keyp

Local-first secret manager for developers "pass for the Node.js generation"

What is keyp?

keyp is a simple, secure, local-first secret manager designed specifically for developers. Store your API keys, tokens, and credentials with AES-256 encryption, sync across machines via Git, and never worry about leaking secrets again.

Features

• 🔒 Secure - AES-256-GCM encryption with PBKDF2 key derivation
• 🏠 Local-first - No cloud account required, works offline
• 🔄 Git-based sync - Encrypted secrets safely committed to Git
• ⚡ Fast & simple - Intuitive CLI, zero configuration
• 🔧 Developer-friendly - Script integration, clipboard support
• 🆓 Free & open source - MIT license

Quick Start

Initialize your vault

$ keyp init
Enter master password: ●●●●●●●●
Confirm master password: ●●●●●●●●
✓ Vault initialized successfully!

Store a secret

$ keyp set github-token
Enter master password: ●●●●●●●●
Enter value for "github-token": ●●●●●●●●
Enter master password to save: ●●●●●●●●
✓ Secret "github-token" saved

Retrieve a secret (copies to clipboard)

$ keyp get github-token
Enter master password: ●●●●●●●●
✓ Copied to clipboard (clears in 45 seconds)

List all secrets

$ keyp list
Enter master password: ●●●●●●●●

  • api-key
  • database-url
  • github-token

3 secrets stored

Delete a secret

$ keyp delete github-token -f
Enter master password: ●●●●●●●●
Delete secret "github-token"? (y/N): y
✓ Secret "github-token" deleted
Remaining secrets: 2

Why keyp?

Unlike enterprise secret managers (too complex) or traditional Unix password managers (too arcane), keyp is designed for the way modern developers work:

• ✅ No GPG complexity
• ✅ No cloud account needed
• ✅ No team features bloat
• ✅ Just simple, secure secret storage

Getting Started

1. Install keyp

npm install -g @theeditor/keyp

Verify installation:

keyp --version

2. Create your vault

keyp init

You'll be prompted to create a master password. This is the only password you need to remember.

3. Store your first secret

keyp set github-token your-token-here
keyp set api-key sk_live_abc123xyz
keyp set db-password secure-password

4. View all secrets

keyp list

5. Retrieve a secret

keyp get github-token
# Copied to clipboard! (auto-clears in 45 seconds)

6. (Optional) Sync to GitHub

# Initialize Git sync
keyp sync init https://github.com/username/keyp-backup.git

# Push your vault
keyp sync push

# On another machine, pull to sync
keyp sync pull

Installation

Via npm (Recommended)

npm install -g @theeditor/keyp

Requirements

• Node.js 18.0.0 or higher
• npm 8.0.0 or higher

Platform Support

• ✅ macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon)
• ✅ Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, Debian, etc.)
• ✅ Windows (10/11, including WSL)
• ✅ WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

Clipboard Tools

On Linux, install clipboard tools for clipboard support:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install xclip

# Fedora
sudo dnf install xclip

# Arch
sudo pacman -S xclip

Or use --stdout flag to display in terminal instead.

Development

Want to contribute to keyp? We welcome contributions!

Local Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/TheEditor/keyp.git
cd keyp
npm install
npm run build
npm test

Development Commands

npm run build          # Build TypeScript
npm run dev            # Watch mode (rebuilds on changes)
npm test               # Run all tests

See CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed contribution guidelines.

Project Structure

keyp/
├── src/              # TypeScript source
├── lib/              # Compiled JavaScript
├── bin/              # Executable entry point
├── docs/             # Documentation
├── completions/      # Shell completion scripts
└── package.json      # Package configuration

Documentation

• 📖 CLI Reference - Command-line interface guide
• 🌐 Git Sync Guide - Multi-machine sync and encrypted backups
• 🔧 API Reference - Library API with examples
• 🔐 Security Guide - Cryptographic details and threat model
• 📋 Vault Format - Technical vault file specification

Philosophy

keyp follows these principles:

1. Local-first - Your secrets stay on your machine
2. Simple - One command to do one thing, and do it well
3. Secure - Industry-standard encryption, no shortcuts
4. Developer-focused - Built for developers, by developers

Inspiration

Inspired by pass but designed for modern Node.js developers who want simplicity without complexity.

License

MIT © Dave Fobare

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