Git leak prevention

Git Leak Prevention

Purpose

Prevent sensitive files, secrets, and build artifacts from being pushed to GitHub. Scan, detect, and auto-fix .gitignore.

Instructions

Step 1 — Scan for sensitive files

Run this command to find files that should NOT be on GitHub:

git ls-files | findstr /i ".env .env.local .env.production .env.staging node_modules dist build releases *.key *.pem *.p12 secrets"

On PowerShell:

git ls-files | Select-String -Pattern "\.env|node_modules|dist|build|releases|\.key$|\.pem$|\.p12$|secrets|\.log$|\.cache$"

Also check for untracked sensitive files:

git status --porcelain

Step 2 — Check common sensitive patterns

Look for these patterns in tracked files:

Pattern	Risk	Action
.env / .env.*	API keys, DB passwords	Remove from git + add to .gitignore
node_modules/	Dependencies (huge, not needed)	Remove + .gitignore
dist/ / build/	Compiled output	Remove + .gitignore
releases/	Binary releases	Remove + .gitignore
*.key / *.pem	Private keys	Remove + .gitignore
*.p12 / *.pfx	Certificates	Remove + .gitignore
.DS_Store	macOS metadata	.gitignore
Thumbs.db	Windows metadata	.gitignore
*.log	Log files	.gitignore
.cache/	Cache folders	.gitignore
coverage/	Test coverage	.gitignore
.turbo/ / .next/	Build caches	.gitignore
*.sql	Database dumps (sometimes secrets)	Check content

Step 3 — Check for secrets in code

Search for hardcoded secrets in tracked files:

rg -i "(api[_-]?key|secret|password|token|private[_-]?key)\s*[:=]\s*['\x22]" --type-add 'code:*.{ts,tsx,js,jsx,json,yaml,yml,env,config}' -t code

Look for patterns like:

• API_KEY=sk-...
• SECRET=...
• PASSWORD=...
• PRIVATE_KEY-----BEGIN
• token: "eyJ..."

Step 4 — Auto-fix .gitignore

If sensitive files are found, automatically update .gitignore:

# Check current .gitignore
cat .gitignore

Add missing entries. Standard .gitignore for web projects:

# Environment files
.env
.env.local
.env.production
.env.staging
.env.development

# Dependencies
node_modules/

# Build output
dist/
build/
release/
releases/

# Secrets
*.key
*.pem
*.p12
*.pfx

# IDE
.vscode/settings.json
.idea/

# OS
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db

# Logs
*.log
npm-debug.log*

# Cache
.cache/
.turbo/
.next/
.nuxt/

# Coverage
coverage/

# Misc
*.swp
*.swo

Step 5 — Remove sensitive files from git tracking (if already tracked)

If sensitive files are already tracked:

# Remove from tracking but keep locally
git rm --cached .env
git rm --cached -r node_modules/
git rm --cached -r dist/
git rm --cached -r build/

# Then add to .gitignore

WARNING: If secrets were pushed to GitHub, they are compromised. The user should:

1. Rotate all exposed keys/secrets immediately
2. Never use the same secrets again

Step 6 — Show report to user

Present findings clearly:

🔍 Security Scan Report

Files at risk:
  ❌ .env — tracked (contains secrets)
  ❌ node_modules/ — tracked (should be ignored)
  ⚠️ dist/ — tracked (build output)

Actions taken:
  ✅ Added .env to .gitignore
  ✅ Added node_modules/ to .gitignore
  ✅ Added dist/ to .gitignore
  ✅ Removed .env from git tracking (kept locally)

⚠️ If .env had real secrets, ROTATE them now.
   GitHub history still has the old version.

Step 7 — Commit the fix

git add .gitignore
git commit -m "chore(security): update gitignore to prevent secret leaks"

What NOT to do

• ❌ Never show actual secret values in the report (mask them: sk-****...****)
• ❌ Never commit .env or secrets even for "temporary" reasons
• ❌ Never ignore the warning if secrets were already pushed
• ❌ Never skip checking git ls-files — untracked files are fine, tracked ones are the risk

Expected Output

A clean security report showing:

1. What was found at risk
2. What was fixed automatically
3. What the user needs to do manually (rotate keys)