Let’s face it — everyone loses sleep over accidentally pushing an API key to GitHub.
If you’ve ever had one freak-out moment where you realize you just committed your shiny new OpenAI key, you’re not alone. But 2025 brought some MASSIVE upgrades to GitHub’s secret scanning game and this is good news for all us devs who want to code without living in fear.
GitHub Secret Scanning Now Catches More Stuff By Default
Every month, new SaaS providers pop up and we get new secret/token formats. Now, in October 2025, GitHub expanded its secret scanning detection list to include more token types than ever: things like Aikido, Google Gemini, DeepSeek, ZenHub, and about 20 more made the cut.
Even classics like Stripe and Slack are covered with push protection. That means, as you type git push, GitHub is watching—and will block you instantly if it spots a secret pattern.
It’s kind of like having a superhero sidekick who yells “NOOOO!” before you do something silly.
Enterprise Gets Token “Validity” Checks
Running GitHub Enterprise? You now get automatic “validity checks” — so when a secret gets detected, GitHub tries to check if it’s still live. Your org admins get notified before damage is done.
SSLMate and Typeform tokens were added to the supported list this year.
If you want this for GitHub Enterprise Server, it’s coming soon too!
Define Your Own Secret Patterns!
Not everything is a GitHub, AWS, or OpenAI key, right? Sometimes your company has weird proprietary tokens. In August 2025, GitHub finally let organizations and enterprises customize which secret patterns get flagged even from the REST API or the web UI. That means you can protect anything, not just standard cloud keys. Plus, all your changes get audit logged for accountability. No more “I swear I didn’t change that” workplace drama.
Automate Protection With New API Endpoints
Want to do all this at scale, across hundreds of repos? You now get REST endpoints for push protection.
So yes, you can script updates to every security policy in the company and never touch the UI. Boss move.
Copilot Does Secret Scanning With AI
This month AI helps you out even more! Copilot can spot not just known patterns, but generic secrets (like “super-secret=…”) and generate regex for your custom rules. Even your bad decisions have a better chance of being caught.
TL;DR: GitHub Is Your API Key Lifeguard Now
These updates mean you’re a LOT less likely to wake up to a “your account was compromised” email after a late-night hack session.
- Push protection is more powerful than ever.
- More secrets get detected before hitting remote.
- You can bring your own weird patterns.
- Enterprise can audit everything, and automate updates.
- Copilot uses AI to catch dumb accidents.
And yes, if you still manage to commit a live OpenAI key, GitHub+OpenAI will zap it FAST. Password reset emails > invoice emails, am I right?
So relax, drink your coffee, and let GitHub be your friendly secret bodyguard in 2025!
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