App Search is designed to keep synchronization information and access tokens secure at all times. To ensure safe storage of credentials and other secrets, encryption keys must be provided when starting and deploying the service.

To configure encryption keys, locate the config/enterprise-search.yml configuration file in the App Search directory, and set a secret_management.encryption_keys value:

secret_management.encryption_keys: [{encryption_key1}, {encryption_key2}, {...}]

secret_management.encryption_keys requires an array of values with at least one encryption key. We recommend rotating encryption keys over time, and App Search lets you set multiple encryption keys to enable proper security practices.

Should an encryption key be misplaced or lost, the encrypted access tokens and source synchronization credentials will no longer be accessible, and content synchronization will be halted for all sources until they are re-authenticated.

When a new value is added to the encryption_keys aray, App Search will attempt to decrypt secrets from the first entry, moving across the array until success. Secrets are re-encrypted with the last key in the array when rewritten.