SealBox: Secret Vault for AI Coding
Keep passwords, API keys and personal data out of your source files, so AI coding agents
like GitHub Copilot, Claude Code and Cursor never see them.
AI agents read your files straight from disk and send what they read to a cloud model.
SealBox moves every secret out of your files into an encrypted, per-project vault and rewrites
your code to read an environment variable instead. Your program gets the real values only when
you run it through SealBox, and only after you approve.
Features
|
|
| Exposed secret warnings |
Files are checked when you open or save them. Secrets are underlined and listed in the Problems panel. |
| One-click fix |
Lightbulb → Move this file's secrets to the vault. DB_PASSWORD = "…" becomes os.environ["DB_PASSWORD"]. |
| Hover to reveal |
Hover a __SECURE_…__ placeholder or an os.environ["X"] / process.env.X / System.getenv("X") read to see where it comes from, and show the value after approval. |
| Run with Vault |
Starts your program with the secrets as environment variables. Known values are hidden in the output. |
| Plain-run hint |
Ran python app.py with ▶ and got a KeyError for a vault variable? SealBox offers to run it with the vault. |
| Status bar |
🔒 3 in vault · 👥 2 people, with a warning when there is no recovery code or commit hook. Click it for the full menu. |
| Team sharing |
Share the vault with teammates through their GitHub SSH keys. No server, no extra account. |
| Recovery |
Create a one-time recovery code, split it into 2-of-3 shares, export a recovery kit. |
| Git protection |
Scan git history for secrets that were committed before sealing, and install a pre-commit hook. |
Works with Python, JavaScript/TypeScript and Java code, .env files and JSON/YAML/TOML
configuration. Detects passwords, tokens, API keys (OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS, GitHub, Stripe,
Google, Slack…), private keys, JWTs, credentials in URLs, e-mail addresses, phone numbers,
IBANs, credit card numbers and Turkish national IDs.
Requirements
SealBox uses a small Python command-line engine (Python 3.12 or newer). The extension offers
to install it for you; to do it yourself:
pipx install sealbox
The extension looks for the engine in the project's .venv first, then on PATH. If it is
somewhere else, set SealBox: Executable.
Getting started
- Open a project and run SealBox: Scan Project for Exposed Secrets from the Command Palette.
- Click a warning's lightbulb, or run SealBox: Move All Project Secrets to the Vault.
- Start your program with SealBox: Run with Vault and approve the dialog.
- Create a recovery code from the status bar menu, in case the vault key is ever lost.
A step-by-step walkthrough is available under Help → Welcome → Get Started with SealBox.
Commands
| Command |
What it does |
SealBox: Menu |
Everything in one place (also on the status bar) |
SealBox: Scan Project for Exposed Secrets |
Scan without changing anything |
SealBox: Move This File's Secrets to the Vault |
Seal the current file (also in the editor and Explorer context menus) |
SealBox: Move All Project Secrets to the Vault |
Seal the whole project |
SealBox: Run with Vault |
Run a command with the vault's secrets |
SealBox: Show a Value from the Vault |
Reveal one value after approval |
SealBox: Add Teammate (GitHub User) |
Share the vault with a GitHub user |
SealBox: Create Recovery Code |
One-time code to recover a lost key |
SealBox: Scan Git History for Exposed Secrets |
Find vault values in old commits |
SealBox: Install Commit Hook |
Stop vault values from being committed |
SealBox: Check Engine Installation |
Verify the engine is installed and up to date |
Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
sealbox.executable |
"" |
Path to the sealbox engine. Empty: the project's .venv, then PATH. |
sealbox.checkOnSave |
true |
Check files for exposed secrets when they are opened or saved. |
Privacy and security
- Secret values never pass through the extension, except right after you approve Show
value. They are never logged. A copied value is cleared from the clipboard after 30 seconds.
- Recovery codes, shares and SSH passphrases are shown or asked for only in the engine's own
dialogs, never in the editor or the terminal.
- The vault key is stored in your OS credential store, not in the project.
- SealBox runs the engine from your workspace's
.venv, so it is disabled in untrusted
workspaces (Restricted Mode).
- No telemetry. SealBox only talks to the network when you add a teammate (to fetch their
public SSH keys from
github.com/<user>.keys).
Language
The interface follows your VS Code display language: English, or Turkish.
Links
License
FSL-1.1-ALv2: free to use,
modify and share for any purpose except a competing commercial product. Each release becomes
Apache-2.0 two years after it is published.
