How to Grade Your GitHub Repo's Security Before Someone Else Does

How to Grade Your GitHub Repo's Security Before Someone Else Does Most developers think security reviews are something you do before a big launch, or when you join a bigger company with a security team. The reality: if your repo is public (or even if it's private and gets leaked), the security gaps are already there. You just haven't looked. Here's a practical checklist you can run on any GitHub repo right now. 1. Secrets in Code The most common (and most embarrassing) vulnerability. # Install trufflehog pip install trufflehog # Scan your repo trufflehog git file://./your-repo --only-verified Or with gitleaks: # Install brew install gitleaks # Mac # or docker run -v $(pwd):/path zricethezav/gitleaks:latest detect --source /path # Run gitleaks detect --source . What you're looking for: API keys committed in .env files AWS/GCP credentials in config files Database passwords in hardcoded strings Fix: Add to .gitignore before it's a problem. # .gitignore essentials .env .env.local *.pem *_r