GhostKey

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MCP-native credential vault that enables AI agents to authenticate with external services without exposing secrets, supporting bearer, basic, OAuth2, and other

by woodwosj

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MCP-native credential vault that enables AI agents to authenticate with external services without exposing secrets, supporting bearer, basic, OAuth2, and other auth patterns via MCP tools.

README

MCP-native credential vault — AI agents authenticate without holding secrets.

npm version npm downloads CI License: MIT Node.js

What is GhostKey?

GhostKey is an MCP server that manages credentials on behalf of AI agents. Agents never see raw secrets — they call MCP tools like ghostkey_request or ghostkey_connect, and GhostKey injects the right authentication transparently.

Zero secret exposure — agents authenticate without holding API keys, passwords, or tokens
7 auth patterns — bearer, basic, API key header, custom header, XML-RPC, OAuth2, query parameter
Persistent connections — managed PostgreSQL and XML-RPC/Odoo sessions
Works with any MCP client — Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI, and more

Tiers

Feature	Local (Free)	Cloud Backup (Free)	Pro ($10/mo)	Enterprise
Encrypted local vault	✓	✓	✓	✓
MCP stdio transport	✓	✓	✓	✓
Midnight cloud backup	—	✓	✓	✓
HTTP relay (remote agents)	—	—	✓	✓
Included ops/month	—	—	5,000	Unlimited
Cardano NFT ownership	—	—	✓	✓
Own wallet mode	—	—	✓	✓
Self-hosted proof server	—	—	—	✓
SSO / RBAC	—	—	—	✓

Install

npm install -g ghostkey

Or run without installing:

npx ghostkey

Quick Start

# 1. Create a vault
ghostkey init

# 2. Register a credential
ghostkey register --id stripe --type bearer --base-url https://api.stripe.com

# 3. Configure your AI client
ghostkey setup

# 4. Agents use MCP tools — no secrets exposed
#    ghostkey_request { credential_id: "stripe", method: "GET", url: "/v1/charges" }

MCP Client Configuration

Add GhostKey to your MCP client config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ghostkey": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "ghostkey"]
    }
  }
}

Config file locations:

Client	Config Path
Claude Desktop	`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
Claude Code	`~/.claude.json`
Cursor	`.cursor/mcp.json` in your project
VS Code (Copilot)	`.vscode/mcp.json` in your project

MCP Tools

Tool	Description
`ghostkey_list`	List stored credentials, optionally filtered by tag, scope, or description
`ghostkey_status`	System status or detailed credential info with expiry warnings
`ghostkey_request`	Authenticated HTTP request using a stored credential
`ghostkey_connect`	Open a persistent connection (PostgreSQL or XML-RPC/Odoo)
`ghostkey_query`	Execute a query on an existing managed connection

Auth Patterns

Type	Use Case
`bearer`	REST APIs with Bearer tokens (Stripe, GitHub, etc.)
`basic`	HTTP Basic authentication (username:password)
`api_key_header`	APIs that use a custom header for the key (e.g., `X-API-Key`)
`custom_header`	Arbitrary header with a `{{secret}}` template
`xmlrpc`	XML-RPC services (Odoo `execute_kw` pattern)
`oauth2`	OAuth2 client credentials with automatic token refresh
`query_param`	Secret injected as a URL query parameter

Security

GhostKey is designed with defense-in-depth:

Argon2id key derivation (password to 256-bit AES key)
AES-256-GCM authenticated encryption for all stored credentials
SSRF prevention — domain whitelisting per credential, private IP blocking
CRLF injection — rejected in all header values
Error sanitization — credentials never leak in error messages or MCP responses
Buffer zeroing — best-effort secret wipe on shutdown
File permissions — vault directory 700, credential file 600

Privacy

No telemetry — GhostKey collects zero usage data
No network calls — in local vault mode, nothing leaves your machine
No cloud dependency — works fully offline with local vault storage
Credentials never logged — secrets are excluded from all error messages, MCP responses, and debug output
Your vault, your data — vault files are standard AES-256-GCM encrypted files on your filesystem

CLI Reference

Command	Description
`ghostkey init`	Create a new credential vault
`ghostkey register`	Add a new credential to the vault
`ghostkey list`	List credential metadata
`ghostkey status`	Show vault health status
`ghostkey rotate`	Update a credential secret
`ghostkey revoke`	Deactivate a credential
`ghostkey start`	Launch MCP server with stdio transport
`ghostkey setup`	Configure LLM clients to use GhostKey

Supported Clients

GhostKey auto-detects and configures itself for these MCP clients:

Client	Auto-Setup	Transport
Claude Desktop	`ghostkey setup`	stdio
Claude Code	`ghostkey setup`	stdio
Cursor	`ghostkey setup`	stdio
VS Code (Copilot)	`ghostkey setup`	stdio
Windsurf	`ghostkey setup`	stdio
Gemini CLI	Manual	stdio
Continue	Manual	stdio
Custom	Manual	stdio/SSE

License

from github.com/woodwosj/GhostShell

Install GhostKey in Claude Desktop, Claude Code & Cursor

Recommended · one command, every IDE

unyly install ghostkey

Installs into Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor & VS Code — handles npx, uvx and build-from-source repos for you.

First time? Get the CLI: curl -fsSL https://unyly.org/install | sh

Or configure manually

Run in your terminal:

claude mcp add ghostkey -- npx -y ghostkey

FAQ

Is GhostKey MCP free?

Yes, GhostKey MCP is free — one-click install via Unyly at no cost.

Does GhostKey need an API key?

No, GhostKey runs without API keys or environment variables.

Is GhostKey hosted or self-hosted?

Self-hosted: the server runs locally on your machine via the install command above.

How do I install GhostKey in Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Cursor?

Open GhostKey on unyly.org, pick your client tab (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor) and press Install — the config is generated automatically, no JSON editing.

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