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Keys - A command line password manager

by Franco Bersani
franco.bersani@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION

Keys is a little, but enough powerful, password manager for linux systems.
It base its security around strong GPG tecnology.

Keys is merely a bash script that used internal bash commands and externals ones.
Keys depend on:

• Bash
• GnuPG2
• shred
• ssh
• sftp
• xsel
• tree
• rdesktop
• xdotool

WHAT KEYS DO

Keys permits to store securely your password and credentials in gpg's encrypted files, structured in a multi-level tree.
With Xdotool you can also use auto-typing, a must-have feature for this kind of software.

Keys currently can open (with autotyping) these types of connections:
- Open a website and logon with the provided credentials
- Open an ssh/sftp connection with the provided credentials
- Open an rdesktop connection with the provided credentials

Also, Keys can store generic Account credentials (aka. username+password).

Keys refers to every single encrypted file containing credentials as a 'DB key' (key database).
Every 'DB key' can be open and view with standard gpg decrypting commands.

With keys you can create/modify and delete 'DB keys' and organize them in Labels.

TRANSLATIONS

Keys is currently translated in Italian and English.
If you want keys in your language, or if you want to improve it or en translations, your help is welcome!

INSTALLATION FOR UBUNTU >= 12.04

Download and install the latest deb binary.

INSTALLATION FOR DEBIAN STABLE

On Debian 7 (stable) you have to install two packages from 'testing' repositories in order to install keys (because Debian stable packages are archaic):

• xdotool
• libxdo3

Search them on packages.debian.org, and install the ones corresponding to your OS architecture; then, install the latest deb binary.

INSTALLATION FOR OTHER SYSTEMS

Download the latest tarball [binary] file, become root and cd to your "/" directory.
Then, uncompress the tarball.

FIRST RUN

Keys was designed to be as stress-free as possible.
The first time it runs on your machine, it checks if you have the essentials binaries installed on your system, trying to help you if something
is missing. It also write for you a default configuration file (stored in .keysrc into your HOME directory).
What you have to do is to READ CAREFULLY what the script is asking you. :-)

USAGE

Keys stores the 'DB key's in a real folder in your pc. [BEWARE!! If you delete that folder, you'll lost all your passwords.]
Keys permits to create 'Labels' that are, at filesystem level, directories.
In this way, you can modify Labels name and 'DB key's name, or move and delete them, with standard rename, move and delete commands at filesystem level.
If you want to view 'how-to compile DB KEYS', please see here: [Compiling DB Keys]

TIPS

Keys stores the 'DB key's in a real folder in your pc. [BEWARE!! If you delete that folder, you'll lost all your passwords.]
Keys permits to create 'Labels' that are, at filesystem level, directories.
In this way, you can modify Labels name and 'DB key's name, or move and delete them, with standard rename, move and delete commands at filesystem level.
Keys provides an online help, and also a man page.
Further, togheter with keys you can find an utility (export-key) that permits to export a 'DB Key' created with 'keys' and sign the exported 'DB Key' with a different gpg2 public key.
With export-key you can distribuite securely passwords to others, using their gpg public keys

Project Members:

• Franco Bersani (admin)