
How to Keep API Keys Away From Your AI Coding Agent: Claude Code vs Codex vs Cursor vs Gemini CLI
A deny rule on .env stops cat but not a Python one-liner. Here are the three layers that actually keep secrets out of a coding agent's context - file rules, environment scrubbing and credential masking - and what Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and Gemini CLI give you for each, with real test runs.












