rCLI

PROJECT OVERVIEW

rCLI is a high-performance, zero-knowledge command-line password manager engineered in Rust. Unlike centralized cloud-based password solutions, this tool functions entirely locally, compiling down to a single native binary. It encrypts your credentials at rest using enterprise-grade cryptographic primitives, ensuring your plain-text master password and individual secrets never touch a remote server, log file, or volatile memory block.

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CRYPTOGRAPHIC ARCHITECTURE

• Zero-Knowledge Paradigm The master password is never saved to a database, cached, or verified via direct string comparison. Instead, the application relies entirely on keys derived dynamically at runtime.

• Argon2id Key Stretching Utilizes the profile memory-hard Argon2id algorithm (winner of the Password Hashing Competition) to stretch your master password and a unique 16-byte local salt into a strong 256-bit encryption key, heavily mitigating GPU-based brute-force attacks.

• AES-256-GCM Authenticated Encryption All passwords are encrypted utilizing Advanced Encryption Standard in Galois/Counter Mode (AES-GCM). This provides Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data (AEAD); if an attacker modifies even a single bit of your stored data payload, decryption will explicitly fail.

• Zeroize Memory Hygiene Integrates the zeroize crate traits to securely overwrite volatile memory buffers (RAM) containing the plain-text master password or decrypted secrets immediately after they exit execution scope.

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SYSTEM FILE LAYOUT

• src/cli.rs Handles native command-line argument parsing and flags using clap structure derive macros.

• src/crypto.rs The central cryptographic layout executing Argon2id key derivation, initialization vector (nonce) tracking, and AES-GCM primitives.

• src/storage.rs Manages platform-agnostic file I/O operations, writing the encrypted state directly to a centralized dotfile (.secure_vault.json) in the user profile directory.

• src/main.rs The execution engine orchestrating UI command buffers, state hydration, and runtime safety boundaries.

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GETTING STARTED

• Step 1: Clone the Repository

  • git clone https://github.com/your-username/rCLI.git
  • cd rCLI

• Step 2: Compile the Production Binary

  • To generate a highly optimized native executable with full compiler optimizations enabled, run:
  • cargo build --release

• Step 3: Move Executable to System PATH (Windows Example)

  • Move the compiled .exe from .\target\release\rCLI.exe to a global folder like C:\bin\.
  • Append C:\bin\ to your Windows System Environment variables to enable global terminal execution.

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INTERACTION EXAMPLES

• A. Store a New Credential Securely

  $ rCLI add --service github
  Create/Enter Master Password: ************
  Enter password to save for this service: ************
  Processing cryptographic layout...
  [Success] Entry securely locked for service: 'github'
  

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GETTING STARTED

Option A: Quick Install (Recommended)

• Windows: Download the Pre-Compiled Executable (v1.0.0)
• Move the downloaded rCLI.exe into a global folder like C:\bin\.
• Append C:\bin\ to your Windows System Environment variables to enable global terminal execution.

Option B: Compile From Source

• Step 1: git clone https://github.com/ojas247/password-vault-cl.git
• Step 2: cd password-vault-cli
• Step 3: cargo build --release

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