In software development, "text secrets" are sensitive pieces of information like . Managing them properly prevents security breaches:
The .secrets pattern emerged from the methodology (circa 2011). Factor III of that manifesto states: "Store config in the environment." It argued that codebase, config, and credentials should be strictly separated. A .secrets file became the local development vehicle for that principle—a way to simulate environment variables without polluting your system's global namespace. .secrets