Database / BetterDB Interview questions
What is the ENCRYPTION_KEY variable used for in BetterDB Monitor?
ENCRYPTION_KEY (minimum 16 characters) is used to envelope-encrypt stored connection passwords and SSH tunnel secrets, including private keys and passphrases, at rest – wherever STORAGE_TYPE happens to be writing that data, whether that's Postgres, Turso, or SQLite.
If it isn't set, those secrets are stored in plaintext in whichever storage backend you're using, which is a meaningful difference for anything beyond a throwaway local instance, since a database backup or an accidental leak of the storage backend would expose real Valkey/Redis credentials and SSH keys directly.
In short, setting it is one of the first things worth doing before putting BetterDB Monitor in front of real credentials, and it should be treated with the same care as any other secret, since losing it also means BetterDB can no longer decrypt what it previously encrypted.
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