bcquality/microsoft/knowledge/security/use-secrettext-for-credentials.md
Jesper Schulz-Wedde 23184480d0 Triage seed knowledge and document admission test for preview
Remove seven knowledge files whose content is generic software-engineering
guidance that a capable LLM already applies without BCQuality present
(HTTPS-only, secret-leakage-in-errors, no-credentials-in-URLs, silent
security-error swallowing, short transaction scope, HTTP timeouts,
StrSubstNo-vs-concatenation). These fail the remedial-knowledge premise
and dilute the signal of the preview corpus.

Strip the "Seed article — domain stewards should expand" banner from ten
files that are ready to showcase (AA0232/AA0233 rules, FindSet read-only
semantics, SetLoadFields ordering and usage, CalcFields-in-loops,
SecretText end-to-end, DataClassification). The banner remains on files
that still need domain-steward refinement.

Add a "What belongs here" section to the README stating the admission
test: a file exists only if a modern LLM would get something wrong or
miss something without it. Gives contributors a concrete yes/no filter
before they open a PR.
2026-04-23 15:47:01 +02:00

1.3 KiB

bc-version domain keywords technologies countries application-area
26..28
security
secrettext
credentials
debugger
type
al
w1
all

Use SecretText for credentials

Description

SecretText is a compile-time-checked AL type for credentials, API keys, tokens, and similar sensitive values. The compiler rejects literal assignments to SecretText and blocks implicit conversion back to Text or Code, which prevents many accidental disclosures via logs, errors, and the debugger (regular and snapshot). A SecretText value remains opaque throughout its lifetime.

Best Practice

Type every credential-carrying variable, procedure parameter, and return as SecretText. Compose values with SecretStrSubstNo (see compose-secrets-with-secretstrsubstno). For HttpClient integration, see use-secrettext-with-httpclient. When a secret must be extracted from a Text source, contain that conversion in a NonDebuggable procedure (see use-nondebuggable-when-parsing-secrets).

See sample: use-secrettext-for-credentials.good.al.

Anti Pattern

Passing credentials around as Text or Code parameters. Every such variable is visible in the debugger and may be captured by error handlers, logs, and telemetry that treat Text as non-sensitive.

See sample: use-secrettext-for-credentials.bad.al.