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Category: Development & EngineeringNo API key required

windsurf-security-basics

Apply Windsurf security best practices for secrets and access control. Use when securing API keys, implementing least privilege access, or auditing Windsurf security configuration. Trigger with phrases like "windsurf security", "windsurf secrets", "secure windsurf", "windsurf API key security".

personAuthor: jakexiaohubgithub

Windsurf Security Basics

Overview

Security best practices for Windsurf API keys, tokens, and access control.

Prerequisites

  • Windsurf SDK installed
  • Understanding of environment variables
  • Access to Windsurf dashboard

Instructions

Step 1: Configure Environment Variables

# .env (NEVER commit to git)
WINDSURF_API_KEY=sk_live_***
WINDSURF_SECRET=***

# .gitignore
.env
.env.local
.env.*.local

Step 2: Implement Secret Rotation

# 1. Generate new key in Windsurf dashboard
# 2. Update environment variable
export WINDSURF_API_KEY="new_key_here"

# 3. Verify new key works
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer ${WINDSURF_API_KEY}" \
  https://api.windsurf.com/health

# 4. Revoke old key in dashboard

Step 3: Apply Least Privilege

| Environment | Recommended Scopes | |-------------|-------------------| | Development | read:* | | Staging | read:*, write:limited | | Production | Only required scopes |

Output

  • Secure API key storage
  • Environment-specific access controls
  • Audit logging enabled

Error Handling

| Security Issue | Detection | Mitigation | |----------------|-----------|------------| | Exposed API key | Git scanning | Rotate immediately | | Excessive scopes | Audit logs | Reduce permissions | | Missing rotation | Key age check | Schedule rotation |

Examples

Service Account Pattern

const clients = {
  reader: new WindsurfClient({
    apiKey: process.env.WINDSURF_READ_KEY,
  }),
  writer: new WindsurfClient({
    apiKey: process.env.WINDSURF_WRITE_KEY,
  }),
};

Webhook Signature Verification

import crypto from 'crypto';

function verifyWebhookSignature(
  payload: string, signature: string, secret: string
): boolean {
  const expected = crypto.createHmac('sha256', secret).update(payload).digest('hex');
  return crypto.timingSafeEqual(Buffer.from(signature), Buffer.from(expected));
}

Security Checklist

  • [ ] API keys in environment variables
  • [ ] .env files in .gitignore
  • [ ] Different keys for dev/staging/prod
  • [ ] Minimal scopes per environment
  • [ ] Webhook signatures validated
  • [ ] Audit logging enabled

Audit Logging

interface AuditEntry {
  timestamp: Date;
  action: string;
  userId: string;
  resource: string;
  result: 'success' | 'failure';
  metadata?: Record<string, any>;
}

async function auditLog(entry: Omit<AuditEntry, 'timestamp'>): Promise<void> {
  const log: AuditEntry = { ...entry, timestamp: new Date() };

  // Log to Windsurf analytics
  await windsurfClient.track('audit', log);

  // Also log locally for compliance
  console.log('[AUDIT]', JSON.stringify(log));
}

// Usage
await auditLog({
  action: 'windsurf.api.call',
  userId: currentUser.id,
  resource: '/v1/resource',
  result: 'success',
});

Resources

Next Steps

For production deployment, see windsurf-prod-checklist.