Secretive – macOS native app to store SSH keys in the Secure Enclave
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Submission timeline
2007–2026One slot for every year since HN launched. Height is that year's peak points; orange marks a 100+ point or 50+ comment breakout. Select a bar to open its strongest thread.
First comments on top threads
HN comment orderFor anyone not aware, you can use macOS's keychain to store ssh key passwords and have them unlock at login. This way you can have the benefits and convenience of password managers in the command line for SSH certificates. https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/48502/how-can-i-pe...
Secretive has to function as both a key generation utility and an SSH agent because of a restriction in Apple's Secure Enclave functionality - only the app that generates a key is allowed to use it. There's actually a workaround for this, which is to use https://developer.apple.com/documentation/cryptotokenkit to expose keys to the user keychain, which then means the tool used for key generation doesn't have to be the same tool that allows applications to make use of that key. We're…
These types of programs have gone through a few iterations since the secure enclave was released, but they all share a fatal flaw, probably from the SE itself: You can only store keys that use the NIST P curves, which are not recommended for SSH, or any serious crypto. There are serious supicions that they were tampered with during design by NSA, and are listed in djb's https://safecurves.cr.yp.to/ as unsafe. Using this program would force you to configure your server…
The first top-level comment from each of the four biggest threads, in HN’s own order. Excerpts are shortened; open a comment for full context.
- Breakout years
- 2
- Total points
- 761
- Total comments
- 242
100+ points or 50+ comments
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
Every submission
| Date | Title as submitted | By | Points | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-06-27 | Secretive – macOS native app to store SSH keys in the Secure EnclaveFirst breakout · Best thread | guessmyname | 417 | 106 |
| 2021-10-13 | Secretive: An app for storing and managing SSH keys in the Secure Enclave | tosh | 48 | 11 |
| 2023-03-10 | Secretive: Store SSH Keys in the Secure EnclaveLatest 20+ point return | ValentineC | 292 | 125 |
| 2025-01-25 | Secretive: macOS app for storing SSH keys in the Secure Enclave | enescakir | 3 | 0 |
| 2025-05-06 | Hardware protection for your private keysHall induction | muzzy19 | 1 | 0 |