---
name: secrets-manager-api-reference-overview
title: API and CLI reference overview
description: 'The Vault Dedicated plan uses two complementary sets of APIs and CLIs: the Secrets Manager Instance Management API and CLI for control plane operations, and the native HashiCorp Vault API and CLI for data plane operations such as secrets management.'
last-updated: 2026-09-01
---

> ## Documentation Index
> The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/secrets-manager?format=markdown
> The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use these files to discover more information as needed.

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# API and CLI reference overview
{: #vault-dedicated-reference-overview}

The Vault Dedicated plan uses two complementary sets of APIs and CLIs: the Secrets Manager Instance Management API and CLI for control plane operations, and the native HashiCorp Vault API and CLI for data plane operations such as secrets management.
{: shortdesc}

## Secrets Manager Instance Management API and CLI
{: #vault-dedicated-ibm-reference}

Use the Secrets Manager Instance Management API and CLI to manage your Vault Dedicated service instance in IBM Cloud. These tools cover control plane operations such as retrieving instance details and generating admin tokens.

| Reference | Description |
|-----------|-------------|
| [Instance Management API reference](https://cloud.ibm.com/apidocs/secrets-manager/secrets-manager-instance-management-v2){: external} | Interactive API reference with SDK examples for managing your Vault Dedicated service instance. |
| [Instance Management API reference (docs)](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/secrets-manager?topic=secrets-manager-vault-dedicated-apis&format=markdown) | Conceptual reference with usage examples for instance details and admin token operations. |
| [Instance Management CLI reference](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/secrets-manager?topic=secrets-manager-secrets-manager-management-cli&format=markdown) | IBM Cloud CLI plug-in for managing your Vault Dedicated instance from the command line. |
| [Instance Management CLI change log](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/secrets-manager?topic=secrets-manager-secrets-manager-management-cli-change-log&format=markdown) | History of changes to the Instance Management CLI plug-in. |
{: caption="IBM Cloud secrets-manager_full_notm Instance Management reference" caption-side="bottom"}

## HashiCorp Vault API and CLI
{: #vault-dedicated-hashicorp-reference}

For Vault runtime operations — such as managing secrets, configuring authentication methods, and working with secrets engines — use the native HashiCorp Vault API and CLI directly against your Vault Dedicated cluster endpoint.

| Reference | Description |
|-----------|-------------|
| [HashiCorp Vault API reference](https://developer.hashicorp.com/vault/api-docs){: external} | Full API reference for Vault runtime operations, including secrets engines, auth methods, and policies. |
| [HashiCorp Vault CLI reference](https://developer.hashicorp.com/vault/docs/commands){: external} | Full CLI reference for interacting with your Vault cluster. |
| [HashiCorp Terraform reference](https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform){: external} | Terraform provider documentation for automating Vault configuration. |
{: caption="HashiCorp Vault reference" caption-side="bottom"}