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FeaturesSidekickUpdated March 11, 2026

Skill Environment Variable Manager

Skill Environment Variable Manager

Sidekick's Skill Environment Variable Manager gives you a single place to configure, inspect, and update the secrets and API keys that your installed skills depend on. All values are encrypted at rest using AES-256-GCM.

Overview

Many skills require external credentials — API keys, tokens, or other secrets — to function. Rather than hunting through individual skill settings, the Environment Variable Manager surfaces all requirements in one view and shows you what's already covered by your connected OAuth accounts.

What You Can Do

View Requirements per Skill

For every skill you have installed, the manager lists the environment variables it needs. Each entry shows:

  • The variable name (e.g. GITHUB_TOKEN, OPENAI_API_KEY)
  • Whether the value is currently set
  • Whether an existing OAuth connection satisfies the requirement

Update Values

Click any variable to enter or update its value. Changes take effect immediately — no need to reinstall or reconfigure the skill.

See OAuth Satisfaction

If you've connected an account via OAuth (for example, a GitHub or Google connection), the manager will indicate which skill environment requirements that connection already covers. This means fewer manual secrets to manage.

Security

PropertyDetail
Encryption algorithmAES-256-GCM
Encryption scopeAll stored environment variable values
StorageEncrypted at rest; never stored in plaintext

Values are decrypted only at the point of use — when a skill is invoked and needs to read its configuration.

ClawHub & SKILL.md Compatibility

Skills imported from ClawHub define their environment variable requirements in their SKILL.md manifest. Sidekick reads these declarations automatically and pre-populates the Environment Variable Manager with the correct requirement list for each skill, including any keys that would normally be set locally in a self-hosted OpenClaw environment.

Getting Started

  1. Navigate to Skills in your Sidekick dashboard.
  2. Select Environment Variables from the sidebar (or open it from an individual skill's settings page).
  3. Review which variables are required and which are already satisfied by OAuth connections.
  4. Enter values for any remaining unsatisfied requirements.
  5. Save — your skills are now fully configured and ready to run.