← Error codes catalogue · All exit codes

Exit code 4: Missing or invalid salt

The anonymization salt could not be resolved, or the resolved value is shorter than 32 characters. Raised by SecretError / SecretResolutionError.

Common causes

• ANONYMIZATION_SALT unset or points at a missing secret.
• Resolved salt is too short.

Remediation

# Generate a strong 64-char salt and store it safely:
privaci gen-salt > .privaci-salt
chmod 600 .privaci-salt
export ANONYMIZATION_SALT=file://$(pwd)/.privaci-salt

See configuration.md (global_salt, database URLs) for aws-sm://, azure-kv://, vault://, env://, and file:// URI schemes.

Important: changing the salt changes every deterministic fake value. Store it like a production secret and rotate deliberately.

---