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Quick Start Guide

This guide will help you set up and start using Vault++ in minutes.

1. Get an account​

If you don't have an account, create a free one by clicking the button below.

Create an account

Generate your private key​

During registration, you will generate a private key linked to your account. It is recommended to use your primary development device, as the private key will be stored on that device and in the browser you use. You will also be prompted to enter a password to encrypt your new private key.

warning

Secrets on Vault++ are encrypted end-to-end; therefore, we cannot recover your account if you lose your private key or forget the password to decrypt it. We highly recommend backing up your private key and its decryption password outside of your current device, such as in an online password manager.

2. Create a new application​

note

Upon creating your account, you will have a default namespace named default. Namespaces are used to organize applications into groups or teams with different access controls. On the free plan, you may create up to two namespaces. If desired, you can delete the default namespace and create a new one with a different name.

To create an application:

  1. Click the More () button in the desired namespace, and select New Application.

  2. Enter an application name and press Enter. Your new application will include three environments: local, staging, and prod. You can add or remove environments in the Settings tab.

  3. Navigate to the local environment, click the Add () button, and select New secret.

  4. Enter a secret key and press Enter.

  5. Enter the secret value, then click the Save () button to save your changes.

  6. To import an existing .env or JSON file, click the Add () button and select Import JSON or .env. Choose a file and then click the Save () button.

3. Read secrets locally​

To retrieve secrets for local development, you need the vpp cli. The vpp cli fetches, decrypts, and injects secrets from Vault++ into your shell as environment variables.

To install the vpp cli, follow the following steps:

  1. Download and install vpp by running the following command: 
    eval "$(curl -fsSLA $SHELL https://vpp.sh)"
  2. Locate the private key generated during registration and copy it to ~/.vpp/private-key.pem.

  1. Create a new vpp.jsonc file in the root folder of your application project. If you're using a monorepo setup, you can create a vpp.jsonc file for each application folder. Below is an example template for the vpp.jsonc file:

    vpp.jsonc
    {
      "$schema": "https://vaultplusplus.com/schema.json",
      "organization": "<organization slug>",  // replace with your organization
      "namespace": "default",                 // replace with target namespace
      "application": "<application slug>",    // replace with target application
    }

  2. Navigate to your application project folder in the shell and run:

    vpp unlock

  3. Enter your private key password when prompted.

  4. Secrets for the application will now be available as environment variables. When you change the directory, vpp will automatically remove these environment variables.

  5. Start your application.

    > cd /path/to/your-application
╭───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│                                                           │
│                          Vault++                          │
│                                                           │
│     Organization:   org-name                              │
│     Namespace:      team-name                             │
│     Application:    your-application                      │
│                                                           │
│     Application is locked! Run vpp unlock to unlock.      │
│                                                           │
╰───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
    > vpp unlock
VPP CLI xxxxxxx
--------------
Enter Private Key Password: *****************
Success! Your key fingerprint is ...........
    [vpp] env variables:
+ SECRET_1
+ SECRET_2
+ SECRET_3
    > app start # run your application normally...

  6. Commit and push the vpp.jsonc file so you can use it in the next guides.

Congratulations! 🎉 You've just completed your first Vault++ guide! In the next guide, you'll learn how to securely use secrets in your live environments.