# StackExchange/blackbox

Safely store secrets in Git/Mercurial/Subversion

Repository: https://github.com/StackExchange/blackbox
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/blackbox
Language: Go
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Archived: true
Last push: 2025-11-05T15:44:20+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 50, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4532, "days_push": 301, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 6770, forks 390 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:48.438904+00:00)

## What it is
BlackBox is a CLI tool that uses GPG to encrypt specific files in a Git, Mercurial, Subversion, or Perforce repository so secrets are encrypted at rest in version control. It wraps gpg with simple commands for encrypting, decrypting, and managing which users and files are enrolled.

## Use cases
- store api keys safely in a git repo
- encrypt secrets in version control with gpg
- share encrypted credentials with my team
- keep puppet or ansible secrets encrypted in a repo
- decrypt secrets for production deployment
- manage which teammates can decrypt repo secrets

## When to choose
- you need simple GPG-based encryption of a few small secret files in a VCS
- your team already uses GPG and plain Git/Mercurial workflows

## When to avoid
- starting a new project - the maintainers state it is abandoned and recommend alternatives like git-crypt or secret managers
- you need enterprise features or encryption of many/large files
- you want a managed secrets service like AWS KMS, Vault, or Azure Key Vault

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: abandoned
- function: secrets-management, cryptography, version-control, developer-tools
- domain: security, developer-tools, version-control
- platform: windows, cli, cross-platform
- tags: gpg, encrypted-secrets, git, mercurial, subversion, abandoned-project, devops, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- StackExchange/blackbox (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:48.438904+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:42:31.674082+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/StackExchange/blackbox (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:48.438904+00:00, sha 2db00fa81c76)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.