# How does Provely keep credentials apart?

> The agent holds the action credentials. Provely holds read-only verifier credentials. No surface mixes them or returns a credential to an agent.

Canonical: https://provely.sh/docs/security  
Last reviewed: 2026-09-05  

**The agent holds the credentials that write. Provely holds separate credentials that read, where the provider permits a read-only key. No surface gives an agent the verifier credentials, and no surface returns a provider secret.**

| Rule | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| Separate credentials | The agent writes with its key. The verifier reads with a restricted key that you store through `POST /v1/connections`. |
| Encrypted at rest | A stored provider credential is encrypted. The configuration never logs it. |
| Redacted telemetry | A provider response is redacted before it reaches a log or a span. |
| Short retention | Raw provider evidence is optional, encrypted, and kept for a short time. A receipt holds a digest, not a payload. |
| Signed webhooks | The runtime validates every event signature and drops a duplicate event. The contract reconciles a replay and a late arrival by the provider clock, not by arrival order. |
| The agent is untrusted | An agent report is evidence level E0. It can never support VERIFIED. |

## How does an agent authenticate?

- An API key `pv_...` in the `Authorization` header, hashed at rest under a server pepper, with scopes, an expiry, and rotation.
- Or an OAuth access token from the pinned issuer, with the scope checked on each call.
- The MCP server reads the bearer token inside each tool handler. No tool takes an API key as an argument.
- The CLI reads the key from its configuration file or the environment. There is no `--api-key` flag.

> A receipt that verifies against a key embedded in the receipt proves nothing. The validator needs a trusted key map that you control. Read [what a receipt proves](/receipts).

### Can Provely act on my provider account?

No. The runtime never performs the action. It reads. Where a provider offers a restricted read-only key, use one.

### What reaches your servers?

The operation, the contract id, the correlation keys, and the observations the contract needs.

## Read next

- [Read what a receipt proves](https://provely.sh/receipts)
- [Read the API reference](https://provely.sh/docs/api)
- [See every agent integration](https://provely.sh/agents)