kseal

A kubeseal companion CLI for viewing, exporting, encrypting, and offline decrypting Kubernetes Secrets.

Installation

pipx install kseal

<details> <summary>Other installation methods</summary>

With uv:

uv tool install kseal

With pip:

pip install kseal

</details>

Requirements

Python 3.12+
Kubernetes cluster access (not required for offline decryption)
Sealed Secrets controller installed in cluster

Quick Start

# View a decrypted secret (requires cluster access)
kseal cat secrets/app.yaml

# Export all secrets to files
kseal export --all

# Encrypt a plaintext secret
kseal encrypt secret.yaml -o sealed.yaml

# Offline decryption (no cluster access needed)
kseal export-keys                              # Backup keys while you have access
kseal decrypt sealed.yaml                      # Decrypt using local keys
kseal decrypt-all --in-place                   # Decrypt all SealedSecrets

Commands

`kseal cat`

View decrypted secret contents with syntax highlighting.

kseal cat path/to/sealed-secret.yaml
kseal cat sealed.yaml --no-color

`kseal export`

Export decrypted secrets to files.

# Single file
kseal export sealed.yaml
kseal export sealed.yaml -o output.yaml

# All local SealedSecrets
kseal export --all

# All secrets from cluster
kseal export --all --from-cluster

Default output: .unsealed/<original-path> or .unsealed/<namespace>/<name>.yaml

`kseal encrypt`

Encrypt plaintext secrets using kubeseal.

# To stdout
kseal encrypt secret.yaml

# To file
kseal encrypt secret.yaml -o sealed.yaml

# Replace original file
kseal encrypt secret.yaml --in-place

`kseal export-keys`

Export sealed-secrets private keys from cluster for offline decryption.

# Export to default location
kseal export-keys                      # → .kseal-keys/

# Custom output directory
kseal export-keys -o ./backup

# From different namespace
kseal export-keys -n kube-system

`kseal decrypt`

Decrypt a SealedSecret using local private keys (no cluster access needed).

# Using keys from default location
kseal decrypt sealed.yaml

# Using specific key file
kseal decrypt sealed.yaml --private-key ./key.pem

# From stdin
cat sealed.yaml | kseal decrypt

# Filter keys by pattern
kseal decrypt sealed.yaml --private-keys-regex "2025"

`kseal decrypt-all`

Decrypt all SealedSecrets in a directory using local private keys.

# Search current directory, output to stdout
kseal decrypt-all

# Search specific directory
kseal decrypt-all ./manifests

# Replace files in-place
kseal decrypt-all --in-place

# Custom keys location
kseal decrypt-all --private-keys-path ./backup

`kseal init`

Create a configuration file with the latest kubeseal version pinned.

kseal init
kseal init --force  # Overwrite existing

`kseal version`

Manage kubeseal binary versions.

# List downloaded versions
kseal version list

# Download the latest version
kseal version update

# Set global default version
kseal version set 0.27.0

# Clear default (use highest downloaded)
kseal version set --clear

Configuration

Configuration priority: Environment variables > .kseal-config.yaml > Global settings

| Option | Environment Variable | Default | |--------|---------------------|---------| | version | KSEAL_VERSION | Global default or highest downloaded | | controller_name | KSEAL_CONTROLLER_NAME | sealed-secrets | | controller_namespace | KSEAL_CONTROLLER_NAMESPACE | sealed-secrets | | unsealed_dir | KSEAL_UNSEALED_DIR | .unsealed |

<details> <summary>Example config file</summary>

# .kseal-config.yaml
version: "0.27.0"
controller_name: sealed-secrets
controller_namespace: kube-system
unsealed_dir: .secrets

</details>

Version Management

kseal automatically manages kubeseal binary versions:

Binaries are stored at ~/.local/share/kseal/kubeseal-<version>
Each project can pin a specific version in .kseal-config.yaml
Global settings are stored in ~/.local/share/kseal/settings.yaml

Version resolution order:

Project config version (.kseal-config.yaml)
Global default version (kseal version set)
Highest downloaded version
Fetch latest from GitHub (first run only)

Security

Add .unsealed/ and .kseal-keys/ to your .gitignore
Never commit plaintext secrets or private keys to version control
Store exported keys securely (e.g., password manager, encrypted backup)
Offline decryption with kseal decrypt requires the private keys - keep them safe

Contributing

git clone https://github.com/eznix86/kseal.git
cd kseal
uv sync

# Run tests
make test

# Run linter
make lint

License

MIT

Kseal

Install / Use

README