kavo CLI Tool

kavo is a command-line interface (CLI) tool designed for managing and encrypting secret files. This tool helps with generating key pairs, encrypting/decrypting files, and securely managing configurations.

Usage

You can use the kavo command followed by one of the available subcommands:

npx kavo <command> [options]

Commands

init

Initializes a configuration file (.kavo.json) in the current directory.

npx kavo init

keys:generate

Generates a new pair of private and public keys.

npx kavo keys:generate [options]

Options:

• -s, --save-private-key: Save the private key in the user's home directory (~/.kavo-secretkey).

files:add

Adds a new file to the list of secret files to manage and encrypts it.

npx kavo files:add ...<paths>

Arguments:

• paths: Paths of the secret files to encode and add to the config file.

files:decrypt

Decrypts all secret files or specific files provided.

npx kavo files:decrypt [options] [...<paths>]

Arguments:

• paths: Paths of the secret files to decrypt (optional, if not provided, all secret files will be decrypted).

Options:

• -o, --stdout: Should the decrypted content be written to stdout instead?

files:edit

Opens the default file editor to change the contents of a secret file, then re-encrypts it.

npx kavo files:edit [options] <path>

Arguments:

• path: Path of the secret file to edit.

Options:

• -p, --private-key: Specify the private key to use.
• -d, --decrypt: Should the decrypted version of the file also be updated after the edit?

files:reencrypt

Re-encrypts all secret files (useful when recipients change).

npx kavo files:reencrypt

files:remove

Removes a file from the list of secret files to manage and deletes the encrypted version.

npx kavo files:remove ...<paths>

Arguments:

• [paths]: Paths of the secret file to remove.

Configuration

kavo uses a configuration file named .kavo.json in the current directory. This file manages cryptographic settings and the list of encrypted files.

Here is an example configuration:

{
  "$schema": "https://unpkg.com/[email protected]/schemas/config.json",
  "keyring": "https://example.com/keyring.json",
  "recipients": {
    "type": "subset",
    "teamIds": ["devs"],
    "publicKeyIds": ["sarah"]
  },
  "files": ["secrets/file1.txt", "secrets/file2.txt"]
}

Schema of Configuration Fields:

• $schema: Optional schema URL.
• keyring: URL of the keyring that stores all public keys by ID.
• recipients:
  • type: Indicates which recipients in the keyring can decrypt the files (all or subset).
  • ids: If type is subset, this is the list of public key IDs.
• files: List of files managed by kavo.

Keyring

kavo also uses a keyring.json file to manage public keys.

Example keyring schema:

{
  "$schema": "https://unpkg.com/[email protected]/schemas/keyring.json",
  "publicKeys": {
    "mark": "age...",
    "tom": "age...",
    "sarah": "age...",
    "alice": "age..."
  },
  "teams": {
    "devs": ["mark", "tom"],
    "support": ["alice"]
  }
}

Schema of Keyring Fields:

• $schema: Optional schema URL.
• publicKeys: The list of public keys, organized by ID. Only keys starting with "age" are valid.