> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.usebruno.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Secret Variables

<Tip>
  Bruno stores secrets on your local machine. The location depends on the OS.
  The secrets are encrypted using OS level encryption when available or falls back to AES256 encryption.
</Tip>

In this approach, you can check the `secret` checkbox for any variable in your environment.
Bruno will manage your secrets internally and will not write them into the environment file.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/bruno-a6972042/5Lfx5Y84o3IdcSG8/images/screenshots/v4/secret-variables/secret-var.webp?fit=max&auto=format&n=5Lfx5Y84o3IdcSG8&q=85&s=cc541c50ade2c65f08f98e17a56c4e7e" alt="secret variables" width="2604" height="868" data-path="images/screenshots/v4/secret-variables/secret-var.webp" />

Your environment file at `environments/local.bru` would look like

```bash filename="local.bru" theme={null}
vars:secret [
  baseUrl
]

```

<Warning>
  Starting from v4.0.0, all secret variable will be displayed in a separate tab to avoid confusion between normal and secret vars. Secret values are stored securely and are not saved to the environment file.
</Warning>

And now you can safely check in your collection to source control without worrying about exposing your secrets.

When you export your collection as a file, Bruno will not export the secret variables.