---
title: "Encryption Model | Gazebo Docs"
description: "Gazebo's encryption model — AES-256-GCM at rest, key management, and what is and isn't encrypted."
url: "https://gazebohq.com/docs/security/encryption"
---

All credentials stored in the Gazebo vault are encrypted at rest using AES-256-GCM before being written to the database.

## Algorithm

**AES-256-GCM** (Advanced Encryption Standard, 256-bit key, Galois/Counter Mode)

- 256-bit key — the maximum AES key size
- GCM mode — provides both encryption and authentication (AEAD)
- Each credential is encrypted with a unique 96-bit random nonce — no two encryptions produce the same ciphertext even for identical plaintext

## Encryption key

The vault encryption key (`VAULT_ENCRYPTION_KEY`) is:

- A 256-bit secret stored as an environment variable, separate from the database
- Never written to the database
- Never logged
- Required to decrypt any vault credential

**Critical:** the encryption key must never change after initial setup. Rotating the key invalidates every stored credential — they become permanently unrecoverable without the original key. This is documented in the deployment configuration and enforced by operational policy.

## What is encrypted

| Data | Encrypted |
|---|---|
| API keys | Yes — ciphertext + nonce stored in `vault_credentials` |
| OAuth access tokens | Yes |
| OAuth refresh tokens | Yes |
| Service names (e.g. "stripe") | No — used for access policy lookup |
| Agent names | No |
| Audit log entries | No — logged in plaintext; contain service names and outcomes but not credential values |

Credential values never appear in logs, error messages, or API responses to web clients.

## Decryption path

Credentials are decrypted only in one context: fulfilling an authorized `get_credential` call. The decryption happens server-side; the plaintext value is returned directly to the calling agent over TLS and is never cached or stored in the response path.