This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them

Period

–Visits

–Page views

–Clicks to vendors

–Time on page

–Reading now

Clicks to vendors, by tool

Top countries

Devices

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

git-secrets

Free#19 of 24 in Secrets Scanning Software

git-secrets: A focused, free Git-hook tool for stopping secrets before they enter repositories. Ranked #19 of 24 in Secrets Scanning Software by our editors (7.4/10); pricing: Open source; best for simple free Git hook protection.

7.4/10Editor score

Visit git-secrets

git-secrets7.4 Visit git-secrets

At a glance

Editor score
7.4 / 10
Pricing
Open source
Best for
Simple free Git hook protection
Paid from
Free
CI/CD scanning
No
Facts checked
22 Sep 2026

Where it wins
- Scans files, commits, messages, and complete repository history
- Installs pre-commit, commit-message, and merge hooks
- Supports custom rules, allowlists, AWS patterns, and external providers
Where it doesn't
- Protection centers on Git repositories and local command-line workflows
- Integrations are limited to Git, AWS credentials files, and Homebrew
- No AI-assisted scanning is part of the product's feature set

Our verdict on git-secrets

git-secrets is an open-source command-line tool for developers and teams that want local, repository-level protection against accidentally committing credentials and other sensitive values. It scans files, commits, commit messages, and complete repository history for configured prohibited patterns. Git hooks can reject matching commits, while the tool also supports merge hooks and push protection. Linux, macOS, and Windows are supported, with Homebrew available as an integration and installation path.

Its strongest capability is coverage across the Git workflow. Common AWS credential patterns can be registered, and teams can add their own prohibited regular expressions for project-specific secrets. Allowed patterns provide a way to filter false positives, while external secret providers extend how matching values can be handled. This gives teams useful control without changing the product's focused role as a local Git scanner and hook manager.

The product is free and open source, which suits developers who need straightforward preventative controls without a hosted service. Its boundaries matter: the supported version-control system is Git, and the published ecosystem centers on Git, AWS credentials files, and Homebrew. Teams looking for repository-level Git protection, custom rules, and history scanning should consider git-secrets. Organizations seeking broader platform coverage, centralized hosted management, or AI-assisted scanning should choose a product designed around those requirements instead.

Your product? Our editors can test git-secrets in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →

git-secrets pricing

Plans Open sourceFree Free to use — no paid tier required for the core job.

See plans on github.com

git-secrets fact sheet

Free plan	Not verified
Paid from	Free
Supported VCS	Git
CI/CD scanning	No
Pre-commit scanning	Yes
Pull-request scanning	No
Push protection	No
Custom detection rules	Yes
Repository limit	Not verified
Deployment	Self-hosted
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate)
Pricing	Open source
Website	github.com
Facts checked	22 Sep 2026

Alternatives to git-secrets

See all git-secrets alternatives →

Used git-secrets? Be the first to review it

The editor score above is our own research. What this page doesn't have yet is a reader's view — what you used git-secrets for, what worked and what didn't. No stars are seeded and no review is paid for; an editor reads every one before it appears.

Write a reviewTwo minutes · verified accounts only · read by an editor before it appears

Reviews come only from verified accounts. Sign in or create an account first — your e-mail is never shown.

Title

Your review

0 characters · at least 80, up to 3,000

Pros (optional · one per line)

Cons (optional · one per line)

Your name (shown with your review)

Role (optional)

Company (optional)

How long have you used it?

I've used git-secrets myself and this is my honest opinion — nobody paid or asked me to write it.

Posted from your verified account. Reviews appear after an editor reads them, usually within two working days.

Featured on iTechGuides

git-secrets is listed in our Secrets Scanning Software directory. Add the badge to your site — it links back to this page.

<a href="https://www.itechguides.com/products/git-secrets/"><img src="https://www.itechguides.com/best/badge/git-secrets.svg" alt="Featured on iTechGuides" width="230" height="46"></a>

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Last updated 7 Oct 2026 · How we research and update