Keep

Self-custodial key management for Nostr and Bitcoin.

Quick Start

# 1. Install
cargo install --path keep-cli

# 2. Create your encrypted vault (you'll set a password)
keep init

# 3. Generate a new Nostr key
keep generate --name main

# 4. See your keys
keep list

Your keys are encrypted at ~/.keep.

Install

cargo install --path keep-cli

Requires Rust 1.70+. To build from source:

git clone https://github.com/privkeyio/keep
cd keep
cargo build --release
./target/release/keep --help

Commands

keep init                     # Create encrypted vault
keep generate --name <n>      # Generate new key
keep import --name <n>        # Import existing nsec
keep list                     # List keys
keep export --name <n>        # Export nsec
keep delete --name <n>        # Delete key
keep serve                    # Start NIP-46 remote signer

Remote Signing (NIP-46)

Sign from any NIP-46 compatible client without exposing your private key:

keep serve --relay wss://nos.lol

Displays a bunker URL to paste into your client. Approve requests with Y, reject with N, quit with Q.

Bitcoin

BIP-86 Taproot addresses and PSBT signing:

keep bitcoin address --key main              # Receive address
keep bitcoin address --key main --change     # Change address
keep bitcoin descriptor --key main           # Watch-only descriptor
keep bitcoin analyze --psbt unsigned.psbt    # Inspect PSBT
keep bitcoin sign --key main --psbt unsigned.psbt

Threshold Signatures (FROST)

Split keys into t-of-n shares for distributed signing:

keep frost generate --threshold 2 --shares 3   # Create 2-of-3 key
keep frost split --key main -t 2 -s 3          # Split existing key
keep frost list                                 # List shares
keep frost export --share 1 --group npub1...   # Export share
keep frost import                               # Import share
keep frost sign --group npub1... --message <hex>

Network Coordination

Sign across devices over nostr relays:

# On device 2 (signer)
keep frost network serve --group npub1... --relay wss://nos.lol

# On device 1 (initiator)
keep frost network peers --group npub1...      # Check online peers
keep frost network sign --group npub1... --message "hello"
keep frost network sign-event --group npub1... --kind 1 --content "Posted via FROST"

Enclave (AWS Nitro)

Hardware-isolated signing—keys never leave enclave memory:

keep enclave status                              # Check status
keep enclave verify                              # Verify attestation
keep enclave generate-key --name agent           # Generate in enclave
keep enclave import-key --name agent --from-vault mykey
keep enclave sign --key agent --message <hex>
keep enclave sign-psbt --key agent --psbt tx.psbt --network testnet

Local testing (insecure, dev only):

keep enclave generate-key --name test --local
keep enclave sign --key test --message <hex> --local

See docs/ENCLAVE.md for deployment.

Agent SDK

Secure signing for AI agents with constrained sessions.

Python

pip install keep-agent

from keep_agent import AgentSession, SessionScope, RateLimit

session = AgentSession(
    scope=SessionScope.nostr_only(),
    rate_limit=RateLimit.conservative(),
    duration_hours=24,
)

# Check permissions before signing
if session.check_operation("sign_nostr_event"):
    session.record_request()

info = session.get_session_info()
print(f"Requests remaining: {info.requests_remaining}")

LangChain

from keep_agent import AgentSession
from keep_agent.langchain import KeepSignerTool

session = AgentSession()
tool = KeepSignerTool(session=session)
# Use with any LangChain agent

CrewAI

from keep_agent import AgentSession
from keep_agent.crewai import create_keep_tools

session = AgentSession()
tools = create_keep_tools(session)
# Use with CrewAI agents

TypeScript

npm install @keep/agent

import { KeepAgentSession, createNostrScope } from '@keep/agent';

const session = new KeepAgentSession(createNostrScope());
const info = await session.getSessionInfo();

MCP Server (Claude/Cursor)

{
  "servers": {
    "keep-signer": {
      "command": "keep",
      "args": ["mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "KEEP_SESSION_TOKEN": "keep_sess_...",
        "KEEP_BUNKER_URL": "bunker://npub1.../wss://relay.example.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Hidden Volumes

Plausibly deniable storage—hidden volume is cryptographically undetectable:

KEEP_PASSWORD="outer" KEEP_HIDDEN_PASSWORD="hidden" keep --hidden init
KEEP_PASSWORD="outer" keep list           # Decoy keys
KEEP_PASSWORD="hidden" keep --hidden list # Real keys

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
KEEP_PASSWORD	Vault password (avoids interactive prompt)
KEEP_HIDDEN_PASSWORD	Hidden volume password (with --hidden flag)
KEEP_PATH	Custom vault path (default: ~/.keep)

Security

• Argon2id key derivation (256MB, 4 iterations)
• XChaCha20-Poly1305 encryption, BLAKE2b checksums
• Keys encrypted in RAM (Ascon-128a), zeroized on drop
• Pure Rust, #![forbid(unsafe_code)]
• FROST uses BIP-340 Schnorr
• Nitro Enclaves with attestation-based KMS policies

Development

# Build
cargo build --release

# Run tests
cargo test

# Run with debug logging
RUST_LOG=debug cargo run --bin keep -- <command>

License

AGPL-3.0