Use Github Secrets for pkgdown yaml

[kuriwaki]

Some of my package functions require a API setting a API key and I'd like to have those functions run on pkgdown, while not publicly exposing the API in my code. How do I enter a Github Secrets to my yaml?

I need to set the variable in R:

Sys.setenv(CENSUS_API_KEY = "ggrwewtw121312") # fake key

and suppose I have set a secret in on my Github, titled CENSUS_API_KEY.

Then in my pkgdown yaml I currently tried

      - name: Add CENSUS API KEY
        run: |
          Sys.setenv(CENSUS_API_KEY = {{ $secrets.CENSUS_API_KEY }})
        shell: Rscript {0}

but that won't work because the {{$ }} notation I guess cannot be used in R code. What is the right syntax?

[Zoe_Turner]

I've not used the secrets in GitHub but I have used the pins package for the API_KEY (to an R Studio Connect server) https://pins.rstudio.com/ I was following what others in my team set up but seemed really secure in that the API key is only located on my computer and not in any script.

[kuriwaki]

pins looks very useful, thank you.

For this specific application, I tried to edit the yaml more directly. I figured it out as follows. First, write the variable into the server's .Renviron file with Shell. Then it will be available in any R script of the repo, through Sys.getenv()

In the yaml:

  - name: "[Custom block] Add CENSUS API KEY"
    run: echo "CENSUS_API_KEY = '${{ secrets.CENSUS_API_KEY }}'" >> .Renviron

where CENSUS_API_KEY is a Github Secrets I added separately.
Then call in the R script, e.g.

 tidycensus::census_api_key(Sys.getenv("CENSUS_API_KEY"))

(repo: https://github.com/kuriwaki/ccesMRPprep)