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Infisical: Open-Source Secrets, PKI, and SSH Management That Developers Actually Use

Inside the unified platform for secrets, certificates, and secure access - and how it fits into modern DevSecOps

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Infisical is an open-source platform that unifies secrets management, internal PKI, SSH certificates, and key management under one developer-friendly roof. The Infisical/infisical repository provides everything you need to centralize application configuration, automate rotation and dynamic credentials, and keep secret sprawl in check across local dev, CI/CD, Kubernetes, and cloud.

Infisical

Infisical

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infisical

Infisical is the open-source platform for secrets management, PKI, and SSH access.
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Why this matters now

Modern software stacks rely on dozens of credentials per service: database passwords, API keys, tokens, TLS certificates, SSH access, and more. Managing all of that with ad hoc .env files and copy-paste workflows is brittle and risky. 

Teams need a single place to define policy, issue short-lived credentials, and propagate updates safely to apps and pipelines. Infisical approaches the problem as a cohesive platform: centralize sensitive material, automate its lifecycle, and make the developer experience simple enough to be adopted widely.

Key features that solve real problems

Infisical’s feature set spans secrets management, certificate issuance, SSH access, and cryptographic key operations, with the developer ergonomics you would expect from a modern toolchain. 

Under the hood

The repository is primarily TypeScript with some Go components (per GitHub language stats). You will find application logic under backend/ and frontend/, deployment assets in helm-charts/, docker-compose.*.yml, Dockerfile.standalone-infisical, and k8-operator/, plus infrastructure helpers like nginx/ and cloudformation/

Operationally, the platform uses PostgreSQL as its storage backend and Redis for caching, queuing, and scheduling. Sensitive data is encrypted using AES-256-GCM with integrity checks, and the server enforces authenticated, rate-limited requests with fine-grained access control. 

Self-hosting paths include Docker, Docker Compose, Helm, and a native Linux package, documented under Self-hosting.

git clone https://github.com/Infisical/infisical
cd infisical
copy .env.example .env   # Windows
docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up
# Then visit http://localhost:80 to create an account (README.md)

Security architecture at a glance

Infisical’s security model is documented in depth at Security. Highlights include encrypted data at rest (AES-256-GCM), TLS for data in transit, signed JWT tokens stored securely in the browser model, configurable token TTLs and IP restrictions, strict Content-Security-Policy, and server-side rate limits. 

For cryptography, Infisical employs a layered key hierarchy with a master key that can be sealed by external KMS or HSM; organization- and project-level keys protect data keys for scoped encryption. The managed cloud service documents high availability through multi-AZ RDS and ElastiCache, cross-region replication, and regular external penetration testing.

Where it fits: real-world use cases

  • Kubernetes workloads without code changes: Teams delivering microservices on Kubernetes can mount secrets and certificates through the Infisical Kubernetes Operator and refresh deployments automatically. For 12-factor apps, the Infisical Agent injects environment variables at runtime so application code stays untouched.

  • CI/CD pipelines with safe secret delivery: Use native integrations for GitHub Actions and GitLab to materialize secrets just-in-time in build jobs. Pair that with secret scanning to block hardcoded credentials from ever landing in git history.

  • Database credentials that don’t linger: Replace long-lived DB passwords with dynamic secrets for PostgreSQL and MySQL; use rotation policies to roll static credentials on a schedule or after access revocation.

  • Service-to-service trust with internal PKI: Operate a private CA, issue X.509 certificates with policy-driven templates, and renew them automatically via the PKI Issuer for Kubernetes. EST-based enrollment streamlines cert provisioning for services and devices.

  • Controlled SSH access at scale: Replace shared keys with short-lived SSH certificates so platform teams can grant, audit, and revoke access centrally. This improves incident response and satisfies least-privilege goals without manual key rotation.

  • Machine identities across clouds: Authenticate workloads with cloud-native methods (AWS, Azure, GCP) or Kubernetes auth, and scope tokens via TTLs, IP allowlists, and usage caps (Security Docs) [Link]. Map these identities to precise RBAC and additional privileges.

  • Multi-cloud and regulated environments: Choose self-hosting to keep data on your own infrastructure, or use Infisical Cloud for a managed option with multi-AZ HA and disaster recovery. Teams with air-gapped or strict compliance needs can deploy via Docker, Helm, or native packages.

  • Compliance, approvals, and forensics: Use audit logs to trace every action, enforce change management with approval workflows, and grant temporary access to sensitive resources that auto-revokes after expiry.

Community and contribution

Infisical is an active open-source project with frequent releases and a growing contributor base. Contributions are welcomed via CONTRIBUTING.md and the community Slack. The repository includes CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md and SECURITY.md; issues and discussions are active for roadmap input and support.

Usage and license terms

The project is available under the MIT Expat License with one notable exception: content under any ee/ directory is covered by a separate enterprise license. In practice, MIT grants broad rights to use, modify, distribute, and sublicense the open-source parts, provided you include the copyright and license notice. The software is provided as-is, without warranties (LICENSE).

About the company

Infisical Inc. is headquartered in San Francisco and hires globally. The team’s stated mission is to make security easier for software engineers by bringing developer-first ergonomics to traditionally heavy security tooling. 

In June 2025, the company announced a Series A led by Elad Gil (Infisical Blog, 2025). Public metrics on the website highlight millions of downloads and hundreds of millions of secrets secured daily, reflecting broad adoption across startups and enterprises. Learn more on the Careers page and the funding announcement: Series A.

Impact and what comes next

Infisical’s scope is wider than traditional “secrets vaults.” By bundling secrets management with internal PKI, SSH certs, and a KMS interface, it makes it practical to move from static credentials to short-lived, policy-driven access across the stack. 

The presence of a CLI, SDKs, and Kubernetes operator encourages integration into day-2 workflows, not just greenfield projects. Expect continued investment in identity-aware automation (dynamic credentials, rotation), deeper integrations with IaC and CI/CD tools, and expanded enterprise features under the ee/ tree as the cloud offering evolves.

Conclusion

If your team is tired of brittle .env files, scattered secrets, and unmanaged certificates, Infisical offers a practical, open-source path forward. Start with the README, try the local deployment, and wire the CLI or SDKs into your workflows. Whether you self-host or use Infisical Cloud, you get one consistent control plane for secrets, certificates, and secure access.


Infisical: Open-Source Secrets, PKI, and SSH Management That Developers Actually Use
Joshua Berkowitz August 8, 2025
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