no-inherit-secrets

Rule catalog ID: R026

Targeted pattern scope

GitHub Actions workflow YAML files that call reusable workflows with jobs.<job_id>.uses.

What this rule reports

This rule reports reusable-workflow jobs that use secrets: inherit.

Why this rule exists

GitHub allows secrets: inherit to pass every secret available to the calling workflow into a directly called reusable workflow. Requiring explicitly named secrets keeps reusable-workflow integrations least-privileged and easier to review.

❌ Incorrect

jobs:
  deploy:
    uses: ./.github/workflows/deploy.yml
    secrets: inherit

✅ Correct

jobs:
  deploy:
    uses: ./.github/workflows/deploy.yml
    secrets:
      token: ${{ secrets.DEPLOY_TOKEN }}

Additional examples

For larger repositories, this rule is often enabled together with one of the published presets so violations are caught in pull requests before workflow changes are merged.

ESLint flat config example

import githubActions from "eslint-plugin-github-actions-2";

export default [
  {
    files: ["**/*.{yml,yaml}"],
    plugins: {
      "github-actions": githubActions,
    },
    rules: {
      "github-actions/no-inherit-secrets": "error",
    },
  },
];

When not to use it

You can disable this rule when its policy does not match your repository standards, or when equivalent enforcement is already handled by another policy tool.

Targeted pattern scope​

What this rule reports​

Why this rule exists​

❌ Incorrect​

✅ Correct​

Additional examples​

ESLint flat config example​

When not to use it​

Further reading​