Vibe Coding Survival Guide – Secrets & Git Basics for Cursor-First Builders
Why Secrets Matter (The $500 tweet)
How it Started
How it's Going
Publishing an OpenAI key to a public repo is the software equivalent of tweeting your Amex and CVV, or strolling down Times Square throwing your credit cards at strangers' faces.
Attackers can crank out four‑figure bills (or worse, wipe data) before you notice the email from Stripe.
I've spent 13+ years securing apps at companies like Cloudflare and Pinecone. Connect on LinkedIn. Trust me: leaking secrets hurts worse than forgetting to save your game.
The New Coder's Trap
Building with AI feels like you've hacked the system... until you:
- Get banned from API providers for policy violations
- Wake up to $500 charges from leaked keys
- Realize your "private" repo was public all along
This happens because:
Cursor, Windsurf and Claude Code are still tools designed for professional developers, which assume you know things like:
- How to safely manage secrets in production (and that you SHOULD be using DIFFERENT secrets for local development and production!)
- How Git history really works
- That API keys = credit cards
What actually counts as a secret?
🚨 Always Keep Private:
OPENAI_API_KEYDATABASE_URL(e.g.,postgres://user:password@...)AWS_ACCESS_KEY_IDJWT_SECRET
If it looks like a password or unlocks paid access, it's a secret.
Git = Save Game, Explained 💾
Imagine your project is a video-game world:
| Game vibe | Git concept |
|---|---|
| Save slot | Commit: Freeze the game exactly as it is. |
| New level / side-quest | Branch: Spin up an alternate timeline safely. |
| Cloud save | Remote (GitHub): Stores your code online for sharing. |
Beginner loop (shortened)
git init
git add . && git commit -m "save"
git push -u origin main
Need to try something wild?
git checkout -b shiny-idea
# …hack away…
git switch main && git merge shiny-idea
Lost in the woods?
⚠️ CAUTION: This command will undo your current uncommitted work! Use only if all else fails.
git reset --hard HEAD~1
Git in Action:
- You break your app while adding a new feature.
- Panic? No! Run
git reset --hard HEAD~1to revert to your last save. - Try again on a new branch:
git checkout -b retry-feature.
🔒 Premium Only: Get zero-bullshit, highly-visual and easy-to-understand explanations. Only what you need to know so you can get back to building.
3. Secrets & Environment Variables — Baby Steps 🍼
Secret = Your code's credit card number. Leak it, pay for it.
Branch = A sandbox for experiments. No branch? Bugs go live.
Environment variable (.env) → a locked drawer your code can peek into at runtime so secrets don't sit in code.
Think of .env as hiding your house key under a rock outside the door. Your code knows which rock to lift; strangers do not.
Quick checklist:
- 🚫 Never paste a secret directly into .js or .ts files.
- 📁 Keep your .env file out of Git so it never lands on GitHub.
- 🧑💻 Load the variable in code with
process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY(Node) or framework helpers.
💡 Try This (Free):
Run git add . && git commit -m "test" to save your code.
🔒 Premium Only: Watch the screencast and get the exact commands to set up a tool that makes it impossible to leak your secrets via git!
🎥 What's in Premium?
- Screencasts: In addition to the exact commands, you can watch me perform all the setup tasks in Cursor
- Cursor Rules: I've created custom Cursor Rules files that protect you and teach you as you work.
- Make it impossible to leak secrets: I show you exactly how, and give you the commands, to set up a world-class tool that makes it impossible for you to leak secrets via Git.
Premium unlocks screencasts, exact commands, tools that auto-block leaks before they happen, and custom Cursor Rules to help you learn and protect you as you vibe code.
