Identify the credentials file and key selected by the application’s Rails version and environment. Confirm you have an authorised recovery copy before changing either.

1. Edit credentials through the supported Rails command in a controlled environment. Use the production-specific credentials workflow where the application is configured for it.

2. Keep the production decryption key out of Git and public deployment files. Deliver it through a protected key file or supported runtime environment such as RAILS_MASTER_KEY.

3. Preserve the existing secret values during an ordinary migration unless a deliberate rotation is required. Changing signing or encryption secrets can affect sessions and protected data.

4. Check which credentials are required during asset compilation and which are needed only at runtime. Give build stages only the access they actually require.

5. Start the production application and test the services that read the credentials. Remove temporary decrypted copies and protect recovery access.

Confirm a private service operation succeeds and the browser does not expose credentials or a development error page. Check that the key is absent from the public release artifact.

A decryption error can indicate the wrong environment-specific file or key. Restore the verified pairing before generating a new key or replacing encrypted content.

• Moving runtime secrets out of a public document root
• Building and serving Rails production assets
• Protecting production secrets in CI jobs
• Diagnosing Rails host authorization and HTTPS redirect loops

• Rails security and credentials
• Rails configuration