Secrets Vault

Data storeSafety & SecuritySafety, Security & Governancearc:SecretsVault

A secure store of API keys and credentials used by tools, from which agents obtain current credentials.

Responsibility. Stores credentials for tools and services.

Also known as: Credential store, Centralized credential configuration, Credential management for web authentication, API key management, Centralised provider credentials, CI encrypted secrets, Kubernetes Secret holding NGC API key, Kubernetes Secret (secretKeyRef)

Direct neighbourhood (hover for relationship types)

Relationships

is read by dependency

Agent Controller abstract Ch4.4 Ch4.7
Continuous Integration Runner Ch4.2
Data Source Connector abstract Ch6.3A
Just-in-Time Credential Broker Ch9.3
LLM Inference Service Ch4.5
Model Router Ch4.2
Service Container Ch2.5
Tool Integration Adapter abstract Ch1.2 Ref3.10
Web Transaction Executor Ch3.3

Design guidance

SHOULD propagate key rotation to agents so credentials stay consistent across development and production.
MUST inject API keys and registry/cluster credentials into pipelines as encrypted secrets, never hardcoded or logged.
MUST store registry credentials as orchestrator secrets and monitor their validity, since expired keys cause hard-to-diagnose pull failures.

Classification

Technologies: GitHub encrypted secretsKubernetes Secrets
Quality attributes: Security (ISO/IEC 25010 | NIST AI RMF: secure and resilient)
Risks mitigated: Credential misconfigurationKey rotation without agent updates

Sources

Ch1.2: T. Nguyen, "Core Agent Patterns," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 1.2. ISBN: 9798244538229.
Ch2.5: T. Nguyen, "Semantic Kernel," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 2.5. ISBN: 9798244538229.
Ch3.3: T. Nguyen, "Web Navigation and Interaction Benchmarks," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 3.3. ISBN: 9798244538229.
Ch4.2: T. Nguyen, "Deployment and Scaling," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 4.2. ISBN: 9798244538229.
Ch4.4: T. Nguyen, "Performance Profiling and Optimization," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 4.4. ISBN: 9798244538229.
Ch4.5: T. Nguyen, "NVIDIA NIM and Triton Inference Server," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 4.5. ISBN: 9798244538229.
Ch4.7: T. Nguyen, "Scaling Strategies," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 4.7. ISBN: 9798244538229.
Ch6.3A: T. Nguyen, "ETL Pipeline Fundamentals," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 6.3A. ISBN: 9798244538229.
Ch9.3: T. Nguyen, "Sandboxing and Transparency Foundations," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 9.3. ISBN: 9798244538229.
Ref3.10: "Powering the Next Generation of AI Agents," unpublished reference note (10-Powering-Next-Generation-AI-Agents.md), Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam supplementary materials, 2026. unpublished note