/loa-credentials — Credential Management

Overview

Manage API credentials for Loa's multi-model provider system. Three storage tiers:

1. Environment variables — highest priority, standard approach
2. Encrypted store — ~/.loa/credentials/store.json.enc (Fernet/AES-128)
3. .env.local — project-level dotenv file (gitignored)

Subcommands

status (default)

Show credential status for all known providers.

Workflow:

1. Run: python3 -c "from loa_cheval.credentials import get_credential_provider; from loa_cheval.credentials.health import HEALTH_CHECKS; p = get_credential_provider('.'); [print(f'{k}: {\"configured\" if p.get(k) else \"missing\"}') for k in HEALTH_CHECKS]"
2. Format results as a table:

   Credential Status
   ─────────────────────────────────
   OPENAI_API_KEY      configured  (env)
   ANTHROPIC_API_KEY   missing
   MOONSHOT_API_KEY    configured  (.env.local)
   

3. If any credentials are missing, suggest: Run /loa-credentials set <NAME> to configure

set <CREDENTIAL_ID>

Store a credential in the encrypted store.

Workflow:

1. Validate the credential ID is in the known list or matches the allowlist pattern
2. CRITICAL: Use AskUserQuestion to prompt for the value — NEVER accept credentials as command arguments
3. Run: python3 -c "from loa_cheval.credentials.store import EncryptedStore; s = EncryptedStore(); s.set('CREDENTIAL_ID', 'VALUE')"
4. Confirm: "Stored CREDENTIAL_ID in encrypted store (~/.loa/credentials/)"
5. Optionally offer to test the credential

Security Rules:

• NEVER echo, print, or log the credential value
• NEVER include the credential value in tool call descriptions
• NEVER store credentials in .claude/ or grimoires/
• The value MUST come from user input via AskUserQuestion, never from command args

test

Test all configured credentials against provider endpoints.

Workflow:

1. Run: python3 -c "from loa_cheval.credentials import get_credential_provider; from loa_cheval.credentials.health import check_all; results = check_all(get_credential_provider('.')); [print(f'{r.credential_id}: {r.status} — {r.message}') for r in results]"
2. Format results:

   Credential Health
   ─────────────────────────────────
   OPENAI_API_KEY      ok     — OpenAI API: valid (HTTP 200)
   ANTHROPIC_API_KEY   error  — Anthropic API: invalid key (HTTP 401)
   MOONSHOT_API_KEY    missing — MOONSHOT_API_KEY not configured
   

delete <CREDENTIAL_ID>

Remove a credential from the encrypted store.

Workflow:

1. Confirm with user before deletion
2. Run: python3 -c "from loa_cheval.credentials.store import EncryptedStore; s = EncryptedStore(); print('deleted' if s.delete('CREDENTIAL_ID') else 'not found')"

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Resolution
"cryptography package required"	Missing dependency	pip install cryptography
"No credentials configured"	Empty store + no env vars	Run /loa-credentials set
"Health check timeout"	Network issue	Check connectivity

Integration

Credentials stored via this command are automatically discovered by:

• Config interpolation ({env:VAR} tokens in .loa.config.yaml)
• LazyValue resolution (provider auth fields)
• All skills that use model-invoke

The credential chain is: env var → encrypted store → .env.local Environment variables always take priority.