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ReactorcoremeltdownandClaude Opus 5.5 4ffc434b1b Keep server data in an encrypted database, and harden every part

Storage. The server keeps its data in SQLite (a file in the data
directory, the default) or PostgreSQL (database, KEEPORG_DATABASE_URL or
-database). Every row, the KDBX versions included, is sealed with
AES-256-GCM under a key derived from the master key and named by an HMAC.
The master key is required to start and a different one is refused. A data
directory from 0.10 or earlier is imported on first start. Several servers
may share one PostgreSQL database. Go goes to 1.26 for the pure-Go
drivers (modernc.org/sqlite, jackc/pgx).

Hardening, after an audit of the server, both clients and the deployment:
- Single sign-on approves a device only after an explicit Approve in the
  browser that started it, bound by a cookie and PKCE; identities are never
  linked by username, by verified email only when allowed, never to admins.
- Sign-in attempts are limited per address and per account, passwords are
  checked outside the store lock with uniform timing, one-time codes work
  once, and starting two-factor needs the password.
- Merge vaults bound KDF parameters, payload size and XML shape, check
  pushes before storing them, and run at most two merges at once. A version
  is written in the same transaction as its metadata.
- Tokens in URLs only on the event stream, which ends on revocation; CSP,
  frame-ancestors, no-store and HSTS; sign-in CSRF; 404 for databases
  without access; new trusted_proxies.
- Clients open only the server's approval page, keep case-variant and
  retired file names apart, never overwrite a save made during a pull,
  require https except locally, send the stream token in a header, bound
  their reads and escape notifications and terminal output.
- The .deb creates the master key, systemd is sandboxed further, nginx sets
  modern TLS and HSTS, and CI deploys from main only.

Server 0.12.0, desktop 0.6.0, Android 0.4.0 (versionCode 4).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

2026-11-02 15:38:32 +01:00

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KeepOrg

A synchronization adapter for KeePass. Your databases stay ordinary .kdbx files that KeePassXC, KeePass2 or KeePassDX opens directly; a server keeps them in step between everyone who has access.

When two people save at once, the server can merge both edits: it opens the two copies in memory, folds them together by KeePass's own rules and stores the result. Nothing is lost, and no one has to reconcile two files by hand.

Merging means decrypting, so a merge vault's password is kept on the server, encrypted under a master key held outside the data directory. That makes the server part of your trust boundary. Vaults on any other conflict strategy keep their key off the server entirely, exactly as before.

Server (keeporgd, Linux): hosts many KDBX databases, controls access with a tree of user groups, accepts registrations by invite link or OIDC, merges concurrent edits, and pushes updates to connected clients. Its web page at /web is for creating a vault and setting its password.
Desktop client (keeporg, Linux, macOS, Windows, BSD): a system tray application that mirrors every assigned database into one directory as a real file, pushes each save and applies what others push. The same binary is the command line for administration and for headless machines.
Android client: the same, published to every file picker as a storage provider.

No FUSE and no cgo. The server keeps everything in SQLite or PostgreSQL, every row sealed under a master key the database never sees, and its only third-party code is the two pure-Go database drivers. The KDBX 4 codec, including ChaCha20, BLAKE2b and Argon2, is part of the repository and is tested against both the relevant RFCs and a real KeePassXC. The desktop client's one dependency is fyne.io/systray, for the tray icon.

Quick start

make check                 # gofmt, vet, tests
make all                   # keeporgd and keeporg for this host

# a server for trying it out, on 127.0.0.1:8765
KEEPORG_ADMIN_PASSWORD=dev-password-1 make run-server

# in another shell
build/linux-arm64/keeporg login -server http://127.0.0.1:8765 -user admin
build/linux-arm64/keeporg groups
build/linux-arm64/keeporg vault -create "Team Vault" -group <group-id>
build/linux-arm64/keeporg          # the tray; `keeporg run` without a desktop

Team Vault.kdbx appears in ~/KeepOrg; open it in KeePassXC with the vault password you just set. Every save is pushed, and a save that races with a colleague's is merged rather than refused.

The tray

Started without a command — from the applications menu, the DMG's KeepOrg.app, or keeporg-tray.exe on Windows — the client puts a padlock in the system tray:

Item	What it does
status line	signed-in account and whether everything is up to date, or what needs attention
Open Mirror Folder	the directory holding the `.kdbx` files
Databases ▶	each database with its state; choosing one opens it in your KeePass application
Sync Now	reconcile immediately instead of at the next rescan
Sign In… / Sign Out	sign in by approving a code in the browser (password, second factor or SSO); sign out revokes the session and leaves the files
Open Web Interface	`/web` on the server, for creating vaults and managing access
Open Config	the settings file; a saved edit applies at once
Open Log	the agent's log
Start at Login	LaunchAgent on macOS, XDG autostart on Linux and BSD, the Run key on Windows
About, Quit

Conflicts, merges and failures raise a desktop notification.

Configuration

config.json in the user configuration directory (~/.config/keeporg, ~/Library/Application Support/keeporg, %AppData%\keeporg) holds every client setting. The first start writes it in full, and the tray reloads it when it is saved.

Key	Default	Meaning
`server_url`		the server's base URL, as a browser sees it
`username`, `token`		written by signing in
`device_label`	host name	this device in the server's session list
`mirror_dir`	`~/KeepOrg`	where the `.kdbx` files are kept; `~` is expanded
`poll_seconds`	`2`	how often local saves are looked for
`request_timeout_seconds`	`60`	the limit on one API request (the event stream is exempt)
`ca_file`		a PEM bundle trusted besides the system roots, for a private CA
`log_file`		the log; empty means `keeporg.log` beside the config for the tray, standard error for `keeporg run`
`notifications`	`true`	desktop notifications from the tray

Or open http://127.0.0.1:8765/web and create the vault from the browser.

Packaging

make deb        # Debian packages for the client and the server
make docker     # server container image, scratch-based, about 25 MB
make dmg        # macOS disk image with an /Applications symlink (on macOS)
make windows    # Windows zip: keeporg-tray.exe, keeporg.exe and a Task Scheduler job
make android    # unsigned release APK (needs the Android SDK)
make help       # every target

Running the server in a container:

head -c 32 /dev/urandom | base64 > master.key
podman secret create keeporg_master_key master.key
podman run -d -p 8765:8765 \
  --secret keeporg_master_key \
  -e KEEPORG_MASTER_KEY_FILE=/run/secrets/keeporg_master_key \
  -e KEEPORG_ADMIN_PASSWORD=change-me \
  -v keeporg-data:/var/lib/keeporg \
  keeporgd:latest -addr :8765 -data /var/lib/keeporg -url https://keeporg.example.com

Keep that master key: everything in the database is encrypted under it, and the server does not start without it. KEEPORG_MASTER_KEY takes the base64 key directly if your secret store injects variables instead of files. The data goes to a SQLite file on the volume; to use PostgreSQL instead, add -e KEEPORG_DATABASE_URL=postgres://keeporg:…@db/keeporg. See packaging/docker/compose.yaml.

Server environment variables:

Variable	Meaning
`KEEPORG_MASTER_KEY`	the master key, base64; overrides the other two sources
`KEEPORG_MASTER_KEY_FILE`	path to a file holding the master key (base64 or 32 raw bytes); never created, and the server does not start without it
`KEEPORG_EXTERNAL_URL`	the public base URL (`external_url`); `-url` overrides it
`KEEPORG_DATABASE_URL`	`postgres://…` or `sqlite:<path>` (`database`); default a SQLite file in the data directory; `-database` overrides it
`KEEPORG_TRUSTED_PROXIES`	reverse proxies whose `X-Forwarded-For` is believed, for per-client rate limits (`trusted_proxies`)
`KEEPORG_ADMIN_PASSWORD`	the first `admin` password, read only on an empty server and by `-reset-admin`

Everything else is configured in server.json or by flag. The details, including the standard proxy and CA variables, are in docs/HANDOVER.md.

Documentation

docs/HANDOVER.md — architecture, the decisions behind it, operations, and what is left to do.
docs/PROTOCOL.md — the HTTP API.
android/README.md — the Android module.

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