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Rotation Reminders

Rotation Reminders track when each secret in your .env file was last changed and alert you when secrets have gone too long without rotation.

How Rotation is Tracked​

Every time you add or edit a variable through ENV Manager Pro, the extension records a timestamp for that key. This data is stored locally in VS Code's extension state (globalState) — no cloud sync required, no external service.

The tracked data looks like:

{
  "/workspace/.env": {
    "JWT_SECRET": 1718000000000,
    "DATABASE_URL": 1718100000000
  }
}

Checking Rotation​

Click 🔔 Check Rotation in the Pro Tools panel, or run ENV Manager Pro: Check Secret Rotation.

A report opens showing each tracked variable and how long ago it was last changed:

Rotation Report — .env
======================
⚠️  JWT_SECRET      Last changed: 95 days ago  (threshold: 90 days)
✅  DATABASE_URL    Last changed: 3 days ago
❌  API_KEY         Never tracked (add/edit to start tracking)

Rotation Threshold​

The default threshold is 90 days. Change it in VS Code Settings:

"envManagerPro.rotationDays": 60

Marking a Secret as Rotated​

Right-click any variable in the Variables panel and choose Mark as Rotated. This updates the timestamp to now without changing the value — useful when you rotate a secret externally (e.g. in your cloud provider's console) and want to reset the clock.

When Tracking Starts​

Tracking begins the first time you add or edit a variable through the extension UI. Variables that existed before you installed the extension and have never been edited show as "Never tracked" in the report.

To start tracking them, edit them once (even just re-entering the same value) to record a timestamp.

Slack Alerts​

You can send a rotation alert to a Slack channel via ENV Manager Pro: Send Slack Rotation Alert. Configure a Slack Incoming Webhook URL and the extension posts a summary of stale secrets to your channel.