keytar

What is keytar?

The keytar npm package is a native module for Node.js that allows you to securely store and retrieve credentials using the operating system's native credential storage mechanisms. It supports macOS, Windows, and Linux, providing a cross-platform solution for managing sensitive information.

What are keytar's main functionalities?

Store a password

This feature allows you to store a password securely in the operating system's credential storage. The `setPassword` method takes three arguments: the service name, the account name, and the password.

const keytar = require('keytar');

async function storePassword() {
  await keytar.setPassword('service', 'account', 'password');
  console.log('Password stored successfully');
}

storePassword();

Retrieve a password

This feature allows you to retrieve a stored password from the operating system's credential storage. The `getPassword` method takes two arguments: the service name and the account name.

const keytar = require('keytar');

async function getPassword() {
  const password = await keytar.getPassword('service', 'account');
  console.log('Retrieved password:', password);
}

getPassword();

Delete a password

This feature allows you to delete a stored password from the operating system's credential storage. The `deletePassword` method takes two arguments: the service name and the account name.

const keytar = require('keytar');

async function deletePassword() {
  const result = await keytar.deletePassword('service', 'account');
  console.log('Password deleted:', result);
}

deletePassword();

Find credentials

This feature allows you to find all credentials associated with a specific service. The `findCredentials` method takes one argument: the service name.

const keytar = require('keytar');

async function findCredentials() {
  const credentials = await keytar.findCredentials('service');
  console.log('Found credentials:', credentials);
}

findCredentials();

Other packages similar to keytar

osx-keychain

The osx-keychain package is another macOS-specific package that allows you to interact with the macOS Keychain. It provides methods to add, find, and delete keychain items. It is similar to keytar but limited to macOS.

wincred

The wincred package is a Windows-specific package that allows you to store and retrieve credentials using the Windows Credential Manager. It provides similar functionality to keytar but is limited to the Windows platform.

README

keytar - Node module to manage system keychain

A native Node module to get, add, replace, and delete passwords in system's keychain. On OS X the passwords are managed by the Keychain, on Linux they are managed by Gnome Keyring and on Windows they are managed by Credential Vault.

Installing

npm install keytar

On Linux

Currently this library uses the gnome-keyring so you may need to run sudo apt-get install libgnome-keyring-dev before npm installing.

Building

• Clone the repository
• Run npm install
• Run grunt to compile the native and CoffeeScript code
• Run grunt test to run the specs

Docs

keytar = require 'keytar'

getPassword(service, account)

Get the stored password for the service and account.

service - The string service name.

account - The string account name.

Returns the string password or null on failures.

addPassword(service, account, password)

Add the password for the service and account to the keychain.

service - The string service name.

account - The string account name.

password - The string password.

Returns true on success, false on failure.

deletePassword(service, account)

Delete the stored password for the service and account.

service - The string service name.

account - The string account name.

Returns the string password or null on failures.

replacePassword(service, account, password)

Replace the password for the service and account in the keychain.

This is a simple convenience function that internally calls deletePassword(service, account) followed by addPassword(service, account, password).

service - The string service name.

account - The string account name.

password - The string password.

Returns true on success, false on failure.

findPassword(service)

Find a password for the service in the keychain.

service - The string service name.

Returns the string password or null on failures.