bcquality/microsoft/knowledge/security/secrets-isolated-storage.md
Jesper Schulz-Wedde e81632b4be Complete AL review knowledge readiness
Fill telemetry and Query coverage, strengthen thin review domains, correct audited content defects, and add deterministic cheap-model evaluation and reference-integrity safeguards.

Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot-Session: 9825b012-e653-496a-9310-c1f4b6f8ac27
2026-07-15 07:19:15 +02:00

2 KiB

bc-version domain keywords technologies countries application-area
all
security
isolatedstorage
secrets
api-key
oauth-token
connection-string
table-field
credentials
al
w1
all

A secret belongs in IsolatedStorage, never in a table field

Description

API keys, OAuth tokens, client secrets, and connection strings must not be stored in an ordinary table Text field — not even on a hidden setup table. A regular field is exposed through record reads, page display, RapidStart and Excel export, report datasets, and surfaces in DataClassification review; anyone with table permission can read it. The correct home is IsolatedStorage, which is invisible to database queries, API pages, and configuration packages. The storage-location decision is the rule here; how to scope and encrypt the value once it is in IsolatedStorage is covered separately.

Best Practice

Persist every credential in IsolatedStorage, write it at the point of capture, and read it only when needed. Prefer SetEncrypted when the value fits its documented length limit. On BC24 and later, carry the value through the SecretText overloads; on earlier releases, keep any required Text handling inside a [NonDebuggable] boundary. Choose the DataScope that matches the credential's lifetime. See isolatedstorage-datascope-module-vs-company, isolatedstorage-setencrypted-for-sensitive-values, and secrettext-for-credentials for those separate concerns.

See sample: secrets-isolated-storage.good.al.

Anti Pattern

A "Setup" or "Connection" table carrying a Text field named API Key, Password, or Client Secret. The value is now readable by any object with table permission, ships in RapidStart packages and Excel exports, and appears in record snapshots — a credential disclosure that no amount of encryption-in-transit elsewhere makes up for. Reviewer signal: a secret-shaped field declared on a table instead of an IsolatedStorage call.

See sample: secrets-isolated-storage.bad.al.