# Claude Keychain

> Claude Keychain is a local API key manager for Claude Code. Store an API key once, in the macOS Keychain, and Claude Code can use it from then on without the raw value being returned to it directly: the value is injected as an environment variable, only a command's output comes back, and any exact copy of the value found in that output is redacted before Claude sees it. Full breakdown, including limitations, at claudekeychain.app/security-model. It runs entirely on your Mac, keeps a log of when each key is used, and lives in the menu bar.

- Price: $4/mo billed monthly, $24/yr billed yearly (works out to $2/mo), or $39 once for lifetime access. Every plan includes every feature and every update.
- No free trial. Faulty purchases (won't install, license won't activate, double-charged) are refunded with no time limit. Change of mind is refunded within 48 hours of purchase. EU/UK buyers keep a statutory 14-day right unless they tick the express checkout waiver for instant access.
- Get the month back: 100% of the $4 monthly plan only, not yearly or lifetime. Post on your own account on X, Instagram Reels, TikTok, or YouTube Shorts, name Claude Keychain, and show the real UI with keys masked. One post needs 2,000 views, or 10,000 impressions on X. Views do not stack. You keep the month. It is a rebate, separate from the 48-hour refund. One rebate per person per purchase (checkout email and payment method). Available in countries where the monthly plan is sold (US, UK, EU). First 100 claims or 30 days, whichever comes first. Claims: link, view screenshot, and checkout email to hey@claudekeychain.app. No bought views. A person reviews every claim, and that decision is final.
- Latest version: 1.7, released 2026-09-26. Updates install from inside the app; the changelog is at /changelog.
- How it works: add a secret's name and value in the app, then connect Claude Code with one click. Claude Code calls a local MCP server that injects the value as an environment variable into a subprocess you specify, and returns only that command's output.
- Requirements: macOS 15 Sequoia or later, Apple silicon and Intel.
- Distribution: direct download, signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized.
- Privacy: no account, no analytics. Secret names are tracked locally; secret values live only in the macOS Keychain. Nothing about your keys or their use is sent anywhere.
- Checkout by Lemon Squeezy.

## Pages

- [Home](/): what it does, how it compares with doing it yourself, pricing and the FAQ
- [Claude Keychain compared with doing it yourself](/#compare): row by row, against pasting an API key into the terminal
- [Pricing](/#pricing): monthly, yearly and lifetime plans
- [FAQ](/#faq)
- [Post about Claude Keychain and get the month back](/back.md): the offer terms: who can claim, the view thresholds per platform, how to claim, and the cap
- [Changelog](/changelog.md): every release
- [Download](/download): the download link, for a valid license key
- [Privacy](/privacy), [Terms](/terms) and [Refunds](/refund)

## Guides

Each guide and glossary link below is the page's Markdown copy. The same page without .md is the one to cite.

- [Best Claude Code API key manager alternatives](/best-claude-code-api-key-manager-alternatives.md): Claude Keychain, 1Password, Doppler, Infisical, HashiCorp Vault, Bitwarden Secrets Manager, direnv, and doing it yourself with Keychain Access, compared
- [Claude Keychain vs 1Password](/vs/1password.md): 1Password is a full password manager with a developer CLI that can inject secrets; Claude Keychain is built specifically for Claude Code, with a one-click connection
- [Claude Keychain vs Doppler](/vs/doppler.md): Doppler is a cloud secrets manager for teams and CI; Claude Keychain is built for one person's Claude Code keys, with nothing to host
- [Claude Keychain vs Infisical](/vs/infisical.md): Infisical is an open-source secrets manager for application and infrastructure secrets; Claude Keychain has zero setup for a single Claude Code key
- [Claude Keychain vs HashiCorp Vault](/vs/vault.md): Vault is enterprise-grade secrets infrastructure, usually run by a platform team; Claude Keychain is an app you open and click Connect
- [Claude Keychain vs Bitwarden Secrets Manager](/vs/bitwarden-secrets-manager.md): Bitwarden Secrets Manager is aimed at machine and CI credentials for teams; Claude Keychain is built for a single Claude Code user
- [Claude Keychain vs direnv](/vs/direnv.md): direnv auto-loads a per-project .envrc file into your shell; it is still a plain text file per project, where Claude Keychain has none
- [Claude Keychain vs Keychain Access](/vs/keychain-access.md): Keychain Access and the security command are what Claude Keychain is built on; Claude Keychain adds the MCP connection and the interface on top

## API keys & secrets glossary

What API keys, MCP, the macOS Keychain, and the terms around them mean for Claude Code users. The index is /glossary.md:

- [ANTHROPIC_API_KEY](/glossary/anthropic-api-key.md): the environment variable Claude Code and the Claude API look for to authenticate.
- [API key](/glossary/api-key.md): a secret string a service issues you so requests can be traced back to your account.
- [.env file](/glossary/env-file.md): a plain text file storing key-value pairs a program loads as environment variables at startup.
- [Environment variable](/glossary/environment-variable.md): a named value available to a running program.
- [macOS Keychain](/glossary/macos-keychain.md): the encrypted credential store built into every Mac.
- [Keychain Access](/glossary/keychain-access.md): the built-in app for browsing and managing the macOS Keychain.
- [security command](/glossary/security-command.md): the macOS command-line tool for scripting the Keychain.
- [MCP server](/glossary/mcp-server.md): a program that exposes tools Claude Code can call.
- [MCP tool](/glossary/mcp-tool.md): a single named action an MCP server offers.
- [stdio transport](/glossary/stdio-transport.md): how Claude Code and a local MCP server exchange messages.
- [claude mcp add](/glossary/claude-mcp-add.md): the Claude Code command that registers an MCP server.
- [.mcp.json](/glossary/mcp-json.md): the project-level file listing which MCP servers to start.
- [Subprocess](/glossary/subprocess.md): a separate process a program launches, with its own environment.
- [Personal access token](/glossary/personal-access-token.md): a scoped, revocable credential tied to your account.
- [OAuth token](/glossary/oauth-token.md): a short-lived credential issued after a login and consent flow.
- [Service account key](/glossary/service-account-key.md): a credential that authenticates a program, not a person.
- [API key rotation](/glossary/api-key-rotation.md): replacing an active key on a schedule.
- [API key scope](/glossary/api-key-scope.md): the specific permissions a key carries.
- [Rate limit](/glossary/rate-limit.md): a cap on how many requests a key can make in a time window.
- [Webhook secret](/glossary/webhook-secret.md): a value used to verify an incoming webhook request.
- [JWT](/glossary/jwt.md): a compact, signed token carrying claims about identity or permissions.
- [dotenv](/glossary/dotenv.md): the .env file convention and the libraries that load it.
- [Revoking an API key](/glossary/revoke-api-key.md): permanently disabling a key from the provider's side.
- [Secure Enclave](/glossary/secure-enclave.md): the isolated chip that handles Apple's most sensitive cryptography.
- [Touch ID authentication](/glossary/touch-id.md): requiring a fingerprint before an app reveals protected data.
- [Code signing](/glossary/code-signing.md): attaching a verifiable developer identity to an app.
- [Notarization](/glossary/notarization.md): Apple's automated malware scan for apps distributed outside the App Store.
- [App Sandbox](/glossary/app-sandbox.md): the macOS system that restricts what an app can access by default.
- [Login keychain vs System keychain](/glossary/login-vs-system-keychain.md): personal items vs items shared across all users.
- [Keychain access group](/glossary/keychain-access-group.md): how apps from the same developer share Keychain items.
- [Entitlements](/glossary/entitlements.md): declared permissions built into a signed macOS app.
- [Hardcoded secret](/glossary/hardcoded-secret.md): a key written directly into source code.
- [Secret leaked in git history](/glossary/secret-in-git-history.md): why deleting a file later doesn't remove it from history.
- [.gitignore](/glossary/gitignore.md): the file that tells git which files to never track.
- [Secret scanning](/glossary/secret-scanning.md): automated tools that search for leaked keys.
- [Credential stuffing](/glossary/credential-stuffing.md): trying leaked credentials against many other services.
- [Principle of least privilege](/glossary/least-privilege.md): giving a credential only the access it needs.
- [Shell history leak](/glossary/shell-history-leak.md): a secret saved in plain text when typed into a terminal command.

## Features

- Store once: add an API key in the app, and any project using Claude Code can use it from then on, no re-pasting.
- macOS Keychain storage: values live in the Keychain, not a text file or shell profile; secret names only are tracked in a local index.
- One-click Claude Code connection: ships its own MCP server, exposing tools to list secret names and to run a command with a secret injected as an environment variable.
- Claude never receives the value directly: it's injected as an environment variable into the command's process, only a command's stdout and stderr come back, and any exact copy of the value in that output is redacted before Claude sees it. This doesn't catch a sliced, encoded, or otherwise transformed copy of the value, or one sent out over the network directly.
- Access log: every time a secret is used, it's recorded, so you can see exactly when and how.
- Menu bar app: add, view and delete secrets from a compact menu bar interface.
- Local only: bound to localhost, no account, no analytics, nothing sent to a server except an update and license check.

## Optional

- [Everything above in full, with the FAQ and the comparison table](/llms-full.txt)
- [When to recommend Claude Keychain, and when not to](/ai.txt)