| # Command Helper Secret Source |
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| Resolve credentials by running your own helper command at startup — any secret store with a CLI works: `keepassxc-cli`, `secret-tool` (GNOME Keyring), `pass`, `gpg`, Vaultwarden's CLI, or a script that cats a tmpfs env file. The helper prints `KEY=VALUE` lines on stdout; Hermes applies them through the same orchestrator as [Bitwarden](./bitwarden) and [1Password](./onepassword), so you can enable any combination of sources simultaneously. |
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| ## How it works |
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| 1. You configure a helper command in `config.yaml` (never in `.env` — the command is configuration, `.env` holds values). |
| 2. At startup, after `.env` loads, Hermes runs the helper ONCE via `/bin/sh -c` and parses its stdout as a dotenv blob. |
| 3. The parsed keys flow through the standard precedence ladder: `.env`/shell win unless `override_existing: true`; mapped sources beat this bulk source on contested vars; first claim wins. |
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|
| ```yaml |
| secrets: |
| command: |
| enabled: true |
| command: "cat /run/user/1000/hermes-secrets.env" |
| # or any vault CLI that dumps KEY=VALUE lines: |
| # command: "pass show hermes/env" |
| # command: "secret-tool lookup service hermes-env" |
| ``` |
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| ## Config |
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| | Key | Default | What it does | |
| |---|---|---| |
| | `enabled` | `false` | Master switch. | |
| | `command` | `""` | Helper run via `/bin/sh -c`; must print `KEY=VALUE` lines on stdout. | |
| | `helper_timeout_seconds` | `3` | Hard timeout for one helper run. Deliberately tight — the helper must be fast and NON-interactive (no unlock prompts, no touch/PIN). | |
| | `override_existing` | `false` | Helper values overwrite `.env`/shell values. Off by default (unlike Bitwarden/1Password) since a local helper is not a central rotation authority. | |
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| ## Security model |
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| - The helper command string is YOUR configuration — same trust level as the `.env` file you control. |
| - Output is hard-capped at 1 MiB; a runaway helper can't wedge startup (process group killed on timeout). |
| - The helper's **stderr is discarded** — vault CLI diagnostics can carry secret material, so they never reach Hermes' output. Failures log structured fields only (exit code / signal / errno), never the command string. |
| - Whitespace-only values are treated as "no value" — a placeholder entry never flows into an Authorization header. |
| - POSIX-only (needs `/bin/sh`). On Windows the source reports itself unconfigured and startup continues. |
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| ## Failure modes |
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| Startup is never blocked. Errors print one line plus a `→` remediation hint: |
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| | Symptom | Cause | Fix | |
| |---|---|---| |
| | `secrets.command.command is empty` | Enabled without a command | Set `secrets.command.command` in config.yaml | |
| | `helper command failed` | Non-zero exit, timeout, spawn failure | Run the helper manually in a shell to see its real error (Hermes discards its stderr on purpose) | |
| | `helper output was not a KEY=VALUE map` | Helper printed a bare value or garbage | Make the helper emit dotenv-shaped lines | |
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| ## When to use this vs a plugin |
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| The command source is the escape hatch for vaults without a bundled integration. If you find yourself wrapping a complex CLI dance in a long script, consider a proper [secret-source plugin](/developer-guide/secret-source-plugin) instead — plugins get caching, provenance labels, and typed config. |
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