How Detection Works

SecretPaste uses local pattern matching to identify potential secrets in your clipboard — no data ever leaves your browser.

The Detection Pipeline

1. Clipboard Intercept

When you paste content into a supported input field, SecretPaste intercepts the paste event before it reaches the page.

2. Pattern Matching

The content is scanned against a library of regex patterns designed to identify common secret formats (API keys, tokens, passwords).

3. Local Analysis

All analysis happens in your browser. The content is never sent to any server or external service.

4. Action

If a secret is detected, SecretPaste shows a warning modal. You can choose to cancel, allow, mask the secret, or paste anyway.

Supported Patterns

SecretPaste can detect the following secret types. Free users get 5 patterns, Pro users get all 15.

Free Patterns (5)

OpenAI API Keys

Prefix: sk-

sk-abc...

GitHub PAT

Prefix: ghp_

ghp_abc...

GitHub OAuth

Prefix: gho_

gho_abc...

AWS Access Keys

Prefix: AKIA

AKIA...

Stripe Live Keys

Prefix: sk_live_

sk_live_...

Pro Patterns (+10)Pro

GitHub App Token

Prefix: ghs_

ghs_...

GitHub Fine-grained PAT

Prefix: github_pat_

github_pat_...

AWS Session Token

Prefix: ASIA

ASIA...

Stripe Restricted Key

Prefix: rk_live_

rk_live_...

Anthropic API Key

Prefix: sk-ant-

sk-ant-...

Google API Key

Prefix: AIza

AIza...

Slack Token

Prefix: xox

xoxb-...

Twilio API Key

Prefix: SK

SK...

SendGrid API Key

Prefix: SG.

SG....

Private Keys

Prefix: -----BEGIN

PEM header

False Positives

If SecretPaste incorrectly flags content, click "Allow" in the warning modal to add it to your allowlist. Future pastes of the same content won't trigger a warning.