91 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
91 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
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<!--
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order: 3
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synopsis: "This document describes how to configure and use the keyring and its various backends for an [**application**](../basics/app-anatomy.md). A separate document for implementing a CLI for an SDK [**module**](../building-modules/intro.md) can be found [here](#../building-modules/module-interfaces.md#cli)."
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-->
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# The keyring
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Starting with the v0.38.0 release, Cosmos SDK comes with a new keyring implementation
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that provides a set of commands to manage cryptographic keys in a secure fashion. The
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new keyring supports multiple storage backends, some of which may not be available on
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all operating systems.
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## The 'os' backend
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The `os` backend relies on operating system-specific defaults to handle key storage
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securely. Typically, operating systems credentials sub-systems handle passwords prompt,
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private keys storage, and user sessions according to their users password policies. Here
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is a list of the most popular operating systems and their respective passwords manager:
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* macOS (since Mac OS 8.6): [Keychain](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/keychain-access/welcome/mac)
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* Windows: [Credentials Management API](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/secauthn/credentials-management)
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* GNU/Linux:
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* [libsecret](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libsecret)
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* [kwallet](https://api.kde.org/frameworks/kwallet/html/index.html)
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GNU/Linux distributions that use GNOME as default desktop environment typically come with
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[Seahorse](https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Seahorse). Users of KDE based distributions are
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commonly provided with [KDE Wallet Manager](https://userbase.kde.org/KDE_Wallet_Manager).
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Whilst the former is in fact a `libsecret` convenient frontend, the former is a `kwallet`
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client.
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`os` is the default option since operating system's default credentials managers are
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designed to meet users' most common needs and provide them with a comfortable
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experience without compromising on security.
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## The 'file' backend
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The `file` backend more closely resembles the keybase implementation used prior to
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v0.38.1. It stores the keyring encrypted within the apps configuration directory. This
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keyring will request a password each time it is accessed, which may occur multiple
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times in a single command resulting in repeated password prompts. If using bash scripts
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to execute commands using the `file` option you may want to utilize the following format
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for multiple prompts:
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```sh
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$ gaiacli config keyring-backend file # use file backend
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$ (echo '1234567890'; echo '1234567890') | gaiacli keys add me # add the key 'me'
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$ (echo '1234567890'; echo '1234567890'; echo '1234567890') | gaiad collect-gentxs # multiple prompts
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```
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::: tip
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The first time you add a key to an empty keyring, you will be prompted to type the password twice.
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:::
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## The 'pass' backend
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The `pass` backend uses the [pass](https://www.passwordstore.org/) utility to manage on-disk
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encryption of keys' sensitive data and metadata. Keys are stored inside `gpg` encrypted files
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within app-specific directories. `pass` is available for the most popular UNIX
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operating systems as well as GNU/Linux distributions. Please refer to its manual page for
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information on how to download and install it.
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::: tip
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**pass** uses [GnuPG](https://gnupg.org/) for encryption. `gpg` automatically invokes the `gpg-agent`
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daemon upon execution, which handles the caching of GnuPG credentials. Please refer to `gpg-agent`
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man page for more information on how to configure cache parameters such as credentials TTL and
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passphrase expiration.
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:::
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The password store must be set up prior to first use:
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```sh
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$ pass init <GPG_KEY_ID>
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```
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Replace `<GPG_KEY_ID>` with your GPG key ID. You can use your personal GPG key or an alternative
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one you may want to use specifically to encrypt the password store.
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## The 'test' backend
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The `test` backend is a password-less variation of the `file` backend. Keys are stored
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unencrypted on disk. This backend is meant for testing purposes only and **should never be used
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in production environments**.
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## The 'kwallet' backend
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The `kwallet` backend uses `KDE Wallet Manager`, which comes installed by default on the
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GNU/Linux distributions that ships KDE as default desktop environment. Please refer to
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[KWallet Handbook](https://docs.kde.org/stable5/en/kdeutils/kwallet5/index.html) for more
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information.
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