> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.luumen.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Managing credentials

> Add, test, edit, and delete the credentials Luumen uses to connect to your hosts — and control whether they're personal or shared with your workspace.

**Credentials** store the authentication details — usernames, passwords, and private keys — used to connect to your hosts. Credentials are encrypted and securely stored in Luumen's cloud infrastructure. For details on how they're protected, see [Credential security](/security/credential-security).

## Open the Credentials widget

To manage credentials, click the **hamburger menu** in the top left of the tab and select **Credentials**.

The Credentials widget lists every credential you have access to in the current workspace, along with its username, masked password or key, the number of hosts using it, and the last updated date.

## Personal vs. workspace credentials

Every credential has a **scope** that determines who can see and use it:

* **Personal** — visible only to you. Use this scope for credentials tied to your individual access, like a personal SSH key.
* **Workspace** — visible to every member of the workspace. Use this scope for credentials your team needs to share, like a service account or a shared admin user.

When a credential is scoped to a workspace, anyone with access to that workspace can attach it to a host and use it to connect. This makes onboarding new teammates faster and keeps shared service accounts in one place.

<Note>
  Workspace-scoped credentials are available on Team and Enterprise plans. On the Free and Pro plans, all credentials are Personal. See [pricing details](https://luumen.ai/pricing).
</Note>

## Add a credential

You can add a credential two ways:

* From the Credentials widget, by clicking **Add credential**.
* Inline while adding a host, by selecting **Add new credentials** in the credentials step.

Both paths open the same dialog. Fill in the following fields:

1. **Name** — a label that identifies this credential, for example `prod-ssh-admin` or `db-backup-prod`. The name is shown when assigning credentials to hosts.
2. **Scope** — choose **Personal** or **Workspace**.
3. **Username** — the user account on the target host, for example `admin` or `ec2-user`.
4. **Authentication** — choose **Password** or **Private Key**:
   * **Password** — enter the password.
   * **Private Key** — paste the private key, or upload a key file from your computer.

Click **Save** to store the credential.

## Test a credential

Before assigning a credential to a host, you can verify it works:

1. In the Credentials widget, click a credential to open its details.
2. Click **Test**.

Luumen attempts to authenticate using the credential and reports whether the test succeeded. Testing is useful when rotating keys, troubleshooting failed connections, or confirming a service account is still valid.

## Edit a credential

1. In the Credentials widget, click a credential to open its details.
2. Click **Edit**.
3. Update the fields you want to change.
4. Click **Save**.

<Warning>
  Editing a credential updates it for every host that uses it. If you only want to change the credential for one host, create a new credential and reassign that host instead.
</Warning>

## Delete a credential

1. In the Credentials widget, click a credential to open its details.
2. Click **Delete**.

If the credential is not assigned to any hosts, Luumen prompts you to confirm and then deletes it.

If the credential is assigned to one or more hosts, Luumen blocks the deletion and shows the list of hosts that depend on it. You must reassign each of those hosts to a different credential before you can delete the original. This prevents accidentally breaking active connections.

### See which hosts use a credential

The credentials list shows a count of hosts using each credential. You can also see assigned hosts in the credential details panel.

## Next steps

* [Set up SSH keys](/guides/set-up-ssh-keys) for secure authentication.
* [Connect to your first host](/get-started/first-ssh-connection) and assign a credential to it.
* Learn [how Luumen keeps your credentials secure](/security/credential-security).