exa-security-basics

DevOps & Security

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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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/Dicklesworthstone/pi_agent_rust/blob/HEAD/tests/ext_conformance/artifacts/plugins-community/plugins/saas-packs/exa-pack/skills/exa-security-basics/SKILL.md

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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

Environment	Recommended Scopes
Development	`read:*`
Staging	`read:*, write:limited`
Production	`Only required scopes`

Output

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

Error Handling

Security Issue	Detection	Mitigation
Exposed API key	Git scanning	Rotate immediately
Excessive scopes	Audit logs	Reduce permissions
Missing rotation	Key age check	Schedule 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

Next Steps

For production deployment, see exa-prod-checklist.