variables:

bash
doppler run -- npm start
doppler run -- python manage.py runserver
doppler run -- docker compose up

Override the project/config per command:

bash
doppler run -p payments-api -c stg -- ./run-tests.sh

Run multiple chained commands:

bash
doppler run --command="./configure && ./process-jobs; ./cleanup"

4. Read and manage secrets

List all secrets:

bash
doppler secrets
doppler secrets --only-names

Get a single secret value:

bash
doppler secrets get DATABASE_URL --plain

Get multiple secrets as JSON:

bash
doppler secrets get DATABASE_URL REDIS_URL API_KEY --json

5. Set and update secrets

bash
doppler secrets set API_KEY="sk-live-abc123def456"
doppler secrets set DB_HOST="db.prod.internal" DB_PORT="5432"
cat tls-cert.pem | doppler secrets set TLS_CERT              # from file/stdin
doppler secrets set PORT="8080" --type integer
doppler secrets set STRIPE_KEY="sk_live_..." --visibility restricted
doppler secrets delete DEPRECATED_KEY

6. Download and upload secrets in bulk

Download in various formats:

bash
doppler secrets download --no-file --format=json
doppler secrets download --no-file --format=env > .env
doppler secrets download --no-file --format=yaml > config.yaml

Supported formats: json, yaml, env, env-no-quotes, docker, dotnet-json.

Upload from a file:

bash
doppler secrets upload .env
doppler secrets upload secrets.json

7. Mount secrets as ephemeral files

Mount secrets as a named pipe (most secure file-based method):

bash
doppler run --mount .env -- npm start
doppler run --mount config.json --mount-format json -- ./app

Limit file reads for extra security:

bash
doppler run --mount .env --mount-max-reads 1 -- php artisan config:cache

8. Use secret templates

Create a template file (e.g., config.tmpl):

db_host: {{.DB_HOST}}
db_port: {{.DB_PORT}}
{{with .LOG_FILE}}
log_file: {{.}}
{{end}}

Substitute and output:

bash
doppler secrets substitute config.tmpl --output config.yaml

Pipe directly to kubectl:

bash
kubectl apply -f <(doppler secrets substitute k8s-secret.yaml.tmpl)

9. Create service tokens for CI/CD

bash
doppler configs tokens create ci-deploy -p payments-api -c prd --max-age 24h --plain

Use in CI via env var or inline flag:

bash
export DOPPLER_TOKEN="dp.st.prd.xxxx"
doppler run -- ./deploy.sh
doppler run --token="dp.st.prd.xxxx" -- ./deploy.sh

10. Name transformers

Transform secret names for framework compatibility:

bash
doppler run --name-transformer camel -- node app.js        # API_KEY → apiKey
doppler run --name-transformer tf-var -- terraform apply    # API_KEY → TF_VAR_api_key
doppler run --name-transformer lower-snake -- python app.py # API_KEY → api_key

Available transformers: camel, upper-camel, lower-snake, tf-var, dotnet-env, lower-kebab.

11. Docker and Kubernetes integration

Pass secrets to Docker containers:

bash
docker run --env-file <(doppler secrets download --no-file --format docker) my-app:latest

Create a Kubernetes secret:

bash
kubectl create secret generic app-secrets \
  --from-env-file <(doppler secrets download --no-file --format docker)

Examples

Example 1: Setting up a new microservice with Doppler

User request: "Set up Doppler for our Node.js order-service with dev and production configs"

Actions:

bash
cd ~/projects/order-service
doppler setup --project order-service --config dev --no-interactive

# Set dev secrets
doppler secrets set \
  DATABASE_URL="postgresql://localhost:5432/orders_dev" \
  REDIS_URL="redis://localhost:6379/0" \
  STRIPE_KEY="sk_test_your_stripe_test_key_here" \
  LOG_LEVEL="debug" \
  -p order-service -c dev

# Set production secrets
doppler secrets set \
  DATABASE_URL="postgresql://db.prod.internal:5432/orders" \
  REDIS_URL="redis://redis.prod.internal:6379/0" \
  STRIPE_KEY="sk_live_51HG4..." \
  LOG_LEVEL="warn" \
  -p order-service -c prd

# Run locally with dev secrets
doppler run -- npm run dev

# Generate a production service token for CI/CD
doppler configs tokens create railway-deploy -p order-service -c prd --max-age 720h --plain

Example 2: Migrating secrets from .env files to Doppler

User request: "Migrate our auth-service .env secrets to Doppler"

Actions:

bash
doppler login
doppler secrets upload .env -p auth-service -c dev
doppler secrets -p auth-service -c dev               # verify import

# Update start command: replace "source .env && node server.js" with:
doppler run -p auth-service -c dev -- node server.js

# Remove .env from repo
echo ".env" >> .gitignore

Team members onboard with:

bash
doppler login && doppler setup && doppler run -- node server.js

Guidelines

  • Always use doppler run to inject secrets rather than downloading to plain-text files. The --mount flag with named pipes is the most secure file-based option.
  • Use doppler setup in project directories so subsequent commands inherit the project/config context automatically.
  • Create service tokens with --max-age for CI/CD pipelines instead of using personal auth tokens.
  • Use --visibility restricted for highly sensitive secrets like private keys and API credentials.
  • When piping secret values into files (e.g., doppler secrets get KEY --plain > file), set file permissions immediately: chmod 600 file.
  • Add HISTIGNORE='*doppler secrets set*' to your shell profile to prevent secrets from appearing in shell history.
  • Use name transformers (--name-transformer) when frameworks expect specific variable naming conventions.
  • For Kubernetes, prefer process substitution <(doppler secrets download ...) over writing files to disk.
  • Use --no-file --format flags to pipe secret downloads directly to stdout without writing temporary files.
  • Run doppler update periodically to keep the CLI current.

Information

Version
1.0.0
Author
terminal-skills
Category
DevOps
License
Apache-2.0

Use Cases

→Manage Environment Variables and Secrets Across Environments with AI
→Centralize Application Secrets Management