Your AWS Credentials Are Still on GitHub Even After You Delete Them I thought deleting the file was enough. I was wrong. Here’s what actually happens. The Mistake That Haunts Developers You’re …

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Deleting credentials from a file and pushing to GitHub does NOT remove them from git history — every previous commit remains accessible. Automated bots scan public repos within seconds of a push, meaning exposed credentials can be exploited almost instantly. The post explains how git history works, demonstrates how easy it is to retrieve deleted credentials, and provides four prevention/remediation strategies: using .gitignore, environment variables (with python-dotenv), the git-secrets pre-commit hook to block credential commits, and AWS IAM Roles to eliminate access keys entirely. For already-exposed credentials, it covers rewriting history with git filter-branch or BFG Repo Cleaner, enabling GitHub secret scanning, rotating keys, and checking AWS CloudTrail for unauthorized usage.

Your AWS Credentials Are Still on GitHub Even After You Delete Them

The Right Way — Prevent It Before It Happens

Solution 3 — git-secrets Pre-Commit Hook

Solution 4 — Use AWS IAM Roles Instead of Access Keys