OCI Vault MCP Server

Access and manage Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Vault secrets through the MCP (Model Context Protocol) server. This skill provides 12 tools for complete secret lifecycle management.

Capabilities

This skill enables you to:

• •List and Search Secrets: Find secrets by name or list all available secrets in your vault
• •Retrieve Secrets: Get secret metadata, values, and complete version history
• •Create Secrets: Store new secrets with proper naming and organization in OCI Vault
• •Update Secrets: Create new versions of existing secrets and update metadata
• •Delete Secrets: Schedule secrets for safe deletion (7-30 day retention period)
• •Configure Vault: Set default vault and compartment IDs for your project
• •Manage Authentication: Configure OCI CLI credentials and handle authentication
• •Apply Best Practices: Implement security best practices for secret management

The skill leverages the OCI Vault MCP Server's 12 specialized tools to provide secure, auditable secret management across development, staging, and production environments.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

1. •Access secrets in OCI Vault - Retrieve API keys, passwords, certificates, or other sensitive data
2. •Create new secrets - Store new credentials, tokens, or sensitive configuration
3. •Manage secret versions - Update secrets and maintain version history
4. •Configure vault access - Set up default vault and compartment IDs for your operations
5. •Understand OCI Vault concepts - Learn about secret lifecycle, versions, and metadata
6. •Debug authentication issues - Troubleshoot OCI CLI connection problems
7. •Implement secure workflows - Follow best practices for storing and accessing secrets

Getting Started

Before your first operation, complete the Setup Checklist in references/setup-checklist.md:

• •Verify OCI CLI authentication works
• •Set environment variables (OCI_VAULT_ID, OCI_COMPARTMENT_ID)
• •Test connectivity to your vault

For quick reference during operations, see references/quick-reference.md with common commands and error solutions.

Available Tools

Reading Secrets (No modifications)

• •list_secrets: List all secrets in a vault
• •search_secrets: Search for secrets by name (substring matching)
• •get_secret_metadata: Get detailed metadata about a specific secret
• •list_secret_versions: View all versions of a secret
• •get_secret_value: Retrieve secret content for a specific version
• •get_secret: Get complete secret information (metadata + versions)

Managing Secrets (Modifications)

• •create_secret: Create a new secret in the vault
• •update_secret: Create a new version of an existing secret
• •update_secret_metadata: Update secret description, tags, and metadata
• •delete_secret: Schedule a secret for deletion (7-30 days retention period)

Configuration

• •configure_vault: Set default vault and compartment IDs
• •get_vault_config_tool: Check current vault configuration

Common Use Cases

List All Secrets

Ask me to list all secrets in your configured vault:

List all secrets in the vault

I'll use list_secrets tool to retrieve and display all available secrets.

Search for a Specific Secret

Find a secret by name pattern:

Search for secrets containing "api" or "database"

I'll use search_secrets to find matching secrets.

Get Secret Details

Retrieve complete information about a secret:

Get full details for secret-id-12345

I'll use get_secret to retrieve metadata and version history.

Create a New Secret

Store a new credential or API key:

Create a new secret named "my-api-key" with value "sk-xyz123"

I'll use create_secret with appropriate content type and metadata.

Update Secret Version

Create a new version of an existing secret:

Update the secret "database-password" with new value "newpass123"

I'll use update_secret to create a new version while keeping the old one accessible.

Update Secret Metadata

Add tags or description without creating a new version:

Update secret "my-secret" with description "Production API key" and tags environment=prod

I'll use update_secret_metadata to update descriptive information.

Delete a Secret

Schedule a secret for deletion:

Delete secret-id-12345 with 30-day retention

I'll use delete_secret with appropriate retention period.

Configuration Required

Before using this skill effectively, ensure:

1. •

   OCI CLI Authentication: Set up oci session authenticate or API key authentication

2. •

   Environment Variables:

   • •OCI_CONFIG_PROFILE: Your OCI CLI profile name
   • •OCI_VAULT_ID: OCID of your vault (e.g., ocid1.vault.oc1.phx...)
   • •OCI_COMPARTMENT_ID: OCID of your compartment
3. •

   IAM Permissions: Your OCI user has appropriate permissions:

   • •MANAGE_VAULTS
   • •READ_SECRETS
   • •CREATE_SECRETS
   • •UPDATE_SECRETS
   • •DELETE_SECRETS

Important Concepts

Secret Versions

OCI Vault maintains all previous versions of a secret. When you update a secret using update_secret, the new content becomes the current version while previous versions remain accessible.

Deletion Retention

When you delete a secret, it's not immediately removed. Instead, it's scheduled for deletion with a retention period of 7-30 days. During this period, you can cancel the deletion.

Content Types

Secrets support different content types:

• •application/octet-stream (default)
• •text/plain
• •application/json
• •application/pkcs8

Compartments and Vaults

• •Compartment: Logical grouping of OCI resources for organization and access control
• •Vault: Container for secrets within a compartment
• •Multiple vaults can exist in the same compartment

Best Practices

1. •

   Use Descriptive Names: Name secrets clearly to indicate their purpose (e.g., prod-db-password, slack-webhook-token)

2. •

   Tag Secrets: Use tags to organize secrets by environment, team, or application

3. •

   Version Control: Keep version history clean. Don't create unnecessary versions.

4. •

   Access Control: Use IAM policies to restrict who can access specific secrets

5. •

   Rotation: Implement secret rotation policies. Update secrets periodically.

6. •

   Audit Logging: Enable audit logging to track who accessed which secrets and when

7. •

   Least Privilege: Grant minimum necessary permissions to users and applications

8. •

   Never Share Credentials: Don't expose secret values in logs, error messages, or documentation

9. •

   Use Appropriate Retention: When deleting secrets, use reasonable retention periods (7-30 days)

10. •

    Compartmentalization: Use separate vaults/compartments for different environments (prod, staging, dev)

Troubleshooting

Encountering issues? Refer to references/troubleshooting.md for solutions to:

• •Authentication and configuration errors
• •Authentication failures and permission issues
• •Vault and compartment configuration problems
• •Secret operation errors
• •Performance issues
• •MCP Server connection problems
• •Security concerns

Each issue includes the error message, likely cause, and step-by-step solutions.

Learning More

• •Read the OCI Vault documentation
• •Explore the OCI CLI Vault commands
• •Review the FastMCP documentation
• •Check the project README for setup instructions

Examples

Example 1: Search and Retrieve a Secret

Search for my database password and show me all versions

I would:

1. •Use search_secrets to find secrets containing "database" or "password"
2. •Use get_secret on the matching secret ID
3. •Display metadata and version history

Example 2: Create and Tag a New Secret

Create a new secret named "github-token" with value "ghp_abc123xyz" and tag it as production

I would:

1. •Use create_secret to create the secret
2. •Use update_secret_metadata to add tags
3. •Confirm successful creation

Example 3: Update a Secret

Update the secret "api-key" with a new value

I would:

1. •Retrieve the current secret using get_secret_metadata
2. •Use update_secret to create a new version
3. •Confirm the update and show version information

Example 4: Manage Secret Lifecycle

I want to retire the old password secret. Show me how many versions it has and schedule it for deletion.

I would:

1. •Use list_secret_versions to show all versions
2. •Use delete_secret with appropriate retention period
3. •Confirm the deletion schedule

Related Skills

• •git-release: For managing versioned releases
• •docker: For containerized deployments of secret consumers
• •authentication: For general authentication concepts