Polykey CLI

The Polykey Command Line Interface (CLI) is the primary user interface for the Polykey system, tailored for developers and system administrators. It was conceived from the necessity of managing secrets efficiently during software development and deployment workflows.

Overview

The Polykey CLI is the first and primary interface to the Polykey system. It is intended for developers and system administrators who require an advanced tool for managing secrets efficiently. New features are introduced in the CLI first, serving as a testing and integration ground before being ported to other user interfaces. This approach ensures that the features are reliable and refined for professional use.

We designed the CLI user-experience (UX) to be suitable for a human operator, but also to be easily scripted and integrated into other tools.

The tutorial here should be followed in order, and the goal is to make use of Polykey to manage secrets for a simple application from development to deployment.

The CLI is open-source and available on GitHub: Polykey CLI.

Supported Platforms

Polykey is continuously built and tested on:

• Linux x64 / arm64
• MacOS x64 / arm64
• Windows x64
• Docker

note

Polykey is currently in beta. Its interface is at various levels of stability. So bear with us as we perfect its design. You can contribute by discussing with us on Discord or creating issue tickets in the Polykey-CLI repo on GitHub.

Getting Started

Start your journey with Polykey by following the tutorials below in sequence:

tip

For a visual walkthrough, check out our getting started demo video after installing Polykey.

1. Installation - Install Polykey CLI on your platform.
2. Bootstrap Keypair - Set up your node and connect to the network.
3. Managing Vaults - Securely store secrets within encrypted vaults.
4. Managing Secrets - Organize and handle secrets within your vaults.
5. Claiming Digital Identities - Establish and authenticate your identity within the network.
6. Discovering Other User's Identities - Find and verify other users to manage permissions.
7. Sharing Vaults - Share your encrypted vaults securely with peers.
8. Managing Multiple Nodes - Operate multiple local nodes/agents.
9. Using Environment Variables - Master polykey secrets env for dynamic environment management.

Explore advanced scenarios in subsequent sections, including:

• Managing multiple local nodes
• Integrating multiple nodes with a single identity
• Injecting secrets directly into your development environments using Polykey’s env command

This will prepare you to fully exploit Polykey’s capabilities in diverse and complex operational settings.

📄️ Installation

Installing the CLI can be done in different ways depending on your operating environment.

📄️ Bootstrapping

Introduction

📄️ Managing Vaults

Introduction

📄️ Managing Secrets

Introduction

📄️ Claiming Digital Identities: Establishing Identity Linkages in Polykey

In Polykey, claiming a digital identity is a crucial step that allows users to establish their identity across various platforms and link these identities to their cryptographic keys. This process involves authenticating with external services, such as GitHub, and claiming ownership of an identity by posting a cryptographic link to a publicly verifiable location.

📄️ Discovering Users' Nodes and Managing Access Permissions

In the Polykey network, discovering other users' nodes and managing access permissions is crucial for secure and efficient collaboration. This guide will walk you through the process of finding other users' nodes using their claimed digital identities and setting permissions to manage how these nodes interact with your secrets and vaults.

📄️ Sharing Vaults With Secrets

In Polykey, sharing vaults containing secrets is essential for collaborative environments. This guide will walk you through the process of securely sharing your vaults and enabling other users to access and synchronize secrets between trusted nodes.

📄️ Managing Multiple Local Nodes

Managing multiple local

📄️ Using Environment Variables with Polykey

Polykey revolutionizes the management of environment variables by injecting them securely into applications, surpassing traditional .env file methods. This tutorial delves into the capabilities of the polykey secrets env command, illustrating its versatility and offering detailed usage examples.