Show HN: InterEnv – Hardware enclave secrets in pure Rust

InterEnv, a pure-Rust tool that seals project secrets inside hardware security enclaves (Apple Secure Enclave, Windows TPM 2.0, Linux Secret Service) and decrypts them only in volatile process memory, has been released as free, open-source software (MIT) for the Interlayer Blockchain ecosystem. Version 1.0.1 is available on crates.io, npm, PyPI, Packagist, Go Modules, GitHub Releases, and GHCR, with the project claiming zero plaintext on disk and no cloud dependency, contrasting with tools like dotenvx and cloud secret managers.

Eradicate Plaintext .env Files from Developer Disks Forever Ultra-fast, hardware-enclave secret isolation in pure Rust, built for Interlayer Blockchain and open for all. Built for macOS TouchID, Windows Hello / TPM 2.0, and Linux Secret Service. Secrets decrypt only in volatile process memory. Never touches disk. Never leaks in Git. InterEnv core engine, CLI, and multi-language client SDKs are officially published and immediately available across all major package ecosystems: | Ecosystem | Registry / Source | Install / Add Command | Direct Registry Links | |---|---|---|---| | Rust | crates.io | cargo add interenv • cargo install interenv | • https://crates.io/crates/interenv crates.io/crates/interenv https://crates.io/crates/interenv | | Node.js / TypeScript | npm | npm install interenv • npx interenv | • https://www.npmjs.com/package/interenv npmjs.com/package/interenv https://www.npmjs.com/package/interenv | | Python / AI Agents | PyPI | pip install interenv | • https://pypi.org/project/interenv/ pypi.org/project/interenv https://pypi.org/project/interenv/1.0.1/ | | PHP / Laravel / Symfony | Packagist | composer require bharathcoorg/interenv | • https://packagist.org/packages/bharathcoorg/interenv packagist.org/packages/bharathcoorg/interenv https://packagist.org/packages/bharathcoorg/interenv | | Go Microservices | Go Modules | go get github.com/Bharathcoorg/interenv/go/interenv@v1.0.1 | pkg.go.dev/github.com/Bharathcoorg/interenv/go https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/Bharathcoorg/interenv/go | | Standalone Binaries | GitHub Releases | Prebuilt binaries for Linux, macOS Apple Silicon & Intel , Windows | GitHub v1.0.1 Release Assets https://github.com/Bharathcoorg/interenv/releases/tag/v1.0.1 | | Container Image | GitHub Packages GHCR | docker pull ghcr.io/bharathcoorg/interenv:latest | GitHub Packages https://github.com/Bharathcoorg/interenv/pkgs/container/interenv | Every software engineer, Web3 validator, and AI agent builder uses environment variables to store mission-critical credentials: INTERLAYER VALIDATOR KEY , ETHEREUM PRIVATE KEY , OPENAI API KEY , AWS SECRET ACCESS KEY , database connection strings, and webhook signing secrets. - ❌ The Catastrophic Problem : Plaintext .env files get accidentally committed to public GitHub repositories daily. Malicious npm and pip packages scan developers' hard drives to exfiltrate plaintext secrets. In blockchain environments, a leaked .env means permanent loss of validator stake or treasury funds. - ❌ The Flaw in Other Tools : dotenvx encrypts secrets but stores the decryption key in another plaintext file .env.keys on disk Cloud secret managers 1Password, Doppler, Infisical are cloud-locked, slow, and require expensive monthly subscriptions. - 🛡️ The InterEnv Solution : Engineered originally to safeguard high-stakes validator keys and autonomous agent secrets for the Interlayer Blockchain ecosystem, InterEnv seals your project secrets inside your Host Hardware Security Enclave Apple Secure Enclave on macOS, TPM 2.0 / Windows Hello on Windows, Secret Service on Linux . Secrets are decrypted strictly in volatile process memory for the exact lifecycle of your command, and then erased with cryptographic zeroization zeroize . | Feature | Plaintext .env | dotenvx | 1Password / Doppler | InterEnv This Tool | |---|---|---|---|---| | Storage Security | 🔴 Zero Plaintext on disk | 🟡 Key file on disk .env.keys | 🟢 Cloud Vault | 🟢 Hardware Enclave TPM / TouchID | | Disk Plaintext | 🔴 Exposed | 🟡 Exposes decrypted files | 🟢 None | 🟢 ZERO Plaintext on Disk | | Cloud Dependency | 🟢 Offline | 🟢 Offline | 🔴 Required Vendor Lock-in | 🟢 100% Offline & Local-First | | Pricing | Free | Free | $19–$39/user/month | 🟢 100% Free & Open Source MIT | | Git Pre-Commit Hook | ❌ Manual | ❌ Manual | ❌ Complex setup | 🟢 Built-in 1-Click Guard | | Secure Shredding | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None | 🟢 DoD 5220.22-M Multi-Pass Wipe | | Runtime Speed | Instant | Slow Node.js | Slow CLI Cloud round-trips | ⚡ < 1ms Pure Rust | cargo install interenv npm install -g interenv Or run instantly without installation: npx interenv --help git clone https://github.com/Bharathcoorg/interenv.git cd interenv cargo build --release --features tpm Note Real TPM 2.0 Support : Linux hardware TPM 2.0 support requires building with --features tpm . Without this flag, Linux falls back to software-based KEK protection. See INSTALL.md /Bharathcoorg/interenv/blob/main/INSTALL.md for full installation guides across Cargo, NPM, PyPI, Go, PHP, and Docker. Inside any project with an existing .env file: interenv lock What happens: 1. Generates an XChaCha20-Poly1305 master project key and binds it to your Hardware Enclave TouchID / TPM / Windows Hello . 2. Creates an encrypted, git-safe .interenv.lock file. 3. Cryptographically shreds and destroys the plaintext .env from physical storage using DoD 5220.22-M 3-pass overwriting Execute any tool, test runner, validator node, or web server: Interlayer Blockchain Node / Validator / Contract Deployment interenv run interlayer-node --validator Node / Next.js / Web3 interenv run npm run dev Rust interenv run cargo run Python / AI Agents interenv run python app.py Docker / Go / Any Binary interenv run docker compose up Secrets are injected directly into child process memory. Nothing ever touches disk. Need to add a new API key? interenv edit Opens your default $EDITOR in a secure temporary buffer, updates keys, re-encrypts into .interenv.lock , and securely shreds the temp buffer. interenv hook install Installs an automated guard in .git/hooks/pre-commit that detects and immediately aborts any accidental staging or commit of .env files or hardcoded API keys. InterEnv provides native, zero-dependency SDKs across all major programming ecosystems. Secrets are injected directly into process memory without creating or touching plaintext .env files on disk. npm install interenv js import { config } from "interenv"; config ; // Injects into process.env in-memory console.log process.env.OPENAI API KEY ; pip install interenv python import interenv, os interenv.load env Injects into os.environ in-memory print os.getenv "OPENAI API KEY" go get github.com/Bharathcoorg/interenv/go/interenv package main import "fmt" "os" "github.com/Bharathcoorg/interenv/go/interenv" func main { interenv.Load // Injects into os.Setenv in-memory fmt.Println os.Getenv "OPENAI API KEY" } composer require bharathcoorg/interenv php use InterEnv\InterEnv; InterEnv::load ; // Injects into $ ENV, $ SERVER, and putenv echo getenv 'OPENAI API KEY' ; | Command | Description | |---|---| | interenv lock file | Encrypt .env into hardware enclave and securely shred the plaintext | | interenv run <cmd... | Execute command with secrets injected into child process memory | | interenv edit | Open decrypted secrets in $EDITOR and re-seal automatically on save | | interenv show | Display sealed environment keys masked by default, --reveal to unmask | | interenv status | Inspect repository security status and hardware enclave binding | | interenv doctor | Audit filesystem CoW behavior, swap configuration, and enclave status | | interenv hook install | Install Git pre-commit hook to prevent secret leaks | | interenv shred <file | Securely erase any file with 3-pass DoD overwrite | 1. Authenticated Encryption AEAD : All environment payloads are encrypted with XChaCha20-Poly1305 using 192-bit 24-byte random nonces sourced from the OS RNG rand::rngs::OsRng . 2. Hardware Enclave Sealing : Master encryption keys are stored directly in the host OS credential enclave: - macOS : Apple Keychain backed by Apple Secure Enclave & TouchID macos-secure-enclave-v1 . - Windows : Windows Credential Manager protected by TPM 2.0 windows-ncrypt-tpm-v2 and DPAPI. - Linux : TPM 2.0 hardware primary key binding linux-tpm2-v1 or FreeDesktop Secret Service. 3. Headless & CI/CD Support : For automated CI runners and Docker containers, pass --passphrase or set INTERENV PASSPHRASE to derive master keys via Argon2id memory-hard password hashing with OWASP defaults: 19 MiB RAM, 2 iterations, parallelism = 1 . 4. Memory Zeroization : Plaintext secret buffers implement zeroize::ZeroizeOnDrop , ensuring keys and values are actively wiped from RAM upon release. | Vector | Guarantee | Implementation | |---|---|---| | Disk Inspection | Zero Plaintext | Master key sealed in OS hardware vault; .env shredded immediately. | | Peer Process Sniffing | Process Sandbox | Linux Seccomp BPF filter; macOS Sandbox profile; Windows Job Object. | | Cross-Host Replay | Machine Bound | Hardware KEK prevents decrypting lockfile on foreign machines without passphrase. | | Accidental Commits | Pre-Commit Abort | Automatic hook intercepts git commit staging .env or plain credentials. | | Memory Dump on Drop | Buffer Scrubber | Custom Drop scrubs key and value buffers in-place via raw slice zeroization. | | Feature | interenv | dotenv-vault | sops | git-crypt | |---|---|---|---|---| | Hardware Enclave KEK | 🟢 Native TPM / SE | ❌ Cloud Only | 🟡 Optional KMS/PGP | ❌ GPG Symmetric | | Zero Plaintext on Disk | 🟢 Strict Guarantee | ❌ Decrypts on disk | ❌ Decrypts to disk | ❌ In-place filter | | Process Sandboxing | 🟢 Seccomp / Sandbox | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None | | Cloud Dependency | 🟢 100% Offline | 🔴 Cloud Vault | 🟡 Cloud KMS / PGP | 🟢 100% Offline | | DoD Multi-Pass Shred | 🟢 3-Pass + Platform | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None | | Language Runtime | ⚡ Pure Rust <1ms | 🟡 Node.js CLI | 🟡 Go CLI | ⚡ C++ Filter | | Operating System | Enclave Key Storage | Process Sandbox Isolation | Disk Shredding Hook | |---|---|---|---| | Windows 10 / 11 / Server | TPM 2.0 NCrypt + DPAPI | Windows Job Object KILL ON CLOSE | SetEndOfFile + FlushFileBuffers + ADS Wipe | | macOS Apple Silicon / Intel | Apple Secure Enclave + Keychain | Apple Sandbox Profile sandbox init | F FULLFSYNC Cache Flush | | Linux Ubuntu / Fedora / Arch | TPM 2.0 tss-esapi / Secret Service | Seccomp BPF PR SET NO NEW PRIVS | FALLOC FL ZERO RANGE + TRIM | Note Linux TPM 2.0 Hardware Binding : Real Linux TPM 2.0 hardware binding requires building with --features tpm cargo build --release --features tpm . Without this flag or on machines lacking /dev/tpmrm0 , Linux automatically utilizes secure Freedesktop Secret Service / software KEK protection. Warning Windows Job Object Isolation & unsafe mode Feature : Windows builds strictly enforce kernel Job Object isolation with JOB OBJECT LIMIT KILL ON JOB CLOSE to ensure all spawned child trees terminate immediately when interenv exits. The optional Cargo feature unsafe mode allows INTERENV UNSAFE=1 to bypass Windows Job Object isolation for headless or virtualized CI runners that lack nested Job Object permissions. Never compile or enable unsafe mode in production environments. - Root / Ring-0 Access : An attacker with root or kernel privileges on the local machine can dump arbitrary memory. - Solid State Drive Wear-Leveling : CoW filesystems APFS, Btrfs, ZFS and SSD flash translation layers FTL may wear-level blocks. InterEnv applies filesystem decommit calls fallocate , BLKDISCARD , SetFileValidData and warns in interenv doctor . - Hardware Failure / Reinstall : If a machine-bound TPM is reset, locally sealed lockfiles cannot be retrieved without an Argon2id passphrase backup interenv lock --passphrase . InterEnv has undergone multi-phase adversarial security hardening: - v0.1.0 Security Audit : Argon2id OWASP parameters, XChaCha20-Poly1305 cipher migration, Secrets full memory zeroization, crash-safe temporary file guards. - v0.2.0 Platform Hardening : Windows Job Object containment, Linux Seccomp BPF privilege filter, macOS Sandbox profile, Windows NCrypt TPM 2.0 KEK, safe atomic path canonicalization safe canonicalize . - v1.0.0 Release Candidate Hardening : macOS Secure Enclave hardware binding, Linux TPM 2.0 KEK feature flag, supply chain verification cargo-audit , cargo-deny , fuzz testing targets, criterion benchmarks, and lockfile schema v3.0 migration. InterEnv release binaries are bit-for-bit reproducible: bash scripts/verify-reproducible-build.sh All release binaries are built with lto = "fat" , codegen-units = 1 , panic = "abort" , and path prefix remapping to ensure verifiable artifact provenance. InterEnv is a high-performance, local-first secret management engine written in Rust that permanently eradicates plaintext .env files from developer disks. It binds encrypted project secrets directly to host hardware security enclaves Apple Secure Enclave on macOS, TPM 2.0 / DPAPI on Windows, and Linux Secret Service and decrypts them exclusively into volatile process memory. Interlayer Blockchain is a sovereign multi-VM Layer 1 architecture designed for high-throughput consensus, decentralized validators, and autonomous on-chain AI agents. In high-stakes blockchain infrastructure, relying on external cloud secret managers introduces latency bottlenecks and vendor lock-in, while storing validator keys, relayer secrets, or deployer credentials in plaintext .env files risks catastrophic financial compromise. InterEnv was engineered to provide host silicon-level hardware isolation Apple Secure Enclave and TPM 2.0 so that validator operators, node engineers, and autonomous Web3 agents can execute commands with zero plaintext exposure on physical disk. - dotenv : Leaves all API keys, database passwords, and private tokens unencrypted on physical storage, exposing them to rogue npm/pip supply-chain packages and accidental git commits. - dotenvx : Encrypts .env files but writes the decryption master key to an unencrypted .env.keys file on the exact same disk. - dotenv-vault / Doppler / Infisical : Require proprietary cloud vaults, persistent internet connections, and paid monthly subscriptions. - InterEnv : 100% offline, local-first, free & open source MIT , binds keys to host hardware chips TPM 2.0 / TouchID , and cryptographically destroys plaintext files using 3-pass DoD 5220.22-M overwrites. AI coding agents execute your application via interenv run <command or import the language SDK interenv.config in Node.js, interenv.load env in Python, interenv.Load in Go, InterEnv::load in PHP . Secrets are injected directly into the child process memory space via standard environment variables without ever creating a plaintext .env file on disk. This prevents LLMs, indexing bots, or repository search tools from reading or exfiltrating raw credentials. When sealing a project for multi-developer or continuous integration workflows, run interenv lock --passphrase . In your automated CI runner GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Docker, Kubernetes , provide the secret passphrase through the INTERENV PASSPHRASE environment variable along with INTERENV CI=1 . InterEnv derives the master key via OWASP-compliant memory-hard Argon2id 19 MiB RAM, 2 iterations, 1 parallelism without interactive terminal prompts. InterEnv was engineered to safeguard sensitive validator credentials, blockchain deployment keys, and autonomous AI agents for the Interlayer Blockchain sovereign multi-VM ecosystem, and is open source for developers worldwide: - ⚡ intermcp https://github.com/Bharathcoorg/intermcp — Ultra-fast, safe Model Context Protocol MCP engine and multiplexing hub in pure Rust. - 🛡️ interenv https://github.com/Bharathcoorg/interenv — Hardware-enclave protected secrets for terminal, AI agents & git. - ⛓️ Interlayer Blockchain https://interlayer.one MIT License. Copyright c 2026 Bharath B R Interlayer . Contributions welcome Please open an issue or PR.