How to hide API keys in GitHub for iOS (SWIFT) projects?

Question

Hello I'm trying to publish a iOS (SWIFT) personal project in GitHub but I'm afraid of sharing my private API keys and secrets with everybody.

I'm using parse so I have in my AppDelegate something like this:

let applicationId = "mySecretApplicationId"
let clientKey = "mySecretClientKey"
Parse.setApplicationId(applicationId!, clientKey: clientKey!)

I would like to hide "mySecretApplicationId" and "mySecretClientKey", is there private place or directory in my project where I can put this variables?

Thanks!

Answer 1

You can use a .plist file where you store all your important keys. It is very important to put this file into your .gitignore file.

In your case, you need to set your keys.plist file like this:

And use it inside your AppDelegate as follows:

    var keys: NSDictionary?

    if let path = NSBundle.mainBundle().pathForResource("Keys", ofType: "plist") {
        keys = NSDictionary(contentsOfFile: path)
    }
    if let dict = keys {
        let applicationId = dict["parseApplicationId"] as? String
        let clientKey = dict["parseClientKey"] as? String

        // Initialize Parse.
        Parse.setApplicationId(applicationId!, clientKey: clientKey!)
    }

SWIFT 3 Update:

 if let path = Bundle.main.path(forResource: "Keys", ofType: "plist") {
        keys = NSDictionary(contentsOfFile: path)
    }

Answer 2

Put them in a configuration file that you add to the .gitignore file. Check in a sample configuration file that every developer can use to create their own configuration.