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

# Force Check-In

> Syteca ACB REST API endpoint to forcibly check in a secret that's currently checked out — useful for releasing secrets held by absent users or unresponsive automation.

Forcibly checks in a secret that's currently checked out by another user or automation. Used when an automation pipeline crashed without checking in, when a user has left and held checked-out secrets, or when administrative intervention is required to free up a high-contention secret.

<Note>
  For ACB deployments updated from a version prior to 1.2, switch to the `https://{hostname}/EkranACB` server in the Playground.
</Note>

### Permissions required

The user owning the Access Token must have **Owner** role on the secret. The original checker-out can be a different user — force check-in is the administrative override.

### Auto-rotation on force check-in

If the secret's [CheckOut configuration](/docs/api/acb/data-models#checkout) has `rotate_on_checkin: true`, force check-in **also rotates** the password — protecting against the scenario where the previous checker-out may have leaked the credential.

### Errors

See [Status codes](/docs/api/acb/api-reference#status-codes). Common errors:

* **403 Forbidden** — user lacks Owner role.
* **404 Not Found** — secret doesn't exist.
* **409 Conflict** — secret is not currently checked out.

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Get secret" icon="info" href="/docs/api/acb/endpoints/get-secret">Check current check-out state.</Card>
  <Card title="Update secret" icon="file-pen" href="/docs/api/acb/endpoints/update-secret">Modify check-out configuration.</Card>
  <Card title="Rotate password" icon="refresh-ccw" href="/docs/api/acb/endpoints/rotate-secret-password">Standalone rotation if force-checkin didn't auto-rotate.</Card>
  <Card title="Data models — CheckOut" icon="braces" href="/docs/api/acb/data-models#checkout">CheckOut schema.</Card>
</CardGroup>


## OpenAPI

````yaml POST /api/secrets/{id}/force-checkin
openapi: 3.0.3
info:
  title: Application Credentials Broker API
  description: >-
    API for managing secrets and folders in the Application Credentials Broker
    system
  version: 1.4.0
  contact:
    name: API Support
    email: support@example.com
servers:
  - url: https://your-syteca-host/SytecaACB
    description: On-premises Syteca ACB service (v1.2 or later)
    variables:
      hostname:
        default: your-syteca-host.example.com
        description: Your Syteca Application Server hostname
  - url: https://your-syteca-host/EkranACB
    description: Legacy URL prefix for ACB deployments updated from pre-v1.2
    variables:
      hostname:
        default: your-syteca-host.example.com
        description: Your Syteca Application Server hostname
security:
  - AccessTokenAuth: []
paths:
  /api/secrets/{id}/force-checkin:
    post:
      tags:
        - Secrets
      summary: Force check-in secret
      description: Forces check-in of a secret that is currently checked out
      operationId: forceCheckIn
      parameters:
        - name: id
          in: path
          required: true
          description: The ID of the secret to force check-in
          schema:
            type: integer
            format: int32
            minimum: 1
      responses:
        '204':
          description: Secret checked in successfully
        '403':
          description: Access denied
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
        '404':
          description: Secret not found
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
components:
  schemas:
    ErrorResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        status:
          type: integer
          description: HTTP status code
        message:
          type: string
          description: Error message
      required:
        - status
        - message
  securitySchemes:
    AccessTokenAuth:
      type: apiKey
      in: header
      name: Authorization
      description: Access token for authentication

````