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Credentials Management

The Credentials section (/creds) under Inventory provides a secure authentication vault for storing, organizing, and linking administrative access profiles (passwords and SSH keys) to servers, network devices, applications, and automation tasks across PixelView.

To access stored credentials and authentication profiles:

  • In the left navigation sidebar under Inventory, click Credentials:

Credentials Overview Table

Credentials Table Overview

The main table lists all active and stored credential profiles with 60-second background polling for real-time synchronization:

Column Description
ID/Name Display profile name (e.g., 159.135.206.19, ha-hosts-creds, testCreds) with a blue lock icon and copyable UUID chip.
Username Administrative login user account (e.g., root, hemant, admin@localhost).
Description Operational context or target environment label (e.g., N/A, datacenter cluster).
Created At Timestamp marking when the credential entry was first registered (YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss).
Updated At Timestamp tracking the most recent modification to the credential.
Actions Context action menu (...) for editing or deleting credential profiles.

Table Toolbar Controls

The top-right toolbar provides dynamic Material React Table controls: * Search / Global Filter: Real-time filtering across all credential records. * Column Filters: Filter records by specific field values. * Show/Hide Columns: Toggle visibility of individual table columns. * Density Toggle: Switch between compact and expanded row padding. * Refresh: Instantly fetch the latest credential definitions. * Add Credential (+): Launch the credential creation dialog.

Creating Credentials

To register a new authentication profile:

  • Click the orange + (Add Credential) button on the table toolbar:

Add Credential Toolbar Button

  • The Create Credential dialog will open:

Create Credential Dialog

Configuration Fields

  • Display Name (Required): A friendly, recognizable identifier for the credential profile (e.g., ha-hosts-creds, production-bastion).
  • Username (Required): The remote system login user account (e.g., root, admin@localhost).
  • Authentication Methods:
    • Password: Plaintext or masked password for password-based SSH/API authentication.
    • Public Key: The OpenSSH public key string (e.g., ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3... or ssh-rsa AAAAB3...).
    • Private Key: The matching OpenSSH or RSA private key block for key-based authentication.

Important

At least one valid authentication secret (Password or Private Key) must be provided when creating a credential profile.

  • Click CREATE CREDENTIAL to securely store the profile in the vault.

Inspecting & Selecting Credentials

  • Select any credential row in the table to review its attributes and quick-copy the unique UUID:

Selecting Credential Row

  • Click the Copy UUID icon beside the credential name to copy the system identifier for use in API calls, automation workflows, or backend integrations.

Editing Credentials

To update an existing credential profile or rotate secrets:

  • Click the context action menu (...) in the Actions column of the target credential:

Credential Context Actions Menu

  • Select Edit from the menu. The Edit Credential dialog will appear:

Edit Credential Dialog

Security and Secret Rotation Rules

  • Username: Update the associated username if required.
  • Secret Fields (Password & Private Key): For security reasons, existing passwords and private keys are never pre-populated or exposed in the UI.
    • Leave these fields blank to retain the current active password or private key.
    • Enter new values only when rotating or replacing secrets.
  • Public Key: Displays the configured public key string for inspection and editing.
  • Click UPDATE CREDENTIAL to save changes.

Automation & Patch Management Integration

Stored credential profiles provide the seamless authentication layer connecting PixelView execution runners to remote target hosts:

  • Automated Runner Execution: When an Ansible playbook or patching workflow executes against a target host, runner daemons retrieve the bound SSH keypair or password directly from the encrypted credential vault.
  • Non-Interactive Sudo Escalation: If the automation task requires administrative privileges, the credential profile supplies the necessary elevation secrets without requiring operator intervention.
  • Key Management Standards:
    • Modern Linux Environments: Standardize on ed25519 keypairs (ssh-keygen -t ed25519) for superior cryptographic performance, smaller key sizes, and enhanced security.
    • Legacy Host Compatibility: Standardize on RSA 4096-bit keypairs for older enterprise distributions that lack OpenSSH 6.5+ ed25519 support.
  • Non-Disruptive Secret Rotation: Operators can rotate SSH keys or passwords on remote fleets and update the corresponding credential profile in PixelView without needing to re-create scheduled patch plans or automation workflows.

Deleting Credentials

  • In the Actions context menu (...), select Delete Credential.
  • Confirm the prompt to permanently delete the profile from the system vault.

Warning

Ensure the credential is not actively attached to critical production servers, network devices, or scheduled automation playbooks before deleting.