PassVault

A Secure CLI Password Manager written in Rust

PassVault is a high-performance command-line password manager built with Rust that provides secure local password storage. Leveraging Rust's memory safety and performance benefits along with military-grade AES-256-GCM encryption, this tool offers both security and convenience for developers and security-conscious users who prefer terminal-based workflows.

How to use PassVault

There are 2 main ways to interact with the application

Managing Passwords

You can store and retrieve passwords securely by:

1. Initializing the vault - Set up your master key and encrypted storage
2. Adding passwords - Store new credentials with descriptions and metadata
3. Retrieving passwords - Access your stored credentials with the master key
4. Listing entries - View all stored password names and metadata

The application provides secure encryption and validation:

• AES-256-GCM encryption protects all stored passwords
• Master key validation ensures only authorized access
• Local storage keeps your data under your control
• Base64 encoding provides safe file storage format

Interactive Mode

You can also use PassVault in interactive mode:

• Launch without arguments for guided prompts
• Enter password names and master key interactively
• Quick access to frequently used credentials
• User-friendly interface for command-line newcomers

How to install PassVault

Prerequisites

Make sure you have Rust installed on your system. You can get it from rustup.rs.

From source

You can clone this repository using git:

git clone https://github.com/Adel-Ayoub/PassVault.git
cd PassVault

After cloning, you can use the following commands:

| Command | Description | | ------- | ----------- | | cargo build | Compiles the project in debug mode | | cargo build --release | Builds an optimized release version | | cargo run | Compiles and runs the application | | cargo test | Runs all unit tests | | cargo clean | Removes build artifacts |

Binary Release

W.I.P - Pre-compiled binaries will be available for download

Usage Examples

# Initialize your password vault
passvault --init

# Add a new password
passvault -a "mypassword123" -n "gmail" -k "your-master-key" -d "My Gmail account"

# Retrieve a password
passvault -n "gmail" -k "your-master-key"

# List all passwords
passvault --list

# Interactive mode (no arguments)
passvault

Known Issues

There are currently no known issues. Please report any bugs you encounter.

More Information about PassVault

The Features

PassVault includes the following functionality:

Core Features

| Feature | Description | Scope | | ------- | ----------- | ----- | | AES-256-GCM Encryption | Military-grade encryption for password storage | All stored passwords | | Master Key Authentication | Hash-based validation of the original master key | Security verification | | Local File Storage | Organized directory structure for encrypted data | Filesystem-based vault | | Interactive CLI | User-friendly command-line interface | All operations | | Metadata Support | Store descriptions, dates, and organizational info | Enhanced password management |

Command Options

| Command | Description | Function | | ------- | ----------- | -------- | | -i, --init | Initialize new password vault | Creates master key and storage | | -a, --append | Add new password | Stores encrypted password | | -n, --name | Specify password name | Identifies stored credentials | | -k, --key | Provide master key | Authentication for operations | | -d, --description | Add password description | Metadata storage | | -l, --list | List all passwords | View stored entries | | -r, --reset | Reset password vault | Clear all data |

Technical Details

The application is built using:

• Rust - Systems programming language for performance and safety
• AES-GCM - Authenticated encryption for maximum security
• Base64 - Safe encoding for encrypted data storage
• MD5 Hashing - Master key validation and verification

Security Features

PassVault implements multiple layers of security:

• AES-256-GCM encryption with unique nonces for each password
• Master key validation prevents unauthorized access attempts
• Local storage only - no cloud dependencies or data transmission
• Secure key derivation with random key generation
• Memory safety through Rust's ownership system