- Rust 96.5%
- Shell 2.1%
- Svelte 0.4%
- JavaScript 0.3%
- Python 0.3%
- Other 0.3%
| Filename | Latest commit message | Latest commit date |
|---|---|---|
| .github | ||
| .well-known | ||
| contrib | ||
| deploy/cdk | ||
| docs | ||
| fuzz | ||
| keep-agent | ||
| keep-agent-py | ||
| keep-agent-ts | ||
| keep-approval | ||
| keep-bitcoin | ||
| keep-cli | ||
| keep-core | ||
| keep-desktop | ||
| keep-enclave | ||
| keep-frost-net | ||
| keep-mobile | ||
| keep-nip46 | ||
| keep-web | ||
| scripts | ||
| .dockerignore | ||
| .env.example | ||
| .gitignore | ||
| book.toml | ||
| BUILD.md | ||
| Cargo.lock | ||
| Cargo.toml | ||
| clippy.toml | ||
| CONTRIBUTING.md | ||
| deny.toml | ||
| Dockerfile.reproducible | ||
| Justfile | ||
| justfile | ||
| LICENSE | ||
| NOTICE | ||
| README.md | ||
| REUSE.toml | ||
| rust-toolchain.toml | ||
| SECURITY.md | ||
Keep
Self-custodial key management for Nostr and Bitcoin.
About
Keep is an encrypted vault for Nostr and Bitcoin keys. It stores keys locally with strong encryption, signs remotely via NIP-46 without exposing private keys, and supports FROST threshold signatures so no single device ever holds enough to spend.
Keep runs as a CLI, a desktop app (Linux/macOS/Windows), a mobile library (Android/iOS via UniFFI), a StartOS service for always-on FROST co-signing, or inside AWS Nitro Enclaves for hardware-isolated signing. FROST shares can be distributed across phones, hardware signers, StartOS boxes, and cloud enclaves, then coordinated over Nostr relays for multisig signing.
Ecosystem
| Repo | Lang | Role |
|---|---|---|
| this repo | Rust | Encrypted vault, CLI, desktop app, Nitro Enclave signing, and keep-web headless co-signer |
| keep-android | Kotlin | FROST mobile signer with NIP-55 and NIP-46 |
| keep-esp32 | C | Air-gapped ESP32-S3 hardware signer |
| keep-node | Nix | Self-sovereign NixOS security appliance with threshold-OPRF boot unlock |
| keep-startos | TypeScript | Always-on FROST co-signer node packaging |
Features
- Encrypted vault: Argon2id + XChaCha20-Poly1305, keys zeroized in RAM
- Remote signing: NIP-46 bunker mode for any compatible Nostr client
- Threshold signatures: FROST t-of-n key splitting with distributed key generation (DKG)
- Network signing: Coordinate FROST signing across devices over Nostr relays
- Threshold vault unlock: Reconstruct a disk-encryption key at boot from a t-of-n OPRF quorum across TPM-attested holders (powers keep-node)
- Encrypted secrets store: Keep key-adjacent secrets (BIP39 passphrases, exchange API keys, recovery codes) in the same vault; optionally threshold-seal a secret so its value can only be revealed by a t-of-n OPRF quorum, never from a single device
- Bitcoin: BIP-86 Taproot addresses, PSBT signing, wallet descriptor coordination
- Enclaves: AWS Nitro Enclave signing with attestation-based KMS
- Agent SDK: Constrained signing sessions for AI agents (Python, TypeScript, MCP)
- Hidden volumes: Plausibly deniable storage, cryptographically undetectable
- Desktop app: Iced GUI with system tray, QR scanning, NIP-49 import/export
Quick Start
Install the CLI (Rust 1.89+):
cargo install --git https://github.com/privkeyio/keep keep-cli
Building needs pkg-config and libudev (Linux); see BUILD.md for the full
per-platform dependency list.
Or build from a clone:
git clone https://github.com/privkeyio/keep
cd keep
cargo install --path keep-cli
Then:
keep init # Create encrypted vault (prompts for a password)
keep generate --name main # Generate a new Nostr key
keep serve --relay wss://bucket.coracle.social # Start remote signer
Keys are stored encrypted at ~/.keep (override with KEEP_HOME or --path). Set
KEEP_PASSWORD to skip the interactive unlock prompt in scripts. Back up your vault with
keep backup; see docs/USAGE.md for the full CLI reference, FROST
setup, Bitcoin commands, and more.
Documentation
| Doc | Covers |
|---|---|
docs/USAGE.md |
CLI reference, FROST, Bitcoin, agents, hidden volumes, troubleshooting |
keep-web/README.md |
Self-hosting the headless co-signer (config, auth, API) |
docs/SECURITY.md |
Cryptography and threat model |
docs/ENCLAVE.md |
AWS Nitro Enclave deployment |
docs/RELEASE_SIGNING.md |
Threshold-signed releases |
docs/REPRODUCIBILITY.md |
Reproducible builds |
BUILD.md |
Building from source, system dependencies |
CONTRIBUTING.md |
Contributing guidelines |
Development
cargo build --release # Build
cargo test # Test
cargo clippy # Lint
Minimum Supported Rust Version: 1.89.
Security
Pure Rust. Most crates set #![forbid(unsafe_code)]. Three deny it instead, each for a specific reason: keep-core (the mlock-backed secret buffers and the RDRAND entropy probe), keep-cli (Windows file-ACL calls), and keep-agent-ts (the napi macro expands to code that forbid rejects). Every unsafe block outside those three is a compile error. Keys are derived with Argon2id, encrypted with XChaCha20-Poly1305, protected in RAM with Ascon-128a, and locked with mlock(2). FROST uses BIP-340 Schnorr signatures. See docs/SECURITY.md for details.
Keep can threshold-sign software releases with a FROST-Ed25519 group (minisign-compatible), so no single maintainer holds the signing key. See docs/RELEASE_SIGNING.md.
Status
Keep is pre-1.0 and under active development. Public APIs and on-disk formats may change between releases, so pin a version if you build on it. The cryptography has had internal review but no independent third-party audit yet. Use at your own risk, and don't secure more than you can afford to lose.