# Using the AWS Workload Credentials Provider
<a name="workload-credentials-provider"></a>

## How the AWS Workload Credentials Provider works
<a name="provider-overview"></a>

The AWS Workload Credentials Provider (formerly the AWS Secrets Manager Agent) provides a client-side HTTP service that helps you standardize how you consume secrets from Secrets Manager across your compute environments. You can use it with the following services:
+ AWS Lambda
+ Amazon Elastic Container Service
+ Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service
+ Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud

The AWS Workload Credentials Provider retrieves and caches secrets in memory, allowing your applications to get secrets from localhost instead of making direct calls to Secrets Manager. The AWS Workload Credentials Provider can only read secrets—it can't modify them.

The AWS Workload Credentials Provider is open source. The source code, installation instructions, and latest release information are available on [GitHub](https://github.com/aws/aws-workload-credentials-provider).

**Important**  
The AWS Workload Credentials Provider uses the AWS credentials from your environment to call Secrets Manager. It includes protection against Server Side Request Forgery (SSRF) to help improve secret security. The AWS Workload Credentials Provider uses the post-quantum ML-KEM key exchange as the highest-priority key exchange by default.

## Understanding AWS Workload Credentials Provider caching
<a name="provider-caching"></a>

The AWS Workload Credentials Provider uses an in-memory cache that resets when the AWS Workload Credentials Provider restarts. It periodically refreshes cached secret values based on the following:
+ The default refresh frequency (TTL) is 300 seconds
+ You can modify the TTL using a configuration file
+ The refresh occurs when you request a secret after the TTL expires

**Note**  
The AWS Workload Credentials Provider doesn't include cache invalidation. If a secret rotates before the cache entry expires, the AWS Workload Credentials Provider might return a stale secret value.

The AWS Workload Credentials Provider returns secret values in the same format as the response of `GetSecretValue`. Secret values aren't encrypted in the cache.

**Topics**
+ [How the AWS Workload Credentials Provider works](#provider-overview)
+ [Understanding AWS Workload Credentials Provider caching](#provider-caching)
+ [Build the AWS Workload Credentials Provider](#workload-credentials-provider-build)
+ [Install the AWS Workload Credentials Provider](#workload-credentials-provider-install)
+ [Retrieve secrets with the AWS Workload Credentials Provider](#workload-credentials-provider-call)
+ [Understanding the `refreshNow` parameter](#workload-credentials-provider-refresh)
+ [Retrieve secrets across accounts with role chaining](#workload-credentials-provider-role-chaining)
+ [Pre-fetch secrets at startup](#workload-credentials-provider-prefetch)
+ [Configure the AWS Workload Credentials Provider](#workload-credentials-provider-config)
+ [Optional features](#workload-credentials-provider-features)
+ [Logging](#workload-credentials-provider-log)
+ [Security considerations](#workload-credentials-provider-security)

## Build the AWS Workload Credentials Provider
<a name="workload-credentials-provider-build"></a>

Before you begin, ensure you have the standard development tools and Rust tools installed for your platform.

**Note**  
Building the provider with the `fips` feature enabled on macOS currently requires the following workaround:  
Create an environment variable called `SDKROOT` which is set to the result of running `xcrun --show-sdk-path`

------
#### [ RPM-based systems ]

**To build on RPM-based systems**

1. Use the `install` script provided in the repository. 

   The script generates a random SSRF token on startup and stores it in the file `/var/run/awssmatoken`. The token is readable by the `aws-wcp-token` group that the install script creates. 

1. To allow your application to read the token file, you need to add the user account that your application runs under to the `aws-wcp-token` group. For example, you can grant permissions for your application to read the token file with the following usermod command, where {{<APP\_USER>}} is the user ID under which your application runs.

   ```
   sudo usermod -aG aws-wcp-token {{<APP_USER>}}
   ```

**Install development tools**  
On RPM-based systems such as AL2023, install the Development Tools group:

   ```
   sudo yum -y groupinstall "Development Tools"
   ```

1. 

**Install Rust**  
Follow the instructions at [Install Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install) in the *Rust documentation*:

   ```
   curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh # Follow the on-screen instructions
   . "$HOME/.cargo/env"
   ```

1. 

**Build the provider**  
Build the AWS Workload Credentials Provider using the cargo build command:

   ```
   cargo build --release
   ```

   You will find the executable under `target/release/aws-workload-credentials-provider`.

------
#### [ Debian-based systems ]

**To build on Debian-based systems**

1. 

**Install development tools**  
On Debian-based systems such as Ubuntu, install the build-essential package:

   ```
   sudo apt install build-essential
   ```

1. 

**Install Rust**  
Follow the instructions at [Install Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install) in the *Rust documentation*:

   ```
   curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh # Follow the on-screen instructions
   . "$HOME/.cargo/env"
   ```

1. 

**Build the provider**  
Build the AWS Workload Credentials Provider using the cargo build command:

   ```
   cargo build --release
   ```

   You will find the executable under `target/release/aws-workload-credentials-provider`.

------
#### [ Windows ]

**To build on Windows**

1. 

**Set up development environment**  
Follow the instructions at [Set up your dev environment on Windows for Rust](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dev-environment/rust/setup) in the *Microsoft Windows documentation*.

1. 

**Build the provider**  
Build the AWS Workload Credentials Provider using the cargo build command:

   ```
   cargo build --release
   ```

   You will find the executable under `target/release/aws-workload-credentials-provider.exe`.

------
#### [ Cross-compile natively ]

**To cross-compile natively**

1. 

**Install cross-compile tools**  
Install `cargo-xwin`:

   ```
   cargo install cargo-xwin
   ```

1. 

**Add Rust build targets**  
Install the Windows MSVC build target:

   ```
   rustup target add x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
   ```

1. 

**Build for Windows**  
Cross-compile the provider for Windows:

   ```
   cargo xwin build --release --target x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
   ```

   You will find the executable at `target/x86_64-pc-windows-msvc/release/aws-workload-credentials-provider.exe`.

------

## Install the AWS Workload Credentials Provider
<a name="workload-credentials-provider-install"></a>

Choose your compute environment from the following installation options.

------
#### [ Amazon EC2 ]

**To install the AWS Workload Credentials Provider on Amazon EC2**

1. 

**Navigate to configuration directory**  
Change to the configuration directory:

   ```
   cd aws_workload_credentials_provider_common/configuration
   ```

1. 

**Run installation script**  
Run the `install` script provided in the repository.

   The script generates a random SSRF token on startup and stores it in the file `/var/run/awssmatoken`. The token is readable by the `aws-wcp-token` group that the install script creates.

1. 

**Configure application permissions**  
Add the user account that your application runs under to the `aws-wcp-token` group:

   ```
   sudo usermod -aG aws-wcp-token {{APP_USER}}
   ```

   Replace {{APP\_USER}} with the user ID under which your application runs.

------
#### [ Container Sidecar ]

You can run the AWS Workload Credentials Provider as a sidecar container alongside your application by using Docker. Then your application can retrieve secrets from the local HTTP server the AWS Workload Credentials Provider provides. For information about Docker, see the [Docker documentation](https://docs.docker.com).

**To create a sidecar container for the AWS Workload Credentials Provider**

1. 

**Create provider Dockerfile**  
Create a Dockerfile for the AWS Workload Credentials Provider sidecar container:

   ```
   # Use the latest Debian image as the base
   FROM debian:latest
   
   # Set the working directory inside the container
   WORKDIR /app 
   
   # Copy the Workload Credentials Provider binary to the container
   COPY aws-workload-credentials-provider . 
   
   # Install any necessary dependencies
   RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y ca-certificates 
   
   # Set the entry point to run the provider
   ENTRYPOINT ["./aws-workload-credentials-provider", "sm", "start"]
   ```

1. 

**Create application Dockerfile**  
Create a Dockerfile for your client application.

1. 

**Create Docker Compose file**  
Create a Docker Compose file to run both containers with a shared network interface:
**Important**  
You must load AWS credentials and the SSRF token for the application to be able to use the AWS Workload Credentials Provider. For Amazon EKS and Amazon ECS, see the following:  
[Manage access](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/cluster-auth.html) in the *Amazon EKS User Guide*
[Amazon ECS task IAM role](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/task-iam-roles.html) in the *Amazon ECS Developer Guide*

   ```
   version: '3'
   services:
       client-application:
       container_name: client-application
       build:
           context: .
           dockerfile: Dockerfile.client
       command: tail -f /dev/null  # Keep the container running
       
   
       workload-credentials-provider:
       container_name: workload-credentials-provider
       build:
           context: .
           dockerfile: Dockerfile.provider
       network_mode: "container:client-application"  # Attach to the client-application container's network
       depends_on:
           - client-application
   ```

1. 

**Copy provider binary**  
Copy the `aws-workload-credentials-provider` binary to the same directory that contains your Dockerfiles and Docker Compose file.

1. 

**Build and run containers**  
Build and run the containers using Docker Compose:

   ```
   docker-compose up --build
   ```

1. 

**Next steps**  
You can now use the AWS Workload Credentials Provider to retrieve secrets from your client container. For more information, see [Retrieve secrets with the AWS Workload Credentials Provider](#workload-credentials-provider-call).

------
#### [ Lambda ]

You can [package the AWS Workload Credentials Provider as a Lambda extension](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/packaging-layers.html). Then you can [add it to your Lambda function as a layer](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/adding-layers.html) and call the AWS Workload Credentials Provider from your Lambda function to get secrets.

The following instructions show how to get a secret named *MyTest* by using the example script `secrets-manager-provider-extension.sh` in the [aws-workload-credentials-provider](https://github.com/aws/aws-workload-credentials-provider) GitHub repository to install the AWS Workload Credentials Provider as a Lambda extension.

**To create a Lambda extension for the AWS Workload Credentials Provider**

1. 

**Package the provider layer**  
From the root of the AWS Workload Credentials Provider code package, run the following commands:

   ```
   AWS_ACCOUNT_ID={{AWS_ACCOUNT_ID}}
   LAMBDA_ARN={{LAMBDA_ARN}}
   
   # Build the release binary 
   cargo build --release --target=x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
   
   # Copy the release binary into the `bin` folder
   mkdir -p ./bin
   cp ./target/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/release/aws-workload-credentials-provider ./bin/aws-workload-credentials-provider
   
   # Copy the `secrets-manager-provider-extension.sh` example script into the `extensions` folder.
   mkdir -p ./extensions
   cp aws_secretsmanager_provider/examples/example-lambda-extension/secrets-manager-provider-extension.sh ./extensions
   
   # Zip the extension shell script and the binary 
   zip secrets-manager-provider-extension.zip bin/* extensions/*
   
   # Publish the layer version
   LAYER_VERSION_ARN=$(aws lambda publish-layer-version \
       --layer-name secrets-manager-provider-extension \
       --zip-file "fileb://secrets-manager-provider-extension.zip" | jq -r '.LayerVersionArn')
   ```

1. 

**Configure SSRF token**  
The default configuration of the provider will automatically set the SSRF token to the value set in the pre-set `AWS_SESSION_TOKEN` or `AWS_CONTAINER_AUTHORIZATION_TOKEN` environment variables (the latter variable for Lambda functions with SnapStart enabled). Alternatively, you can define the `AWS_TOKEN` environment variable with an arbitrary value for your Lambda function instead as this variable takes precedence over the other two. If you choose to use the `AWS_TOKEN` environment variable, you must set that environment variable with a `lambda:UpdateFunctionConfiguration` call.

1. 

**Attach layer to function**  
Attach the layer version to your Lambda function:

   ```
   # Attach the layer version to the Lambda function
   aws lambda update-function-configuration \
       --function-name $LAMBDA_ARN \
       --layers "$LAYER_VERSION_ARN"
   ```

1. 

**Update function code**  
Update your Lambda function to query `http://localhost:2773/secretsmanager/get?secretId=MyTest` with the `X-Aws-codes-Secrets-Token` header value set to the value of the SSRF token sourced from one the environment variables mentioned above to retrieve the secret. Be sure to implement retry logic in your application code to accommodate delays in initialization and registration of the Lambda extension.

1. 

**Test the function**  
Invoke the Lambda function to verify that the secret is being correctly fetched.

------

## Retrieve secrets with the AWS Workload Credentials Provider
<a name="workload-credentials-provider-call"></a>

To retrieve a secret, call the local AWS Workload Credentials Provider endpoint with the secret name or ARN as a query parameter. By default, the AWS Workload Credentials Provider retrieves the `AWSCURRENT` version of the secret. To retrieve a different version, use either the versionStage or versionId parameter.

**Important**  
To help protect the AWS Workload Credentials Provider, you must include a SSRF token header as part of each request: `X-Aws-Parameters-Secrets-Token`. The AWS Workload Credentials Provider denies requests that don't have this header or that have an invalid SSRF token. You can customize the SSRF header name in the [Configure the AWS Workload Credentials Provider](#workload-credentials-provider-config).

### Required permissions
<a name="provider-call-permissions"></a>

The AWS Workload Credentials Provider uses the AWS SDK for Rust, which uses the [AWS credential provider chain](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-rust/latest/dg/credentials.html). The identity of these IAM credentials determines the permissions the AWS Workload Credentials Provider has to retrieve secrets.
+ `secretsmanager:DescribeSecret`
+ `secretsmanager:GetSecretValue`

For more information about permissions, see [Permissions reference for AWS Secrets Manager](auth-and-access.md#reference_iam-permissions).

**Important**  
After the secret value is pulled into the AWS Workload Credentials Provider, any user with access to the compute environment and SSRF token can access the secret from the AWS Workload Credentials Provider cache. For more information, see [Security considerations](#workload-credentials-provider-security).

### Example requests
<a name="provider-call-examples"></a>

------
#### [ curl ]

**Example – Get a secret using curl**  
The following curl example shows how to get a secret from the AWS Workload Credentials Provider. The example relies on the SSRF being present in a file, which is where it is stored by the install script.  

```
curl -v -H \
    "X-Aws-Parameters-Secrets-Token: $(</var/run/awssmatoken)" \
    'http://localhost:2773/secretsmanager/get?secretId={{YOUR_SECRET_ID}}'
```

------
#### [ Python ]

**Example – Get a secret using Python**  
The following Python example shows how to get a secret from the AWS Workload Credentials Provider. The example relies on the SSRF being present in a file, which is where it is stored by the install script.  

```
import requests
import json

# Function that fetches the secret from AWS Workload Credentials Provider for the provided secret id. 
def get_secret():
    # Construct the URL for the GET request
    url = f"http://localhost:2773/secretsmanager/get?secretId={{YOUR_SECRET_ID}}"

    # Get the SSRF token from the token file
    with open('/var/run/awssmatoken') as fp:
        token = fp.read() 

    headers = {
        "X-Aws-Parameters-Secrets-Token": token.strip()
    }

    try:
        # Send the GET request with headers
        response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

        # Check if the request was successful
        if response.status_code == 200:
            # Return the secret value
            return response.text
        else:
            # Handle error cases
            raise Exception(f"Status code {response.status_code} - {response.text}")

    except Exception as e:
        # Handle network errors
        raise Exception(f"Error: {e}")
```

------

## Understanding the `refreshNow` parameter
<a name="workload-credentials-provider-refresh"></a>

The AWS Workload Credentials Provider uses an in-memory cache to store secret values, which it refreshes periodically. By default, this refresh occurs when you request a secret after the Time to Live (TTL) has expired, typically every 300 seconds. However, this approach can sometimes result in stale secret values, especially if a secret rotates before the cache entry expires.

To address this limitation, the AWS Workload Credentials Provider supports a parameter called `refreshNow` in the URL. You can use this parameter to force an immediate refresh of a secret's value, bypassing the cache and ensuring you have the most up-to-date information.

**Default behavior (without `refreshNow`)**  
+ Uses cached values until TTL expires
+ Refreshes secrets only after TTL (default 300 seconds)
+ May return stale values if secrets rotate before the cache expires

**Behavior with `refreshNow=true`**  
+ Bypasses the cache entirely
+ Retrieves the latest secret value directly from Secrets Manager
+ Updates the cache with the fresh value and resets the TTL
+ Ensures you always get the most current secret value

### Force-refresh a secret value
<a name="refreshnow-examples"></a>

**Important**  
The default value of `refreshNow` is `false`. When set to `true`, it overrides the TTL specified in the AWS Workload Credentials Provider configuration file and makes an API call to Secrets Manager.

------
#### [ curl ]

**Example – Force-refresh a secret using curl**  
The following curl example shows how to force the AWS Workload Credentials Provider to refresh the secret. The example relies on the SSRF being present in a file, which is where it is stored by the install script.  

```
curl -v -H \
"X-Aws-Parameters-Secrets-Token: $(</var/run/awssmatoken)" \
'http://localhost:2773/secretsmanager/get?secretId={{YOUR_SECRET_ID}}&refreshNow=true'
```

------
#### [ Python ]

**Example – Force-refresh a secret using Python**  
The following Python example shows how to get a secret from the AWS Workload Credentials Provider. The example relies on the SSRF being present in a file, which is where it is stored by the install script.  

```
import requests
import json

# Function that fetches the secret from AWS Workload Credentials Provider for the provided secret id. 
def get_secret():
    # Construct the URL for the GET request
    url = f"http://localhost:2773/secretsmanager/get?secretId={{YOUR_SECRET_ID}}&refreshNow=true"

    # Get the SSRF token from the token file
    with open('/var/run/awssmatoken') as fp:
        token = fp.read() 

    headers = {
        "X-Aws-Parameters-Secrets-Token": token.strip()
    }

    try:
        # Send the GET request with headers
        response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

        # Check if the request was successful
        if response.status_code == 200:
            # Return the secret value
            return response.text
        else:
            # Handle error cases
            raise Exception(f"Status code {response.status_code} - {response.text}")

    except Exception as e:
        # Handle network errors
        raise Exception(f"Error: {e}")
```

------

## Retrieve secrets across accounts with role chaining
<a name="workload-credentials-provider-role-chaining"></a>

Role chaining enables the AWS Workload Credentials Provider to retrieve secrets from other AWS accounts by assuming IAM roles using AWS STS `AssumeRole`. The AWS Workload Credentials Provider creates and caches a separate caching client for each unique role ARN. Each role client maintains its own independent cache, so the same secret fetched with different roles has separate cache entries.

### Required permissions
<a name="provider-role-chaining-permissions"></a>

To use role chaining, you need the following:
+ The AWS Workload Credentials Provider's environment credentials must have `sts:AssumeRole` permission on the target role ARN.
+ The target role must have `secretsmanager:GetSecretValue` and `secretsmanager:DescribeSecret` permissions for the secrets you want to access.
+ The target role's trust policy must allow the AWS Workload Credentials Provider's identity to assume it.

### Retrieve cross-account secrets
<a name="provider-role-chaining-usage"></a>

Include the `roleArn` query parameter in your request to the AWS Workload Credentials Provider to specify which role to assume for the secret retrieval.

------
#### [ curl ]

**Example – Cross-account secret using curl**  

```
curl -v -H \
    "X-Aws-Parameters-Secrets-Token: $(</var/run/awssmatoken)" \
    'http://localhost:2773/secretsmanager/get?secretId={{YOUR_SECRET_ID}}&roleArn=arn:aws:iam::{{ACCOUNT_ID}}:role/{{ROLE_NAME}}'
```

------
#### [ Python ]

**Example – Cross-account secret using Python**  

```
import requests

def get_secret_cross_account():
    secret_id = "{{YOUR_SECRET_ID}}"
    role_arn = "arn:aws:iam::{{ACCOUNT_ID}}:role/{{ROLE_NAME}}"
    url = f"http://localhost:2773/secretsmanager/get?secretId={secret_id}&roleArn={role_arn}"

    with open('/var/run/awssmatoken') as fp:
        token = fp.read()

    headers = {
        "X-Aws-Parameters-Secrets-Token": token.strip()
    }

    try:
        response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

        if response.status_code == 200:
            return response.text
        else:
            raise Exception(f"Status code {response.status_code} - {response.text}")

    except Exception as e:
        raise Exception(f"Error: {e}")
```

------

### Role chaining configuration and limits
<a name="provider-role-chaining-config"></a>

Configure role chaining with the `max_roles` option in your TOML configuration file. This sets the maximum number of simultaneous assumed roles, in the range 1 to 20. The default is 20.

**Important**  
Assumed roles are not evicted from the AWS Workload Credentials Provider's role cache. Once the maximum number of roles has been reached, requests with new role ARNs are rejected with a `400` error until the AWS Workload Credentials Provider is restarted.Error responses for role chaining

**`400`**  
The `roleArn` format is invalid or the maximum number of assumed roles has been reached.

**`403`**  
The AWS STS `AssumeRole` call failed. Verify that the target role's trust policy allows the AWS Workload Credentials Provider's identity to assume it.

## Pre-fetch secrets at startup
<a name="workload-credentials-provider-prefetch"></a>

By default, the AWS Workload Credentials Provider fetches secrets on demand when your application requests them. With pre-fetching, the AWS Workload Credentials Provider loads specified secrets into the cache when it starts up, so your application can access them immediately without waiting for the first API call. Pre-fetching runs as a background task—the AWS Workload Credentials Provider begins accepting requests immediately and does not block on pre-fetch completion.

You can specify secrets to pre-fetch in two ways:
+ **Explicit secrets** – List specific secret IDs or ARNs.
+ **Tag-based discovery** – Discover secrets by tag key. The AWS Workload Credentials Provider fetches all secrets that have the specified tag.

### Required permissions
<a name="provider-prefetch-permissions"></a>

In addition to the standard permissions for retrieving secrets, pre-fetching requires the following:
+ `secretsmanager:BatchGetSecretValue` – Required for all pre-fetch operations.
+ `secretsmanager:ListSecrets` – Required only when using tag-based discovery.

### Configure pre-fetching
<a name="provider-prefetch-config"></a>

Add a `[capabilities.secrets_manager.prefetch]` section to your TOML configuration file. The following options are available:

**`cache_buffer_ratio`**  
The maximum fraction of the cache to fill per client during pre-fetch, in the range 0.1 to 1.0. The default is 0.8. When the buffer limit is reached, the AWS Workload Credentials Provider stops pre-fetching remaining secrets—it does not evict existing cache entries. Secrets not loaded during pre-fetch are still available on demand.

**`max_jitter_seconds`**  
A random delay in seconds before pre-fetching begins, in the range 0 to 10. The default is 0. Use this to prevent synchronized fleet-wide API calls when multiple providers start at the same time.

**Example Pre-fetch configuration with explicit secrets**  

```
[capabilities.secrets_manager.prefetch]
cache_buffer_ratio = 0.6
max_jitter_seconds = 5
secrets = [
    { secret_id = "arn:aws:secretsmanager:us-west-2:123456789012:secret:MySecret-AbCdEf" },
    { secret_id = "MyOtherSecret" },
]
```

**Example Pre-fetch configuration with tag-based discovery**  

```
[capabilities.secrets_manager.prefetch]
cache_buffer_ratio = 0.8
filter_tags = [
    { key = "Environment" },
    { key = "Team" },
]
```

You can also combine explicit secrets and tag-based discovery in the same configuration. For cross-account pre-fetching, add the `role_arn` field. For more information, see [Retrieve secrets across accounts with role chaining](#workload-credentials-provider-role-chaining).

**Example Pre-fetch configuration with cross-account access**  

```
[capabilities.secrets_manager.prefetch]
cache_buffer_ratio = 0.6
max_jitter_seconds = 5
secrets = [
    { secret_id = "arn:aws:secretsmanager:us-west-2:123456789012:secret:MySecret-AbCdEf" },
    { secret_id = "cross-account-secret", role_arn = "arn:aws:iam::987654321098:role/SecretAccessRole" },
]
filter_tags = [
    { key = "Environment" },
    { key = "Team", role_arn = "arn:aws:iam::987654321098:role/SecretAccessRole" },
]
```

## Configure the AWS Workload Credentials Provider
<a name="workload-credentials-provider-config"></a>

To change the configuration of the AWS Workload Credentials Provider, create a [TOML](https://toml.io/en/) config file, and then call `./aws-workload-credentials-provider sm start --config config.toml`.

The configuration file supports a nested format. The Secrets Manager options are placed under `[capabilities.secrets_manager]`, with sub-sections for cache and security settings. Logging options are placed under `[logging]`.

**Example nested configuration file**  

```
[logging]
log_level = "INFO"
log_to_file = true

[capabilities.secrets_manager]
enabled = true
http_port = 2773
region = "us-east-1"
path_prefix = "/v1/"
max_conn = 800
max_roles = 20

[capabilities.secrets_manager.cache]
ttl_seconds = 300
cache_size = 1000

[capabilities.secrets_manager.security]
ssrf_headers = ["X-Aws-Parameters-Secrets-Token", "X-Vault-Token"]
ssrf_env_variables = ["AWS_TOKEN", "AWS_SESSION_TOKEN", "AWS_CONTAINER_AUTHORIZATION_TOKEN"]
```

**Note**  
Flat keys at the root level (for example, `http_port = 2773`) are still supported for backward compatibility with existing configuration files.Secrets Manager configuration options

**`enabled`**  
Whether the Secrets Manager capability is active: `true` or `false`. The default is `true`.

**`http_port`**  
The port for the local HTTP server, in the range 1024 to 65535. The default is 2773.

**`region`**  
The AWS Region to use for requests. If no Region is specified, the AWS Workload Credentials Provider determines the Region from the SDK. For more information, see [Specify your credentials and default Region](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-rust/latest/dg/credentials.html) in the *AWS SDK for Rust Developer Guide*.

**`path_prefix`**  
The URI prefix used to determine if the request is a path based request. The default is "/v1/".

**`max_conn`**  
The maximum number of connections from HTTP clients that the AWS Workload Credentials Provider allows, in the range 1 to 1000. The default is 800.

**`max_roles`**  
The maximum number of simultaneous IAM roles for cross-account access, in the range 1 to 20. The default is 20. For more information, see [Retrieve secrets across accounts with role chaining](#workload-credentials-provider-role-chaining).Cache options (`[capabilities.secrets_manager.cache]`)

**`ttl_seconds`**  
The TTL in seconds for the cached items, in the range 0 to 3600. The default is 300. 0 indicates that there is no caching.

**`cache_size`**  
The maximum number of secrets that can be stored in the cache, in the range 1 to 1000. The default is 1000.Security options (`[capabilities.secrets_manager.security]`)

**`ssrf_headers`**  
A list of header names the AWS Workload Credentials Provider checks for the SSRF token. The default is "X-Aws-Parameters-Secrets-Token, X-Vault-Token".

**`ssrf_env_variables`**  
A list of environment variable names the AWS Workload Credentials Provider checks in sequential order for the SSRF token. The environment variable can contain the token or a reference to the token file as in: `AWS_TOKEN=file:///var/run/awssmatoken`. The default is "AWS\_TOKEN, AWS\_SESSION\_TOKEN, AWS\_CONTAINER\_AUTHORIZATION\_TOKEN".Logging options (`[logging]`)

**`log_level`**  
The level of detail reported in logs for the AWS Workload Credentials Provider: DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR, or NONE. The default is INFO.

**`log_to_file`**  
Whether to log to a file or stdout/stderr: `true` or `false`. The default is `true`.

## Optional features
<a name="workload-credentials-provider-features"></a>

The AWS Workload Credentials Provider can be built with optional features by passing the `--features` flag to `cargo build`. The available features are:Build features

**`prefer-post-quantum`**  
Makes `X25519MLKEM768` the highest-priority key exchange algorithm. Otherwise, it is available but not highest-priority. `X25519MLKEM768` is a hybrid, post-quantum-secure key exchange algorithm.

**`fips`**  
Restricts the cipher suites used by the provider to only FIPS-approved ciphers.

## Logging
<a name="workload-credentials-provider-log"></a>

**Local logging**  
The AWS Workload Credentials Provider logs errors locally to the file `logs/secrets_manager_provider.log` or to stdout/stderr depending on the `log_to_file` config variable. When your application calls the AWS Workload Credentials Provider to get a secret, those calls appear in the local log. They do not appear in the CloudTrail logs.

**Log rotation**  
The AWS Workload Credentials Provider creates a new log file when the file reaches 10 MB, and it stores up to five log files total.

**AWS service logging**  
The log does not go to Secrets Manager, CloudTrail, or CloudWatch. Requests to get secrets from the AWS Workload Credentials Provider do not appear in those logs. When the AWS Workload Credentials Provider makes a call to Secrets Manager to get a secret, that call is recorded in CloudTrail with a user agent string containing `aws-workload-credentials-provider`.

You can configure logging options in the [Configure the AWS Workload Credentials Provider](#workload-credentials-provider-config).

## Security considerations
<a name="workload-credentials-provider-security"></a>

**Domain of trust**  
For a local provider architecture, the domain of trust is where the provider endpoint and SSRF token are accessible, which is usually the entire host. The domain of trust for the AWS Workload Credentials Provider should match the domain where the Secrets Manager credentials are available in order to maintain the same security posture. For example, on Amazon EC2 the domain of trust for the AWS Workload Credentials Provider would be the same as the domain of the credentials when using roles for Amazon EC2.

**Important**  
Security conscious applications that are not already using a provider-based solution with the Secrets Manager credentials locked down to the application should consider using the language-specific AWS SDKs or caching solutions. For more information, see [Get secrets](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/secretsmanager/latest/userguide/retrieving-secrets.html).