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Feature request: Sync repo/org secrets to local .env for local development #598

Description

@xgboosted

Problem

Developers working locally must manually copy secrets into .env. Error-prone. Painful at scale. Drift between CI and local dev.

Extension already lists secret names in "Secrets" and "Variables" views. Cannot bridge to local env.

Proposed solution

Add command: "GitHub Actions: Pull Secrets to .env"

  1. Authenticate via existing GitHub login
  2. Fetch secret names for current repo + environments (same scope as Secrets view)
  3. Preview available secrets (names only)
  4. On confirm, fetch decrypted values (workflow-execution approach or new API endpoint)
  5. Write .env at workspace root (configurable)

Alternatives

Option Gap
Manual .env Current flow — time-consuming, drift-prone
act + secret file Need values already local. No help sourcing
GitHub Codespaces Auto-injects. But only for Codespaces, not local
gh extension Separate tool, extra auth context

Constraints

  • GitHub API does not expose secret plaintext (encrypted at rest by design)
  • Needs either: new API endpoint OR one-time workflow that echoes base64-encoded secret values
  • Solution parallel to how Codespaces injects secrets into the environment

Prior art

Success criteria

  • Open local repo in VS Code → run "Pull Secrets to .env"
  • GitHub auth (once) → see available secrets by scope
  • Confirm → .env written at workspace root
  • .env auto-.gitignore-d if absent

Activity

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