Keyway vs OpenBao

Keyway is an open-source secrets manager that injects environment variables into a running process instead of storing them in a project.env file. Its `keyway run` command makes secrets available while that process runs; they disappear when it stops. Keyway says AI agents reading files from disk cannot see secrets injected this way. Access follows GitHub repository permissions, so removing a person’s repository access also revokes their Keyway access.

Secrets use AES-256-GCM encryption with a unique random IV for each secret. An isolated crypto service holds the encryption key, which Keyway says does not touch its API server or database; connections among the CLI, API, crypto service, and database use TLS 1.3. An audit trail records who accessed which secrets, when, and from where. Documented provider workflows cover Vercel, Netlify, and Railway. CLI binaries are listed for macOS, Linux, and Windows, and the full stack can be self-hosted with Docker Compose. The Free plan includes unlimited public repositories, one private repository, three environments per repository, two provider integrations, and unlimited collaborators. Paid plans are Pro at €9 a month, Team at €19 a month, and Business at €39 a month.

OpenBao is a free, open-source system for storing and controlling access to secrets such as API tokens, encryption keys, passwords, and certificates. Management is available through a web UI, CLI, or HTTP API. Key/value secrets are encrypted before persistent storage, while dynamic credentials can be generated for Kubernetes and SQL databases and revoked when leases expire. Leases can be renewed, and individual secrets or groups can be revoked. OpenBao also encrypts and decrypts data without retaining it. Authentication methods include GitHub, LDAP, and AppRole, with token-based policies. Its storage barrier uses AES-256-GCM and verifies authentication tags during decryption. High-availability configurations are supported. Deployment options include packages, containers, binaries, source builds, and Helm; documentation covers Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, and Windows. Releases provide GPG signatures and SBOMs. Integrated Storage defaults to a 1 MiB maximum entry size, configurable with max_entry_size.