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

# Secrets management using ZooKeeper

This topic describes the legacy ZooKeeper-based secrets management approach in Fusion, where credentials are encrypted and stored directly in ZooKeeper. This method is maintained for backward compatibility and is suitable for development, test environments, and deployments that do not use Kubernetes secret management infrastructure.

For new deployments, use the [Secrets management using Fusion Vault](/docs/5/fusion/operations/security/external-vault) method.

<Warning>
  V1 connectors, which use only this ZooKeeper approach, are [deprecated in Fusion 5.18.0 and scheduled to be removed in Fusion 6.0.0](/docs/5/fusion/release-notes/5.18/5.18.0-release-notes#deprecations).
</Warning>

## Benefits of ZooKeeper-based secrets management

Using ZooKeeper for secrets management, your organization can perform the following functions:

* Store credentials directly within Fusion without external dependencies.
* Automatic encryption at rest using ZooKeeper's built-in encryption.
* Self-contained configuration suitable for development and test environments.
* Backward compatibility with existing Fusion deployments.
* Simpler setup with no external vault provider required.

## Use cases

This section provides examples of use cases that illustrate how your organization can use ZooKeeper-based secrets management.

* A development team needs to quickly set up a test environment without configuring external vault providers. They can use ZooKeeper-based secrets to store database credentials and API keys directly in Fusion, with automatic encryption and redaction.

* An organization with existing Fusion deployments wants to maintain their current secrets management approach while evaluating migration to Fusion Vault. ZooKeeper-based secrets continue to work without changes.

* A small deployment without Kubernetes infrastructure needs to manage credentials securely. The ZooKeeper approach provides encrypted storage without requiring external secret management services.

## Config Sync

Config Sync is a Fusion service that synchronizes configuration files between Git repositories and Fusion. For information about how ZooKeeper-encrypted secrets are handled in version-controlled configuration files, see [Config Sync secrets management](/docs/5/fusion/operations/config-sync/secrets-management-used-in-config-sync).