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 macOS the passwords are managed by the Keychain, on Linux they are managed by the Secret Service API/libsecret, and on Windows they are managed by Credential Vault.

Installing

npm install keytar

On Linux

Currently this library uses libsecret so you may need to install it before running npm install.

Depending on your distribution, you will need to run the following command:

• Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install libsecret-1-dev
• Red Hat-based: sudo yum install libsecret-devel
• Arch Linux: sudo pacman -S libsecret

Building

• Clone the repository
• Run npm install
• Run npm test to run the tests

Supported versions

Each release of keytar includes prebuilt binaries for the versions of Node and Electron that are actively supported by these projects. Please refer to the release documentation for Node and Electron to see what is supported currently.

Bindings from other languages

• Rust

Docs

const keytar = require('keytar')

Every function in keytar is asynchronous and returns a promise. The promise will be rejected with any error that occurs or will be resolved with the function's "yields" value.

getPassword(service, account)

Get the stored password for the service and account.

service - The string service name.

account - The string account name.

Yields the string password or null if an entry for the given service and account was not found.

setPassword(service, account, password)

Save the password for the service and account to the keychain. Adds a new entry if necessary, or updates an existing entry if one exists.

service - The string service name.

account - The string account name.

password - The string password.

Yields nothing.

deletePassword(service, account)

Delete the stored password for the service and account.

service - The string service name.

account - The string account name.

Yields true if a password was deleted, or false if an entry with the given service and account was not found.

findCredentials(service)

Find all accounts and password for the service in the keychain.

service - The string service name.

Yields an array of { account: 'foo', password: 'bar' }.

findPassword(service)

Find a password for the service in the keychain. This is ideal for scenarios where an account is not required.

service - The string service name.

Yields the string password, or null if an entry for the given service was not found.