Your API keys don’t belong in shell config files. Here’s a wrapper pattern that fetches secrets from Keychain only when needed.

The Idea

Use a shell wrapper script that fetches API keys from macOS Keychain only when the command actually runs - never exposing secrets in shell environment globally.

Context

Setting up OpenClaw/moltbot automation. User correctly pushed back on storing API keys in ~/.zshrc because:

• Keys visible to ALL processes
• Persists in shell history
• Often committed to dotfiles repos

Raw Quote

“putting api in shell config seems not good”

The Pattern

#!/bin/bash
# ~/bin/openclaw - wrapper that fetches from Keychain on-demand

fetch_key() {
    local keychain_name="$1"
    security find-generic-password -a "$USER" -s "$keychain_name" -w 2>/dev/null || {
        echo "Error: $keychain_name not found in Keychain" >&2
        return 1
    }
}

export GEMINI_API_KEY=$(fetch_key "gemini-api-key") || exit 1
export OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN=$(fetch_key "openclaw-gateway-token") || exit 1

exec /path/to/actual/command "$@"

Why This Is Better

Expansion Potential

• Blog post: “The Right Way to Handle API Keys on macOS”
• Could apply to any CLI tool needing secrets
• Universal pattern for security-conscious developers