# atom/node-keytar

Native Password Node Module

Repository: https://github.com/atom/node-keytar
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/node-keytar
Homepage: https://atom.github.io/node-keytar
Language: C++
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: keychain, libsecret, credential-storage
Archived: true
Last push: 2022-12-12T11:01:01+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4878, "days_push": 1360, "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 1426, forks 202 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:41.750579+00:00)

## What it is
A native Node.js module (written in C++) for storing, retrieving, replacing, and deleting passwords in the operating system's credential store. It uses the macOS Keychain, Linux Secret Service API/libsecret, and Windows Credential Vault, with prebuilt binaries for Node and Electron.

## Use cases
- store api tokens securely in a node app
- save user passwords in the os keychain from electron
- retrieve stored credentials for a service in nodejs
- delete saved passwords from windows credential vault
- list all accounts and passwords for a service on linux libsecret
- avoid hardcoding secrets by using the system keychain

## When to choose
- you need cross-platform OS-level credential storage from Node.js or Electron
- you want passwords managed by the native keychain rather than a config file
- you need prebuilt binaries for supported Node/Electron versions

## When to avoid
- you need a maintained library - the project is in maintenance mode with its last release in 2022
- you are not on Node.js or Electron
- you need encrypted storage on systems without a keychain service (e.g., headless Linux without libsecret)

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: maintenance
- function: security, cryptography, sdk
- domain: security, developer-tools, cross-platform
- platform: windows, cross-platform
- tags: keychain, credential-storage, libsecret, native-module, electron, passwords, macos, linux, nodejs

## Member repositories
- atom/node-keytar (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:41.750579+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 2026-08-30T04:37:25.975265+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/atom/node-keytar (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:41.750579+00:00, sha fe3ce53a4b30)
  - homepage: https://atom.github.io/node-keytar (fetched 2026-08-29T11:49:09.325843+00:00, sha c71912fd1e42)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.