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What is Droid Shield?

Droid Shield is a built-in security feature that automatically scans un-committed changes for potential secrets before committing and pushing them to remote. It acts as a safety net to prevent accidental exposure of sensitive credentials like API keys, tokens, and passwords in your version control history.
Looking for advanced protection? Droid Shield Plus provides AI-powered security scanning with prompt injection detection, enhanced secrets detection, and sensitive data protection. Available for enterprise customers.

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How Droid Shield Works

When you use Droid to perform git commit or git push operations, Droid Shield automatically:
  1. Scans the diff - Analyzes only the lines being added (not removed or unchanged)
  2. Detects secrets - Uses pattern matching to identify potential credentials
  3. Blocks execution - Stops the git operation if secrets are detected
  4. Reports findings - Shows exactly where potential secrets were found
Droid Shield only scans git operations performed through Droid. Manual git commands run outside of Droid are not affected.

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What Droid Shield Detects

Droid Shield scans for a wide range of credential patterns, including:

API Keys & Tokens

Factory API keys, GitHub tokens, GitLab tokens, npm tokens, and API keys from (e.g. AWS, Google Cloud, Stripe, SendGrid) and more.

Authentication Credentials

(e.g. JWT, OAuth, session tokens), and URLs with embedded credentials.

Private Keys

(e.g. SSH private keys, PGP keys, age secret keys, OpenSSH keys), and other cryptographic key formats.

Service-Specific Secrets

(e.g. Slack webhooks and tokens, Twilio credentials, Mailchimp keys, Square OAuth secrets, Azure storage keys).

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Detection Algorithm

Droid Shield uses smart pattern matching with randomness validation:
  • Pattern matching - Identifies credentials by format
  • Randomness check - Validates that captured values look like actual secrets
  • Context awareness - Considers variable names and assignment patterns to reduce false positives

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Droid Shield 2.0: Learned Secret Detection

Droid Shield 2.0 augments the deterministic scanner with two fine-tuned classification models that add a semantic layer on top of pattern-based detection. Every commit and push still passes through the deterministic scanner first; the models then classify specific contexts the scanner flagged or missed.
Droid Shield 2.0 is in research preview. To enable it for your organization, contact us.

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The Two Classification Models

The models sit on opposite sides of the deterministic scanner and are optimized for distinct failure modes:

Risk model

Runs on changed lines the deterministic scanner did not fire on, but that still look secret-bearing based on surrounding context. Optimized for recall to catch real secrets the pattern set would miss. Produces a warning when it flags a possible missed secret.

Downgrade model

Runs on lines where the scanner did fire. It reviews the surrounding context with the detected secret masked out, and decides whether the scanner hit is a true positive (keep blocking) or a false alarm (downgrade to a warning).

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When Droid Shield Activates

Droid Shield automatically activates during these git operations:
  • git commit - Scans staged changes before creating the commit
  • git push - Scans commits that would be pushed to the remote
If secrets are detected, the git operation is blocked to prevent credential exposure. You’ll need to remove the secrets before proceeding.

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Managing Droid Shield Settings

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In the CLI

You can toggle Droid Shield on or off through the settings menu:
  1. Run droid
  2. Enter /settings
  3. Toggle “Droid Shield” setting
  4. Changes take effect immediately
Droid Shield is enabled by default for your protection. We strongly recommend keeping it enabled.

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What to Do if Secrets are Detected

When Droid Shield detects potential secrets, you’ll see an error message like: 
Droid-Shield has detected potential secrets in 2 location(s) across files:
src/config.ts, .env.example

If you would like to override, you can either:
1. Perform the commit/push yourself manually
2. Disable Droid Shield by running /settings and toggling the "Droid Shield" option
1

Review the findings

Carefully examine the files and lines mentioned to identify what was detected.
2

Remove the secrets

  • Use environment variables instead of hardcoded credentials
  • Move secrets to secure credential stores
  • Add sensitive files to .gitignore
  • Use git filter-branch or BFG Repo-Cleaner if secrets were already committed
3

Retry the operation

Once secrets are removed, run the git command again through Droid.
Never disable Droid Shield just to bypass the check. Exposed credentials can lead to security breaches, unauthorized access, and compliance violations.

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If You Get a False Positive

Droid Shield uses conservative patterns to err on the side of caution. If you believe a detection is a false positive:
  1. Verify it’s not a real secret - Double-check that the value isn’t sensitive
  2. Use a manual commit - Perform the git operation yourself outside of Droid
  3. Report the pattern - Contact support@factory.ai if you encounter recurring false positives
When Droid Shield 2.0 is enabled, the downgrade model automatically reviews scanner hits and can clear obvious false alarms (placeholders, examples, test fixtures) without manual intervention.

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Best Practices

Store all secrets in environment variables or secure credential managers, never hardcode them in source files.
# Good - Using environment variable
const apiKey = process.env.FACTORY_API_KEY;

# Bad - Hardcoded secret
const apiKey = "fk-abc123xyz789...";
Droid Shield provides an essential safety layer. Keep it enabled at all times, especially in team environments.
Even with Droid Shield, manually review your changes before committing to ensure no sensitive data is included.
Make sure all team members understand how Droid Shield works and why it’s important to keep it enabled.

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Limitations

Droid Shield is a detection tool, not a guarantee. While it catches many common secret patterns, the deterministic scanner alone cannot detect:
  • Custom secret formats not in the pattern database
  • Secrets that don’t follow recognizable patterns
  • Obfuscated or encoded credentials
  • Business logic vulnerabilities or code security issues

Security Overview

Learn about Factory’s comprehensive security features and best practices.

Settings

Configure Droid settings including Droid Shield preferences.

Droid Shield 2.0 Research Post

Technical deep dive on the learned classification models, training data, and evaluation results.

Agent Safety & Controls

How Droid Shield fits into the broader enterprise safety model.

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Need Help?

Security Questions

Email our security team: security@factory.ai

False Positives

Contact support@factory.ai to report persistent false positive patterns.