Quick Start¶

This guide will help you get started with Vaultix in under 5 minutes.

Your First Vault¶

Step 1: Create a Directory¶

mkdir ~/my_secrets
cd ~/my_secrets

Step 2: Add Some Files¶

echo "My secret password" > passwords.txt
echo "API_KEY=abc123" > api_keys.env
echo "Private notes" > notes.md

Step 3: Initialize the Vault¶

vaultix init

You'll be prompted for a password:

Enter password: ****
Confirm password: ****
Initializing vault and encrypting existing files...
✓ Vault initialized at: /home/user/my_secrets
✓ All files have been encrypted
✓ Original plaintext files have been securely deleted

Important

Choose a strong password and remember it! There's no password recovery.

Step 4: Verify Files are Encrypted¶

ls -la

You should only see:

drwx------ 3 user user 4096 Jan  7 17:00 .vaultix

Your original files are gone—they're now safely encrypted inside .vaultix/!

Step 5: List Encrypted Files¶

vaultix list

Enter your password, and you'll see:

Files in vault (3):
  passwords.txt (20 bytes, modified: 2026-01-07 17:00:00)
  api_keys.env (15 bytes, modified: 2026-01-07 17:00:00)
  notes.md (13 bytes, modified: 2026-01-07 17:00:00)

Step 6: Extract a File¶

vaultix extract passwords

The file is extracted with its original name:

cat passwords.txt
# My secret password

Non-Destructive

extract keeps the file in the vault. Use drop to remove it after extracting.

Common Workflows¶

Secure Existing Directory¶

cd ~/Documents/sensitive
vaultix init
# Done! All files are now encrypted

Add New Files to Vault¶

# Create a new file
echo "New secret" > newsecret.txt

# Add it to the vault
vaultix add newsecret.txt

# File is automatically encrypted and deleted

Extract All Files¶

vaultix extract
# Extracts everything to current directory

Drop a File (Extract and Remove)¶

vaultix drop old_file.txt
# Extracts the file AND removes it from vault

Fuzzy File Matching¶

You don't need to type exact filenames:

# Vault contains "secret_passwords_2024.txt"
vaultix extract secret      # ✓ Matches
vaultix extract PASSWORD    # ✓ Case-insensitive
vaultix extract 2024        # ✓ Partial match

Understanding the Vault Structure¶

After initialization, your directory looks like:

my_secrets/
└── .vaultix/
    ├── salt          # Random salt for key derivation
    ├── meta          # Encrypted metadata (filenames, sizes)
    └── objects/
        ├── a1b2c3d4.enc
        └── e5f6g7h8.enc

salt: Random data used for secure key derivation
meta: Encrypted list of files and their metadata
objects/: Encrypted file contents with random names

Backup Warning

If you lose the .vaultix/ directory, you lose your data permanently!

Next Steps¶

Now that you understand the basics:

Check out Commands for all available commands
Read Best Practices for security tips
See Examples for advanced usage scenarios

Quick Reference¶

Task	Command
Create vault	`vaultix init`
Add file	`vaultix add <file>`
List files	`vaultix list`
Extract file	`vaultix extract <file>`
Extract all	`vaultix extract`
Drop file	`vaultix drop <file>`
Remove file	`vaultix remove <file>`
Clear vault	`vaultix clear`