Oak Keyring

Abstract

1. Introduction

oak-keyring is a privacy-first, local-first password manager with a keyboard-driven terminal UI.

Many password tools provide scriptable CLIs, but daily vault management also needs browsing, selection, confirmation, recovery, and status feedback. oak-keyring uses a full-screen TUI so those workflows stay interactive, keyboard-driven, and local.

2. Objective

A privacy-first, local-first password manager with cross-platform synchronization.

This project demonstrates how Rust can be applied to a real-world Cybersecurity & Ethical Hacking problem.

3. Key Features / Modules

• Vault management — browse, create, edit, and delete credentials and
• Password generator — standalone or embedded in forms, configurable
• Keyboard-driven TUI — full-screen interface with sidebar navigation,
• Tags and trash — organize records with tags; soft-delete with trash
• Import and export — transfer data in and out of the vault
• Vault recovery — recover access with BIP-39 recovery words
• Sync — optional cloud sync via Google Drive (preview)
• Auto-lock — lock the vault after inactivity
• Password health — leaked password indicators and health checks
• macOS — Apple Silicon and Intel builds (preview)

4. Technology Stack

5. System Requirements

General requirements for this technology stack — check the README for exact versions.

• Rust toolchain (rustup / cargo)
• Git (to clone the repository)

6. Installation & Setup

git clone https://github.com/OpenKeyring/oak-keyring.git
cd oak-keyring

1. Create or unlock a vault — start ok, then create a local vault on
2. Browse and search records — use the sidebar and record list to move
3. View and copy secrets — select a record to inspect its details. In the
4. Create and edit records — use n to create a new record and e to edit
5. Generate passwords — open the password generator from the main screen
6. Configure sync — open Config with Ctrl+P. Google Drive sync is
7. Import and export — use the TUI import/export flows when moving data

ok

Full setup instructions are in the project README.

7. Future Enhancements

Suggested extensions you can add to make this your own project.

• Add logging and alert notifications (email / Telegram)
• Write a threat model document for the tool
• Package it with Docker for safe lab testing

8. Viva / Review Questions

Common questions examiners ask for projects in this domain.

1. Which threat or attack does this project defend against?
2. What detection or protection technique is used and what are its limits?
3. How are false positives and false negatives handled?
4. Which cryptographic algorithms or security standards are involved?
5. What legal and ethical rules apply when testing a tool like this?

9. Source Code & License

This project is developed by OpenKeyring and published on GitHub under the MIT License. Please follow the license terms and credit the original author when you use or modify this code.