Detects leaked secrets (API keys, tokens, private keys) in source code.

How do I install Trestle?

Clone Trestle from https://github.com/toro-guapo/trestle and configure it as an MCP server in your client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, or VS Code).

Is Trestle open source?

Yes, Trestle is open source under the Apache-2.0 license. Source code is available at https://github.com/toro-guapo/trestle.

What category does Trestle belong to?

Trestle is listed under Security & Auth MCP servers on MCPFind.

Trestle — MCP Server for Security & Auth

A local secret scanner for source code. Trestle finds API keys, access tokens, passwords, private keys, and certificates before commiting them by mistake, and keeps them from leaving your machine.

This is the Community edition. Open source under Apache-2.0, and a mirror of the version distributed at trestlescan.com.

What Trestle does

Detection. Hundreds of credential patterns from real services (OpenAI, Anthropic, Stripe, AWS, GitHub, Google, Slack, Sentry, and more), plus unfamiliar keys spotted by entropy, variable names, and surrounding code.
Code-aware. Trestle parses your files instead of running plain regular expressions, so it can tell an environment variable from a build argument, a header, a parameter, or a constant in source.
Runs everywhere you work. Command line scanner, file watcher, pre-commit hook, language server for LSP-aware editors (Neovim, Helix, Zed, JetBrains), MCP server for AI assistants (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Codex), and a native VS Code extension.
Local only. Runs entirely on your machine. No network, no telemetry, no account, no signup.
One static binary. No runtime to install, multi-threaded, and honors .gitignore and your own skip rules.

Building from source

A recent stable Rust toolchain is the only prerequisite.

cargo build --release

This builds two binaries: trestle, which does not make network requests, and trestle-net, which can check whether found secrets are still live.

Quick start

In any project directory:

trestle install  # adds a pre-commit hook and AI instructions
trestle scan     # scans the current directory

Other commands:

trestle watch keeps scanning as files change.
trestle lsp starts the language server.
trestle mcp starts the MCP server.
trestle uninstall removes the integration from a project.

Checking whether a secret is live

The default trestle binary does not make network requests. The separate trestle-net binary adds an optional check that contacts each detected secret's provider to confirm whether the credential is still valid:

trestle-net scan --validate

Each finding is then labeled (active), (inactive), or (could not verify). This check runs only in trestle-net, so the trestle binary remains fully offline.

The full documentation is available at trestlescan.com/documentation.

GitHub Action

Use the official GitHub Action to scan every push and pull request:

name: Secret scan

on:
  push:
  pull_request:

jobs:
  trestle:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: toro-guapo/trestle-action@v1

See toro-guapo/trestle-action for inputs, outputs, SARIF upload to the GitHub Security tab, and supported runners.

Community and Pro

Trestle is open core.

Community (this repository) handles detection. Every finding is reported with its location and the rule that flagged it. Apache-2.0 licensed.
Pro adds remediation guidance: for each finding, the steps to remove the secret from source, what to keep in your local .env, and per-platform rotation guides for AWS, GitHub Actions, Vercel, Netlify, Kubernetes, Doppler, and other targets. Distributed under a commercial license.

Pro is available at trestlescan.com.

About this repository

This is a read-only mirror, refreshed on every Community release. Development happens in a private repository.

Issues and discussion are welcome on GitHub. Pull requests are not accepted through this mirror. If you have a fix or an idea, please open an issue.

License

Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE.

Set up in your AI client

AI clientOperating system

Merge this template into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Keep existing servers. Add any arguments, credentials, and permissions required by the maintainer; this template has not been install-tested.

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "com-trestlescan-trestle": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@trestlescan/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect. Confirm the server appears connected in the client’s tool list, then try a read-only example from its documentation.

Claude Desktop setup reference

Compatible MCP Clients

Trestle works with any MCP-compatible client. Copy the config snippet from the Configuration section above and add it to the file shown for your client, then restart the application.

Claude Desktop~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.jsonRestart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect.

Cursor~/.cursor/mcp.jsonRestart Cursor for changes to take effect.

VS Code.vscode/mcp.jsonReload VS Code window for changes to take effect.

Windsurf~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.jsonRestart Windsurf for changes to take effect.

Claude Code.mcp.jsonSave at the project root, then start Claude Code in that project and review the MCP server approval prompt. Keep real credentials out of shared files.

Trestle