gitleaks

gitleaks is a fine-tuning toolkit - Find secrets with Gitleaks 🔑.

Overview

[license]: ./LICENSE [badge-license]: https://img.shields.io/github/license/gitleaks/gitleaks.svg [go-docs-badge]: https://pkg.go.dev/badge/github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks/v8?status [go-docs]: https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/zricethezav/gitleaks/v8 [badge-build]: https://github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks/actions/workflows/test.yml/badge.svg [build]: https://github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks/actions/workflows/test.yml [go-report-card-badge]: https://goreportcard.com/badge/github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks/v8 [go-report-card]: https://goreportcard.com/report/github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks/v8 [dockerhub]: https://hub.docker.com/r/zricethezav/gitleaks [dockerhub-badge]: https://img.shields.io/docker/pulls/zricethezav/gitleaks.svg [gitleaks-action]: https://github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks-action [gitleaks-badge]: https://img.shields.io/badge/protected%20by-gitleaks-blue

[![GitHub Action Test][badge-build]][build] [![Docker Hub][dockerhub-badge]][dockerhub] [![Gitleaks Action][gitleaks-badge]][gitleaks-action] [![GoDoc][go-docs-badge]][go-docs] [![GoReportCard][go-report-card-badge]][go-report-card] [![License][badge-license]][license]

Gitleaks is a tool for detecting secrets like passwords, API keys, and tokens in git repos, files, and whatever else you wanna throw at it via 'stdin'. If you wanna learn more about how the detection engine works check out this blog: Regex is (almost) all you need.

Gitleaks can be installed using Homebrew, Docker, or Go. Gitleaks is also available in binary form for many popular platforms and OS types on the releases page. In addition, Gitleaks can be implemented as a pre-commit hook directly in your repo or as a GitHub action using Gitleaks-Action.

1. Install pre-commit from https://pre-commit.com/#install 2. Create a '.pre-commit-config.yaml' file at the root of your repository with the following content:

2. Auto-update the config to the latest repos' versions by executing 'pre-commit autoupdate' 4. Install with 'pre-commit install' 5. Now you're all set!

⚠️ v8.19.0 introduced a change that deprecated 'detect' and 'protect'. Those commands are still available but are hidden in the '--help' menu. Take a look at this gist for easy command translations. If you find v8.19.0 broke an existing command ('detect'/'protect'), please open an issue.

gitleaks is open-source, written primarily in Go, with 27,587 GitHub stars under the MIT license. The latest release is v8.30.1 (2026-03-21).

Key capabilities

From the project's documentation:

• withinLines: N - required findings must be within N lines (vertically)
• withinColumns: N - required findings must be within N characters (horizontally)
• Both - creates a rectangular search area (both constraints must be satisfied)
• Neither - fragment-level matching (required findings can be anywhere in the same fragment)
• The location points the bounds of the encoded text
• If the rule matches outside the encoded text, the bounds are adjusted to

Install

A quick way to get started (always check the official docs for the latest):

brew install gitleaks

How it fits a local-AI stack

gitleaks runs on your own hardware, so pair it with a model and a GPU sized to your needs. Use the VRAM calculator to pick a model that fits your card, and see what you can run for hardware guidance. Related fine-tuning toolkits in the directory:

• Axolotl
• LitGPT
• LLaMA-Factory
• Torchtune

Sources

• Source code & docs: gitleaks/gitleaks
• Official website: https://gitleaks.io

Stats from GitHub, 2026-06-08.