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twenty/packages/twenty-docs/developers/self-host/capabilities/key-rotation.mdx
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Charles Bochet 91ce59d8e2 refactor(jwt): gate signing-key auto-rotation cron on SIGNING_KEY_ROTATION_DAYS (#20866)
Only register the JWT signing-key rotation cron when
`SIGNING_KEY_ROTATION_DAYS` is set, and move that variable to Advanced
Settings.
2026-05-23 09:51:06 +00:00

57 lines
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---
title: Key rotation
icon: "rotate"
---
Twenty has two independent key families:
- **JWT signing keys** — asymmetric ES256 keypairs (`kid`-tagged) stored in `core."signingKey"`, used to sign and verify access / refresh tokens.
- **At-rest encryption key** — `ENCRYPTION_KEY`, used to encrypt OAuth tokens, application variables, signing-key private keys, sensitive config values and TOTP secrets inside an `enc:v2:` envelope.
`APP_SECRET` is a legacy secret kept for backward compatibility: when `ENCRYPTION_KEY` is unset it acts as the at-rest encryption / session cookie fallback, and it still verifies pre-existing HS256 access tokens. It will be deprecated.
## JWT signing keys
Each key carries a `publicKey` (kept indefinitely so it can verify previously issued tokens), an encrypted `privateKey` (used only while the key is current), an `isCurrent` flag (exactly one row at a time) and an optional `revokedAt`.
### Rotate the current key
Set `SIGNING_KEY_ROTATION_DAYS` to opt in: a daily cron then issues a new current key once the existing one is older than that threshold. Previous keys are *not* revoked, so tokens signed under them keep verifying. Leave the variable unset to disable auto-rotation.
<Note>Auto-rotation ships in v2.6+.</Note>
### Revoke a key (leak / emergency only)
**Settings → Admin Panel → Signing keys → Revoke** on a non-current row. Wipes the encrypted private material, sets `revokedAt`, and rejects every existing token signed under that `kid`.
## Rotate `ENCRYPTION_KEY`
<Note>The `secret-encryption:rotate` command described below ships in v2.6+.</Note>
Every encrypted value is wrapped as `enc:v2:<keyId>:<payload>`, where `<keyId>` is an 8-hex prefix derived from the raw key. Rotation is online and resumable.
1. **Generate a new key**: `openssl rand -base64 32`.
2. **Configure both keys side-by-side** in `.env`, then restart:
```ini
ENCRYPTION_KEY=NEW_VALUE
FALLBACK_ENCRYPTION_KEY=OLD_VALUE
```
New writes use the new key, existing rows still decrypt via the fallback.
3. **Re-encrypt existing rows**:
```bash
docker exec -it {server_container} yarn command:prod secret-encryption:rotate
```
The command walks six sites (`connected-account-tokens`, `application-variable`, `application-registration-variable`, `signing-key-private-keys`, `sensitive-config-storage`, `totp-secrets`). A SQL filter skips rows already on the new `<keyId>`, so the command is idempotent: interrupt and re-run as needed. Exits non-zero if any row fails — re-run to retry.
| Flag | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `-s, --site <site>` | Limit to a single site. |
| `-b, --batch-size <n>` | Rows per batch (default `200`, max `5000`). |
| `-d, --dry-run` | Decrypt + re-encrypt in memory, skip the `UPDATE`. |
4. **Drop the fallback** once `--dry-run` shows zero remaining rows: remove `FALLBACK_ENCRYPTION_KEY` and restart.
## Legacy `APP_SECRET` support
Older instances that never set `ENCRYPTION_KEY` use `APP_SECRET` as the at-rest encryption key (and as the session-cookie secret, derived from it). This path is preserved for backward compatibility but is **deprecated** — set a dedicated `ENCRYPTION_KEY` and follow the rotation procedure above to migrate off it. `APP_SECRET` itself stays in use to verify legacy HS256 access tokens.