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Git Privacy Scanner
Git Privacy Scanner is a release-safety tool for checking whether a repository is actually safe to publish before pushing it into public view.
The problem
A repository can look clean in its current files while still leaking secrets, personal data, machine paths or sensitive content in ignored files and commit history.
How I approached it
- 01Scan for multiple privacy classes instead of only API-key patterns.
- 02Check repository history and local-path leakage as part of the publish decision.
- 03Make findings reviewable before release rather than silently deleting evidence.
- 04Keep the tool small enough to run as a routine pre-publication check.
03 / WHAT SHIPPED
Key features
- Secret-pattern scanning
- PII checks
- Private-file detection
- Local-path leakage detection
- Git history checks
- Pre-publish review workflow
Architecture
- Core
- Python
- Target
- Git repositories
- Checks
- Secrets · PII · paths · history
- Use
- Pre-publication gate
- Output
- Reviewable findings
- License
- MIT
What PRIVACY is built to preserve.
- Assume history matters
- Flag before deleting
- Privacy is broader than secrets
- Make public release a deliberate gate
Useful answers, without the hunt.
Is Git Privacy Scanner only a secret scanner?
No. It also targets PII, private files, machine-specific local paths and risky Git history.
When should it run?
Its intended use is before publishing or sharing a Git repository, especially when a project started as private local work.
Does a clean scan guarantee a repository is safe?
No automated scanner can guarantee that. The tool is a review aid and release gate, not a substitute for judgement on sensitive content.
