Variables should not have lock icon

[typed-sigterm]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Other

Discussion Details

Secrets should have a lock icon at settings page, but variables should not:

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[MandeepDalavi]

I think the lock icon here is intentional rather than indicating that the value is a secret.

Repository variables can also be configured with restricted access (for example, limited to selected environments), so the lock may be representing access restrictions instead of secrecy.

That said, I agree the UI is a bit confusing because a lock icon is commonly associated with secrets. Since both Secrets and Variables can display the same icon, it's not immediately clear what it represents.

It might be clearer if GitHub either:

reserved the lock icon exclusively for secrets, or
added a tooltip explaining that the icon indicates restricted access rather than an encrypted/secret value.

Even if this is working as designed, I think the UX could be improved to avoid this ambiguity.

[typed-sigterm]

Repository variables are not environment-specified. Those are called Environment variables.

[MandeepDalavi]

You're right—thanks for the correction. I was referring to environment-scoped variables, not repository variables.

My main point was about the UI semantics rather than the scope. Seeing the same lock icon for both Secrets and Variables can lead users to assume it indicates "secret" or "encrypted," whereas variables are visible values.

If the lock is intended to represent something else (such as protection or restricted management), a tooltip or a different icon would make that clearer and reduce the ambiguity.

Repository variables are not environment-specified. Those are called Environment variables.