SikkerKey is a secrets management platform where machines authenticate with Ed25519 signatures on every request. Each machine signs every request with a private key that never leaves it. These docs cover vault setup, secret types, machine identity, the CLI, the SDKs, the MCP server for AI clients, and the supported integrations.
If you are new, start with the Quickstart for a five-minute hands-on walkthrough. The Introduction explains the model end to end as a single read. Concepts is the reference if you just want to look up a specific term.
Vaults & Secrets
Your vault is your account's encrypted storage. Inside a vault, projects group secrets and machines into logical environments, each with its own independent encryption key. SikkerKey supports five secret types: ordinary single-value secrets, structured secrets with multiple named fields, managed database credentials that SikkerKey rotates and applies to your database in place, TTL share-links for one-time human handoffs, and canaries that freeze a project the instant they are read. Per-secret access policies add finer constraints: time windows, IP allowlists, rate caps, co-sign requirements, TTL destruction, and rotate-after-N reads.
Machines
Every server, container, and CI runner that reads secrets is a machine with its own Ed25519 keypair. Long-lived servers bootstrap with a one-time token. Short-lived workloads (CI runners, autoscaled fleets, preview environments) use enrollment tokens that mint identity per run with a baked-in lifetime. The cryptographic substrate is documented in Ed25519 Signatures.
SDKs
Native client libraries for the major server runtimes. SDKs are read-only. getSecret(), getFields(), and getField() fetch values bound to the calling machine's per-secret grants. Write actions (creating, rotating, configuring secrets) happen via the dashboard or, for AI clients, via the MCP server.
CLI & Sync Agent
The CLI is a single Go binary for shells, scripts, and CI jobs. Install with npm install -g sikkerkey and call sikkerkey get sk_…. The same binary runs as a sync agent alongside your databases, polling for managed-secret rotations and applying new credentials in place so your database never needs to accept inbound connections from SikkerKey.
AI Agents (MCP)
The SikkerKey MCP server lets Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and other MCP-compatible clients act as operators on your vault: provision machines, plant canaries, configure policies, query the audit log, draft support tickets. AI agents are a separate identity class from machines and are read-blind on stored secret values: there is no tool that returns the plaintext of an existing secret. Scope-set and project allowlist are dashboard-only, so an agent cannot expand its own privileges.
Integrations
SikkerKey integrates with the major CI/CD, container, and database platforms.
Security
SikkerKey uses three-layer envelope encryption: per-secret AES-256-GCM data keys, per-project master keys, and a server encryption key held only in memory. The full model is documented in Security Overview and Encryption Model. Every vault operation writes to an append-only audit log with severity, source IP, and machine attribution. Paid plans can add an IP allowlist as a sixth access requirement on top of the standard five-condition check.
Where to next
For most readers, the path is Quickstart first, then Concepts, then your specific SDK or CLI page. If you are evaluating SikkerKey for a specific use case, the Integrations index lists every supported platform with setup walkthroughs. If you are running into a problem, Support covers troubleshooting and ticket submission.