Migrate from .env to fnox + 1Password

This skill guides the migration from plaintext .env files to fnox with 1Password as the secret provider. fnox is provider-agnostic and supports multiple backends (1Password, AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, HashiCorp Vault, age encryption, etc.).

Prerequisites

Before starting, verify:

1. 1Password CLI is installed: op --version
2. User is authenticated to 1Password: op vault list
3. mise is installed (optional but recommended): mise --version

Migration Workflow

Step 1: Analyze Existing .env

Read the existing .env file to understand what secrets need migration:

cat .env

Categorize the secrets:

• Cloud provider credentials (AWS_*, ARM_*, GOOGLE_*)
• API tokens (CLOUDFLARE_*, GITHUB_*, etc.)
• Application secrets (DATABASE_URL, API_KEY, etc.)
• Configuration values (non-secret defaults like regions)

Step 2: Install fnox

Install fnox via mise (recommended):

mise use fnox

Or add to mise.toml:

[tools]
fnox = "latest"

Initialize fnox configuration:

mise exec -- fnox init
mise exec -- fnox provider add op 1password

Step 3: Create 1Password Item

Create a single 1Password item containing all secrets. Use the API Credential category for organization:

op item create \
  --category="API Credential" \
  --title="project-name" \
  --vault="Private" \
  'Field Name[text]=value' \
  'Secret Field[password]=secret-value'

Field naming conventions:

• Use descriptive names: "AWS Access Key ID" not "aws_key"
• Use [text] for non-sensitive values (IDs, regions, emails)
• Use [password] for sensitive values (secrets, tokens, keys)

Example for a typical project:

op item create \
  --category="API Credential" \
  --title="myproject" \
  --vault="Private" \
  'AWS Access Key ID[text]=AKIA...' \
  'AWS Secret Access Key[password]=...' \
  'Database URL[password]=postgres://...' \
  'API Token[password]=...'

Step 4: Configure fnox.toml

Update fnox.toml to reference the 1Password item:

[providers.op]
type = "1password"
vault = "Private"

[secrets]
# Format: ENV_VAR = { provider = "op", value = "item-title/Field Name" }
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID = { provider = "op", value = "myproject/AWS Access Key ID" }
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY = { provider = "op", value = "myproject/AWS Secret Access Key" }
DATABASE_URL = { provider = "op", value = "myproject/Database URL" }

# Non-secret defaults don't need 1Password
AWS_DEFAULT_REGION = { default = "us-east-1" }

Step 5: Integrate with mise

Update mise.toml to use fnox instead of .env:

[tools]
fnox = "latest"
# ... other tools

[env]
_.source = "fnox export"

Remove the old .env reference:

- _.file = ".env"
+ _.source = "fnox export"

Step 6: Verify and Clean Up

Test the configuration:

# List configured secrets
mise exec -- fnox list

# Verify a secret can be retrieved
mise exec -- fnox get AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID

# Test full environment
mise exec -- printenv | grep AWS_

Once verified, delete the old .env file:

rm .env

Commit fnox.toml (it contains no secrets, only references):

git add fnox.toml mise.toml
git commit -m "Migrate secrets from .env to fnox + 1Password"

fnox.toml Reference

Provider Configuration

# 1Password
[providers.op]
type = "1password"
vault = "Private"
# account = "my.1password.com"  # Optional: specify account

# Age encryption (for git-stored encrypted secrets)
[providers.age]
type = "age"
recipients = ["age1..."]

# AWS Secrets Manager
[providers.aws]
type = "aws-sm"
region = "us-east-1"
prefix = "myapp/"

Secret Reference Formats

[secrets]
# 1Password: item-title/field-name
SECRET = { provider = "op", value = "myproject/Secret Field" }

# 1Password: full op:// URI
SECRET = { provider = "op", value = "op://Vault/Item/Field" }

# Default value (no provider needed)
REGION = { default = "us-east-1" }

# Age-encrypted value
SECRET = { provider = "age", value = "YWdlLWVu..." }

Profiles for Multiple Environments

[providers.op]
type = "1password"
vault = "Development"

[secrets]
DATABASE_URL = { provider = "op", value = "dev-db/url" }

[profiles.production.providers.op]
vault = "Production"

[profiles.production.secrets]
DATABASE_URL = { provider = "op", value = "prod-db/url" }

Use profiles with: FNOX_PROFILE=production fnox export

Troubleshooting

"No configuration file found"

Run fnox init to create fnox.toml, or check that you're in the correct directory.

1Password authentication errors

Ensure you're signed in: op signin or check that "Integrate with other apps" is enabled in 1Password Settings > Developer.

Secrets not loading in shell

If using mise, ensure mise trust has been run for the project directory.

fnox command not found after mise install

Use mise exec -- fnox or restart your shell to pick up the new PATH.