Agenix: Difference between revisions

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== Configuration ==

First create a directory where secrets are going to be stored. In this example we~~'re~~ creating the directory <code>secrets</code> inside the NixOS system configuration path <code>/etc/nixos</code>

=== Choose a Public/Private Key ===

First, we have to decide which [[SSH public key authentication|SSH public key]] to use to encrypt the secrets. (The private key will be used to decrypt the secrets when loading the NixOS configuration.)

Assuming that you have [[SSH]] already installed on your NixOS server (with i.e. <code>services.openssh.enable = true;</code>), you will already have two different SSH keypairs that are intended to be used by the system itself, located at:

* <code>/etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key</code> / <code>/etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub</code>

* <code>/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key</code> / <code>/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub</code>

If you load your NixOS config using the root user, then you can use these public keys to encrypt your secrets.

However, if you load your NixOS config using some other user, then you will have to use <code>ssh-keygen</code> to generate a keypair for that user, which typically lives in:

* <code>~/.ssh/id_rsa</code> / <code>~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub</code>

* <code>~/.ssh/id_ed25519</code> / <code>~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub</code>

For more information, see [[SSH_public_key_authentication|the SSH public key authentication page]].

=== Create the Secrets ===

Next, create a directory where secrets are going to be stored. In this example we are creating the directory <code>secrets</code> inside the NixOS system configuration path <code>/etc/nixos</code>

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}

</nowiki>}}

SSH public keys for a specific user or system can be generated with <code>ssh-keygen</code>, see [[SSH_public_key_authentication|this page]] for more information. Usually the public key of your user can be found in <code>~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub</code> and the system one in <code>/etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub</code>.

== Usage ==

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</syntaxhighlight>

Here, the service [[Nextcloud]] requires a password for the administrator account. In this case, the password is stored in an age-encrypted file, so no plaintext passwords will be copied into your world-readable Nix-store. We configure <code>owner</code> and <code>group</code> names to <code>nextcloud</code> so that the webservice has the permissions to read the password ~~wile~~.

Here, the service [[Nextcloud]] requires a password for the administrator account. In this case, the password is stored in an age-encrypted file, so no plaintext passwords will be copied into your world-readable Nix-store. We configure <code>owner</code> and <code>group</code> names to <code>nextcloud</code> so that the webservice has the permissions to read the password file.

Secrets can be also deployed as file with specific permissions to a target path. In this example the secret is sourced to <code>/home/myuser/.netrc</code> and permissions are set that only <code>myuser</code> is able to read and write the file

Secrets can be also deployed as file with specific permissions to a target path. In this example the secret is sourced to <code>/home/myuser/.netrc</code> and permissions are set that only <code>myuser</code> is able to read and write the file.

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For this workaround you'll have to rebuild twice and reference the secret <code>/etc/initrd-hostkey</code> only after the file is created.

=== Agenix with Impermanence ===

If your system is configured to be [[Impermanence|impermanent]], then it's possible the system's ssh keys won't yet be available during boot to decrypt secrets. The solution is to manually set <code>age.identityPaths</code> to the persistent paths of your keys.

# Direct path to persistent location of system ssh keys

age.identityPaths = [

"/persist/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key"

"/persist/etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key"

];

</syntaxhighlight>

== See also ==

@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
 == Configuration ==
-First create a directory where secrets are going to be stored. In this example we're creating the directory <code>secrets</code> inside the NixOS system configuration path <code>/etc/nixos</code>
+=== Choose a Public/Private Key ===
+First, we have to decide which [[SSH public key authentication|SSH public key]] to use to encrypt the secrets. (The private key will be used to decrypt the secrets when loading the NixOS configuration.)
+Assuming that you have [[SSH]] already installed on your NixOS server (with i.e. <code>services.openssh.enable = true;</code>), you will already have two different SSH keypairs that are intended to be used by the system itself, located at:
+* <code>/etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key</code> / <code>/etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub</code>
+* <code>/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key</code> / <code>/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub</code>
+If you load your NixOS config using the root user, then you can use these public keys to encrypt your secrets.
+However, if you load your NixOS config using some other user, then you will have to use <code>ssh-keygen</code> to generate a keypair for that user, which typically lives in:
+* <code>~/.ssh/id_rsa</code> / <code>~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub</code>
+* <code>~/.ssh/id_ed25519</code> / <code>~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub</code>
+For more information, see [[SSH_public_key_authentication|the SSH public key authentication page]].
+=== Create the Secrets ===
+Next, create a directory where secrets are going to be stored. In this example we are creating the directory <code>secrets</code> inside the NixOS system configuration path <code>/etc/nixos</code>
 <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
@@ Line 57: / Line 77: @@
 }
 </nowiki>}}
-SSH public keys for a specific user or system can be generated with <code>ssh-keygen</code>, see [[SSH_public_key_authentication|this page]] for more information. Usually the public key of your user can be found in <code>~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub</code> and the system one in <code>/etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub</code>.
 == Usage ==
@@ Line 89: / Line 107: @@
 </syntaxhighlight>
-Here, the service [[Nextcloud]] requires a password for the administrator account. In this case, the password is stored in an age-encrypted file, so no plaintext passwords will be copied into your world-readable Nix-store. We configure <code>owner</code> and <code>group</code> names to <code>nextcloud</code> so that the webservice has the permissions to read the password wile.
+Here, the service [[Nextcloud]] requires a password for the administrator account. In this case, the password is stored in an age-encrypted file, so no plaintext passwords will be copied into your world-readable Nix-store. We configure <code>owner</code> and <code>group</code> names to <code>nextcloud</code> so that the webservice has the permissions to read the password file.
-Secrets can be also deployed as file with specific permissions to a target path. In this example the secret is sourced to <code>/home/myuser/.netrc</code> and permissions are set that only <code>myuser</code> is able to read and write the file
+Secrets can be also deployed as file with specific permissions to a target path. In this example the secret is sourced to <code>/home/myuser/.netrc</code> and permissions are set that only <code>myuser</code> is able to read and write the file.
 <syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
@@ Line 172: / Line 190: @@
 For this workaround you'll have to rebuild twice and reference the secret <code>/etc/initrd-hostkey</code> only after the file is created.
+=== Agenix with Impermanence ===
+If your system is configured to be [[Impermanence|impermanent]], then it's possible the system's ssh keys won't yet be available during boot to decrypt secrets. The solution is to manually set <code>age.identityPaths</code> to the persistent paths of your keys.
+<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
+# Direct path to persistent location of system ssh keys
+age.identityPaths = [
+  "/persist/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key"
+  "/persist/etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key"
+];
+</syntaxhighlight>
 == See also ==