VAULT — Personal Secrets Manager

Your encrypted, local-first secrets vault. AES-256-GCM encrypted. Electron desktop app.

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Quick Start (5 minutes)

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18 or higher (just download and install)

Run in dev mode

# 1. Unzip / navigate to this folder
cd vault-app

# 2. Install dependencies (one time)
npm install

# 3. Launch the desktop app
npm run dev

That's it. A desktop window will open.

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Build a distributable installer

npm run build

This outputs to the dist-electron/ folder:

• Windows: Vault Setup 1.0.0.exe
• macOS: Vault-1.0.0.dmg
• Linux: Vault-1.0.0.AppImage

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App Icon (optional)

To use a custom icon, replace these files in src/assets/:

• icon.png — 512×512 PNG (used for Linux + dev)
• icon.ico — Windows icon (you can convert from PNG at https://icoconvert.com)
• icon.icns — macOS icon (use iconutil on Mac or an online converter)

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Auto-Backup Setup

1. Open the app and unlock your vault
2. Click Settings in the sidebar
3. Choose a folder — point it at your Dropbox, iCloud Drive, or Google Drive folder
4. Every time you save an entry, a timestamped .vault backup is written there automatically

The backup file is fully encrypted. Even if someone gets the file, they can't read it without your master password.

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Security Details

Feature	Implementation
Encryption	AES-256-GCM
Key derivation	PBKDF2, SHA-256, 310,000 iterations
Master password	Never stored — only used in memory to derive key
Local storage	IndexedDB (encrypted blob)
Backup format	Base64-encoded encrypted binary
Node access	Sandboxed via contextBridge — renderer has no direct Node access

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File Structure

vault-app/
├── main.js          ← Electron main process (window, file I/O, dialogs, tray)
├── preload.js       ← Secure bridge (exposes only safe APIs to React)
├── src/
│   ├── main.jsx     ← React entry point
│   └── App.jsx      ← Full vault UI + crypto logic
├── index.html       ← HTML shell
├── vite.config.js   ← Vite bundler config
└── package.json     ← Dependencies + build config