# Credentials

Stored API keys and OAuth logins for each app, kept out of your workflow logic.

AI developers · Part 08: n8n · Card 8 of 13 · Last updated 2026-10-13

## Analogy

Environment variables with a UI, plus someone else wrote all the OAuth refresh code.

## In an agent

Keeps OAuth and app-specific auth out of your agent code entirely.

## Questions people ask

### How does n8n store API keys and logins?

n8n keeps API keys and OAuth logins as credentials, stored separately from workflows and encrypted. Nodes reference a credential by name, so keys never appear in the workflow itself. For OAuth apps, n8n also handles refreshing tokens, which you would otherwise have to code yourself.

### Why keep app authentication in n8n instead of the agent?

It keeps the agent's code simple and safer. The agent calls an n8n webhook; n8n holds the Slack, Jira or Google credentials and handles OAuth refresh. The agent never sees those tokens, so a confused or tricked agent cannot leak them, and you can rotate keys without redeploying.

## Related concepts

- [n8n](https://studyvisually.com/learn/tech/ai-developers/n8n/n8n)
- [Trigger node](https://studyvisually.com/learn/tech/ai-developers/n8n/trigger-node)
- [Action node](https://studyvisually.com/learn/tech/ai-developers/n8n/action-node)
- [$json](https://studyvisually.com/learn/tech/ai-developers/n8n/json-item)

Web page: https://studyvisually.com/learn/tech/ai-developers/n8n/credentials
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