Keys Manager

Manage API keys locally from the terminal using the keys CLI. Use when users want to store, retrieve, search, import, export, or organize API keys and secrets. Handles .env file operations, profile-based key isolation, and secure key management workflows.

A skill for managing API keys and secrets locally using the keys CLI tool.

Installation

The keys CLI must be installed first:

bash

brew install stym06/tap/keys

Or with Go:

bash

go install github.com/stym06/keys@latest

Commands

Store a key

bash

keys add <name> <value>

If the key already exists, the user is prompted to overwrite, edit, or cancel.

Retrieve a key

bash

keys get <name>       # print value directly
keys get              # interactive typeahead picker

Browse keys interactively

bash

keys see

Opens a TUI with fuzzy search, checkboxes, clipboard copy, and age indicators.

• space — toggle selection
• tab — copy selected as KEY=VAL
• ctrl+y — copy selected as export KEY=VAL
• ctrl+e — export selected to .env file
• enter — add a new key (when no matches found)
• esc — quit

Masked view

bash

keys peek

Same as see but values are hidden as ***. Press r to reveal individual keys. Useful for screen-sharing.

Edit a key

bash

keys edit <name>

Opens a TUI editor. tab switches fields, enter saves, esc cancels.

Delete a key

bash

keys rm <name>

Export keys

bash

keys env              # interactive selector, writes .env file
keys expose           # print export statements to stdout

Import from .env

bash

keys import <file>

Parses .env files — handles comments, quotes, and export prefixes. Reports new vs updated counts.

Profiles

Isolate keys by project or environment:

bash

keys profile use <name>     # switch profile
keys profile list           # list all profiles (* = active)

All add, get, rm, see, and other commands operate within the active profile.

Inject keys into commands

bash

$(keys inject API_KEY DB_HOST) ./my-script.sh          # inline env vars
docker run $(keys inject -d API_KEY DB_HOST) my-image  # Docker -e flags
$(keys inject --all) ./my-script.sh                    # all keys from active profile
$(keys inject --all --profile dev) ./my-script.sh      # all keys from specific profile

Outputs keys as space-separated KEY=VAL pairs (or -e KEY=VAL with --docker) for use in command substitution.

Audit key access

bash

keys audit              # summary: access count + last used per key
keys audit --log        # full access log (most recent first)
keys audit --log -n 20  # last 20 events
keys audit --clear      # clear the audit log

Tracks when keys are accessed via get, inject, and expose. Useful for understanding which keys agents and scripts are using.

Check required keys

bash

keys check              # reads .keys.required from current directory
keys check reqs.txt     # custom file

Reads key names from a file (one per line, # comments supported) and reports which are present or missing. Exits with code 1 if any are missing — useful for CI and agent pre-flight checks.

Example .keys.required:

text

# Agent dependencies
OPENAI_KEY
SERP_API_KEY
DATABASE_URL

Sync keys between machines

bash

# On machine A (has the keys)
keys sync serve
# Serving 12 keys from profile "default"
# Passphrase: olive-quilt-haven
# Waiting for connections...

# On machine B (wants the keys)
keys sync pull                       # auto-discover via mDNS
keys sync pull 192.168.1.10:7331     # or connect directly

Peer-to-peer sync over the local network. Auto-discovers peers via mDNS (Bonjour), encrypted with a one-time passphrase (AES-256-GCM). Works over WiFi, Tailscale, or any reachable network. Smart merge: adds new keys, updates older ones, skips newer local ones.

Delete all keys

bash

keys nuke

Requires typing nuke to confirm. Only affects the active profile.

Version

bash

keys version
keys --version

Authentication

On macOS, keys prompts for Touch ID before any command that accesses keys. Authentication is cached per terminal session — the first command triggers Touch ID, subsequent commands in the same shell skip the prompt.

Commands that skip authentication: profile, completion, version, help.

On non-macOS systems or when biometrics are unavailable, access is allowed without prompting.

Examples

Typical workflow

bash

keys add OPENAI_KEY sk-proj-abc123
keys add STRIPE_KEY sk_test_4eC3
keys get OPENAI_KEY
keys see                    # browse and copy
keys env                    # generate .env for a project

Multi-project setup

bash

keys profile use projectA
keys import .env
keys profile use projectB
keys add DB_HOST prod-db.example.com
keys profile list

Quick export to shell

bash

eval $(keys expose)

Guidelines

• Always use keys get <name> when the user knows the exact key name
• Use keys get (no args) when the user wants to search/pick interactively
• Use keys peek instead of keys see when the user is screen-sharing or wants masked output
• Use keys profile to separate keys across different projects or environments
• Use keys import for bulk loading from existing .env files
• Suggest keys env when the user needs to generate a .env file for a specific project
• Use keys inject when the user wants to pass keys directly to a command or Docker container without creating files
• Use keys audit to review which keys are being accessed and how often
• Use keys check before running agents to verify all required keys are available
• Use keys sync serve + keys sync pull to transfer keys between machines without cloud services