1Password CLI -- Secure Access Patterns

Resolving Credentials from Private Links

When a credential is needed, ask the user for the item's private link (copied from 1Password: right-click item > "Copy Private Link") and the field name(s) to read.

A private link has the format:

https://start.1password.com/open/i?a=<ACCOUNT>&v=<VAULT>&i=<ITEM>&h=<DOMAIN>

Extract the URL parameters to construct the op read command:

The h parameter (account domain) is informational only -- use a for --account.

The resulting command:

op read --account <a> -n "op://<v>/<i>/<field>"

Example -- given link https://start.1password.com/open/i?a=ABC123&v=xyz789&i=item456&h=acme.1password.com and field password:

op read --account ABC123 -n "op://xyz789/item456/password"

Security Rules (mandatory, no exceptions)

1. Never echo, print, log, or assign a secret to a variable that appears in command output visible to Claude.
2. Never use op read in a command substitution that Claude can observe (e.g., echo $(op read ...)).
3. Never store secrets in environment variables set before a Bash tool call.
4. Never include secrets in conversation text, commit messages, file contents, or logs.
5. If op read fails, report the error category (auth, missing item, missing field) without reproducing raw output that could contain sensitive references.

Secure Patterns

Pattern 1: Pipe directly into a consuming command

Secret never touches a visible variable or stdout.

op read --account ACCT_ID -n "op://VAULT/ITEM/field" | some-command --token-stdin

Pattern 2: Inline subshell with output suppression

Acceptable when the consuming command does not echo its arguments and output is controlled.

curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $(op read --account ACCT_ID -n 'op://VAULT/ITEM/field')" \
  https://api.example.com/endpoint

The outer command must not echo the expanded value. Use -s (silent) and -o /dev/null or redirect stdout.

Pattern 3: Wrapper script

Wrap the entire operation in a script that reads secrets, uses them, and outputs only non-secret results.

Anti-Patterns (never do these)

# WRONG: secret captured in variable and echoed
TOKEN=$(op read --account ACCT_ID -n "op://VAULT/ITEM/field")
echo "$TOKEN"

# WRONG: op read output displayed directly
op read --account ACCT_ID "op://VAULT/ITEM/field"

# WRONG: secret passed as visible argument
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $VISIBLE_SECRET" ...

Setting Up New Skills That Need Secrets

When creating or modifying a skill/script that requires credentials from 1Password, always ask the user for:

1. The private link to the 1Password item (contains account, vault, and item IDs).
2. The field name(s) to read (e.g., password, api-key, token).

Never guess or assume credential locations. Parse the private link to construct the op:// reference as documented above.

Error Handling

When op read fails (exit code != 0), diagnose by category:

• "could not get item": item or vault UUID is wrong
• "does not have a field": field name is wrong
• Authentication-related: user needs to run eval $(op signin --account <ACCT_ID>)

Report the failure category. Do not reproduce the full error message verbatim.