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exa-security-basics

Apply Exa security best practices for secrets and access control. Use when securing API keys, implementing least privilege access, or auditing Exa security configuration. Trigger with phrases like "exa security", "exa secrets", "secure exa", "exa API key security".

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Exa Security Basics

Overview

Security best practices for Exa API keys, tokens, and access control.

Prerequisites

  • Exa SDK installed
  • Understanding of environment variables
  • Access to Exa dashboard

Instructions

Step 1: Configure Environment Variables

# .env (NEVER commit to git)
EXA_API_KEY=sk_live_***
EXA_SECRET=***

# .gitignore
.env
.env.local
.env.*.local

Step 2: Implement Secret Rotation

# 1. Generate new key in Exa dashboard
# 2. Update environment variable
export EXA_API_KEY="new_key_here"

# 3. Verify new key works
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer ${EXA_API_KEY}" \
  https://api.exa.com/health

# 4. Revoke old key in dashboard

Step 3: Apply Least Privilege

EnvironmentRecommended Scopes
Developmentread:*
Stagingread:*, write:limited
ProductionOnly required scopes

Output

  • Secure API key storage
  • Environment-specific access controls
  • Audit logging enabled

Error Handling

Security IssueDetectionMitigation
Exposed API keyGit scanningRotate immediately
Excessive scopesAudit logsReduce permissions
Missing rotationKey age checkSchedule rotation

Examples

Service Account Pattern

const clients = {
  reader: new ExaClient({
    apiKey: process.env.EXA_READ_KEY,
  }),
  writer: new ExaClient({
    apiKey: process.env.EXA_WRITE_KEY,
  }),
};

Webhook Signature Verification

import crypto from 'crypto';

function verifyWebhookSignature(
  payload: string, signature: string, secret: string
): boolean {
  const expected = crypto.createHmac('sha256', secret).update(payload).digest('hex');
  return crypto.timingSafeEqual(Buffer.from(signature), Buffer.from(expected));
}

Security Checklist

  • API keys in environment variables
  • .env files in .gitignore
  • Different keys for dev/staging/prod
  • Minimal scopes per environment
  • Webhook signatures validated
  • Audit logging enabled

Audit Logging

interface AuditEntry {
  timestamp: Date;
  action: string;
  userId: string;
  resource: string;
  result: 'success' | 'failure';
  metadata?: Record<string, any>;
}

async function auditLog(entry: Omit<AuditEntry, 'timestamp'>): Promise<void> {
  const log: AuditEntry = { ...entry, timestamp: new Date() };

  // Log to Exa analytics
  await exaClient.track('audit', log);

  // Also log locally for compliance
  console.log('[AUDIT]', JSON.stringify(log));
}

// Usage
await auditLog({
  action: 'exa.api.call',
  userId: currentUser.id,
  resource: '/v1/resource',
  result: 'success',
});

Resources

  • Exa Security Guide
  • Exa API Scopes

Next Steps

For production deployment, see exa-prod-checklist.

Repository
jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills
Commit

22fc789

Last updated
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