Use encrypted data bags without chef

poc.rb

#!/usr/bin/env ruby
# this is a proof-of-concept for reading encrypted data bags
# from a ruby script. you only need chef to be installed.

require 'rubygems'
require 'chef/rest'
require 'chef/encrypted_data_bag_item'

# prevent chef from trying to contact a server
Chef::Config[:solo] = true

# set up location of your data
Chef::Config[:data_bag_path] = './chef/data_bags'
Chef::Config[:encrypted_data_bag_secret] = './chef/data_bags/encrypted_data_bag_secret'

# just using newrelic as an example here
data = Chef::EncryptedDataBagItem.load('credentials', 'newrelic')
puts data['license_key']
# => "9c395..."