Vault
Vault is an open-source tool developed by HashiCorp for securely managing secrets, such as API keys, passwords, certificates, and encryption keys. It provides a centralized system for storing, accessing, and distributing secrets across applications and infrastructure, with features like dynamic secrets generation, data encryption, and access control policies. Vault helps organizations protect sensitive data by ensuring secrets are not hard-coded or stored in plaintext.
Developers should learn and use Vault when building or managing applications that require secure handling of credentials, especially in cloud-native, microservices, or DevOps environments where secrets management is critical for compliance and security. It is essential for use cases like securing database passwords, managing TLS certificates, and implementing encryption-as-a-service, as it reduces the risk of data breaches by automating secret rotation and providing audit trails.