node-vault

What is node-vault?

The node-vault npm package is a client library for interacting with HashiCorp's Vault, a tool for securely accessing secrets. It allows developers to programmatically manage secrets, encryption keys, and other sensitive data.

What are node-vault's main functionalities?

Authentication

This feature allows you to authenticate with the Vault server. The code sample demonstrates how to list all the authentication methods enabled in Vault.

const vault = require('node-vault')({ endpoint: 'http://127.0.0.1:8200' });
vault.auths().then((result) => {
  console.log(result);
}).catch(console.error);

Secrets Management

This feature allows you to store and retrieve secrets. The code sample demonstrates how to write a secret to the Vault.

const vault = require('node-vault')({ endpoint: 'http://127.0.0.1:8200', token: 'my-token' });
vault.write('secret/data/mysecret', { data: { key: 'value' } }).then((result) => {
  console.log(result);
}).catch(console.error);

Dynamic Secrets

This feature allows you to generate dynamic secrets, such as database credentials. The code sample demonstrates how to read dynamic database credentials from Vault.

const vault = require('node-vault')({ endpoint: 'http://127.0.0.1:8200', token: 'my-token' });
vault.read('database/creds/my-role').then((result) => {
  console.log(result);
}).catch(console.error);

Encryption as a Service

This feature allows you to use Vault's encryption capabilities. The code sample demonstrates how to encrypt data using a named encryption key in Vault.

const vault = require('node-vault')({ endpoint: 'http://127.0.0.1:8200', token: 'my-token' });
vault.encryptData({ name: 'my-key', plaintext: Buffer.from('my-secret').toString('base64') }).then((result) => {
  console.log(result);
}).catch(console.error);

Other packages similar to node-vault

aws-sdk

The aws-sdk package is the official AWS SDK for JavaScript, which includes support for AWS Secrets Manager. It allows you to store, retrieve, and manage secrets in AWS. Compared to node-vault, aws-sdk is more focused on AWS services and offers a broader range of functionalities beyond secrets management.

azure-keyvault

The azure-keyvault package is a client library for Azure Key Vault, which provides secure storage of secrets, keys, and certificates. It offers similar functionalities to node-vault but is specific to the Azure ecosystem. It is ideal for developers working within the Azure cloud environment.

README

node-vault

A client for the HTTP API of HashiCorp's Vault written for Node.js.

Install

npm install node-vault

Usage

Init and unseal

vault = require("node-vault")();

vault.init({ secret_shares: 1, secret_threshold: 1 }, function(err, result) {
  var keys = result.keys;
  vault.token = result.root_token;
  vault.unseal({ secret_shares: 1, key: keys[0] }, function(err, result) {
    // Done
  });
});

Write, read and delete secrets

vault.write('secret/hello', { value: 'world', lease: '1s' }, function(err, result) {
  vault.read('secret/hello', function(err, result) {
    vault.delete('secret/hello', function(err, result) {
    });
  });
});

Examples

Please have a look at the examples for a list of implemented features.

git clone [e-mail]:kr1sp1n/node-vault.git
cd node-vault
npm install

Instead of installing all the dependencies like vault itself, postgres and other stuff you can use docker and docker-compose to link and run multiple docker containers with all of its dependencies.

The setup for node-vault is defined in a single file: docker-compose.yml. To run the examples you need to install the docker toolbox first.

A best practice is to add the dockerhost to /etc/hosts:

echo "$(docker-machine ip default) dockerhost" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts

and to add the env variables of the docker machine via:

eval "$(docker-machine env default)"

This line could also be added to you local .bashrc or whatever shell you are using.

Please set the endpoint of the vault server to the dockerhost:

export VAULT_ADDR=http://dockerhost:8200

To start just run:

docker-compose up

First of all you should initialize and unseal the vault:

$(npm bin)/coffee example/init.coffee

You should see root_token: followed by a long key in the response. Please copy that long key and export it as environment variable:

export VAULT_TOKEN=<insert long key here>

Now you are able to run all of the other examples:

$(npm bin)/coffee example/policies.coffee