Go

How to set up Keyshade in a Go app for secure runtime secrets — no more .env files.

Keyshade is a drop-in replacement for .env files that securely manages your secrets and environment variables. No more accidentally committing your API keys and waking up to unexpected cloud bills.

This guide walks you through integrating Keyshade into your Go application, step by step. Don’t worry, it’s easier than naming your variables without triggering golint.

Prefer to dive straight into code? Jump to Running Your App

Coming Up

Here's what this guide covers:

• Create a Go app

• Install the Keyshade CLI

• Set up a profile using your API key

• Create a project and environment in the Keyshade dashboard

• Add secrets and runtime variables

• Link your local project with keyshade init

• Run your app with keyshade run

• Use os.Getenv to access values in your Go code

💡 If you're not familiar with how Keyshade works, we recommend starting with What is Keyshade?

Create a Go Project

If you don't already have a Go app, create one with Go modules:

mkdir <your-app-name>
cd <your-app-name>
go mod init <your-module-name>

This creates a go.mod file for dependency management.

For web applications, you might want to add common dependencies:

go get github.com/gin-gonic/gin
go get github.com/gorilla/mux

Need more help with Go project setup? Check out the official Go documentation.

Install the Keyshade CLI

The Keyshade CLI lets you fetch secrets, inject env variables, and manage profiles all from your terminal.

Install it globally:

npm install -g @keyshade/cli

Note: Node.js v24 may cause issues with the Keyshade CLI, so use v20 (LTS) for best compatibility.

See Installing the CLI for more info.

Set Up Your Profile

To connect your local environment with Keyshade, create or use a profile.

If this is your first time using Keyshade, follow this guide to set up your profile.

If you've already used Keyshade before:

keyshade profile use <your-profile-name>

You can verify which profile is active with:

keyshade workspace list

Create a Project and Add Secrets

To get started:

1. Go to the Keyshade Dashboard

2. Click "Create Project"

3. Name your project (e.g. go-app)

4. Inside the project, click the "Secrets" tab

5. Add your secrets (e.g. DATABASE_URL)

6. Add your variables (e.g. PORT)

💡 Secrets vs Variables:

• Secrets are sensitive credentials like API keys or tokens. These are encrypted.

• Variables are non-sensitive configs like ports, flags, or feature toggles. These are stored as-is and are not encrypted.

Need help with projects and secrets? See Managing Secrets & Variables

Initialize Keyshade in Your Project

In order to use the configurations you just created on the dashboard, you would need to initialize keyshade in your project. This generates the necessary configurations for the CLI to tap into your keyshade project.

From your project root:

cd <your-app-name>

Run the init command to link your local project with the Keyshade dashboard:

keyshade init

You'll be guided through selecting your workspace, project, and environment.

Want to skip the prompts?

keyshade init --workspace-slug <my-workspace> --project-slug <my-project> --environment-slug <my-environment> --private-key <my-private-key>

This will generate a keyshade.json file in your project root.

More on this in the CLI Reference

Run Your App with Secure Env Injection

Start your Go app with Keyshade:

keyshade run -- go run main.go

For building and running:

keyshade run -- go build -o myapp && ./myapp

For specific packages:

keyshade run -- go run ./cmd/server

For example:

GoLang Run

Keyshade will inject your secrets and variables securely at runtime.

Access Secrets and Variables in Your Code

Once your app is running with keyshade run, use os.Getenv to access any injected values — no extra setup needed.

For example, if you added a secret named DATABASE_URL and a variable named PORT in the Keyshade dashboard:

dbURL := os.Getenv("DATABASE_URL")
portStr := os.Getenv("PORT")

Example HTTP Server with Gin

Create a web server in main.go:

Example Web Server in Go

Make sure the Gin dependency is added to your project:

go get github.com/gin-gonic/gin

Use keyshade run -- go run main.go to start your server with all secrets securely injected.

Visit http://localhost:8080 to confirm your secrets are being loaded properly.

Output

You're All Set 💃

Your Go app is now securely powered by Keyshade — no .env files, no leaking secrets, and no environment mismatches.