a developer
A nightly job that never stops at a prompt.
whyA password prompt at 2 a.m. halts the report.
asksStore the reporting token where the nightly script reads it.
instibrain / works with / keychain
Scripts read secrets with no prompt.
Keychain on a Mac, SecretStore on Windows, Secret Service on Linux. Refreshed from your vault, read silently.
personal/tools/keychain/keychain.md item names onlyasked · an exampleThe Slack token was rotated. Put the new one where the scripts read it.
the AI, from the pageCopy it from your vault. I replace slack-user-token from the clipboard, then confirm it exists.
security. Pages name the item, never the value.who uses it, and why
Who relies on the silent read.
Anyone with a script that runs while they are away.
a new engineer
A new laptop, checked in one pass.
whyNobody knows which items the scripts expect.
asksCheck that every item the scripts read exists on this Mac.
the security lead
A retired key, gone from this computer too.
whyThe vault retired the key, but its mirror is still here.
asksThe old payments key is retired. Delete its mirror.
what you can ask
Your AI writes, reads and deletes a stored secret without printing it.
Every item sits under the account instibrain, one per name.
Write or replace an item from the clipboard
Older items of that name are deleted first.
Check that an item exists
Present or missing, by exit code. No bytes shown.
Read it inside the command that uses it
Fetched at that moment, never echoed.
Delete an item
When the vault retires a credential, its mirror goes.
where the credential stays
Your AI keeps a copy of a few vault items in your computer's store.
The store is your computer's. A page holds only item names.
on your computer
macOS security, PowerShell SecretStore, or Linux secret-tool, all as you. Constant vault prompts make approving a reflex. The gate belongs on adding and rotating.
in your brain
A page names each item, and the vault item it mirrors.
what instibrain never touches
Values never reach a command line.
The store opens only for your account. Our server holds item names.
- A value on a command line.
Claude Code records every command line, so the store is read inside the command itself.
- A value pasted in chat, kept.
Used once, never echoed, never written to a page.
- An item made by another process.
On a Mac, it would prompt on every read.
the limits
Your AI finds no store on a server, and shares yours with what runs as you.
Where a secret store ends, by platform.
| Limit | What it means |
|---|---|
| A server has no store | There, the vault's own command is read at use. |
| The value travels on an argument once | On a Mac, for an instant while the store writes it. Only programs running as you see it. |
| The store is inside your computer's trust boundary | What runs as you can read what you can. |
before you connect it
Your AI reads the store so your vault need not ask all day.
Is the secret store a second copy of my vault?
A mirror of the few items scripts need, refreshed from the vault.
Why not read the vault every time?
A script would prompt all day. Store reads are silent; the gate stays on rotation.
Does instibrain ever see a value?
No. Pages carry item names; values go from your clipboard to the store.
Name it once, read it silently.
Say which vault item each mirrors. Every script there reads it with no prompt.
password managers1Password
Read at the moment of use, through your unlocked app.
password managersBitwardenCollections and your own vault, one field at a time.
password managersKeeperShared folders by seat, through Keeper Commander.
every kindWorks withEvery system by kind, and the rule each page shares.