murk-cli 0.10.1

---
title: murk
description: "Encrypted secrets manager for developers: one file, age encryption, git-friendly."
template: splash
hero:
  tagline: Encrypted secrets in a single git-friendly file. One key on your machine, one <code>.murk</code> file in your repo. Age encryption, readable key names, no server.
  image:
    file: ../../assets/murk-logo.svg
  actions:
    - text: Quick start
      link: /quick-start/
      icon: right-arrow
      variant: primary
    - text: Install & verify
      link: /install/
      icon: down-caret
      variant: minimal
    - text: View on GitHub
      link: https://github.com/iicky/murk
      icon: external
      variant: minimal
---

import { Card, CardGrid } from "@astrojs/starlight/components";

<CardGrid>
  <Card title="Single-file vault" icon="document">
    Encrypted secrets live in one `.murk` file, safe to commit. Values are
    encrypted with [age](https://age-encryption.org/); key names stay readable
    so diffs stay meaningful.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Per-recipient encryption" icon="approve-check">
    Every teammate gets their own key. Add and revoke recipients with
    `murk circle`, so there's no shared password to rotate when someone leaves.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Scoped agent access" icon="rocket">
    Grant AI agents access to specific secrets over MCP, no broad exposure.
    See [AI agents &amp; MCP](/guides/ai-agents-mcp/).
  </Card>
  <Card title="Recover from a phrase" icon="seti:lock">
    A lost key isn't the end: 24 BIP39 recovery words regenerate it. No
    account, no reset email, no server.
  </Card>
</CardGrid>

## See it in action

![murk in action: initialize a vault, add secrets, and wire up direnv](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iicky/murk/demo/hero.gif)

## Overview

### Why

Most teams share `.env` files over Slack. That's bad. Tools like SOPS and
Vault exist but they're complex, require cloud setup, or pull in runtimes you
don't want.

murk is simple: one key on your machine, one encrypted file in your repo. See
the [threat model](/security/threat-model/) for what it protects and what it
doesn't.

### How murk compares

<div class="compare">

| | murk | SOPS | Vault | dotenvx | git-crypt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Encrypted values, readable keys | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | No (whole file) |
| Per-recipient encryption | Yes | Yes | ACL-based | No (shared key) | Yes (GPG) |
| Scoped per-user overrides | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Requires a server | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| Cloud KMS required | No | Optional | Typically | No | No |
| Single binary, no runtime | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in direnv integration | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
| Recovery phrase | Yes (BIP39) | No | No | No | No |

</div>

**SOPS** is the closest alternative. Both encrypt values in-place and support
age. murk differs in having scoped (per-user) secrets, a single-file vault
model, built-in team management (`murk circle`), and BIP39 key recovery. SOPS
has broader KMS backend support and a larger ecosystem.

**Vault** solves a different problem: it's centralized infrastructure for
secret storage, rotation, and dynamic credentials. If you need a secrets
server, use Vault. murk is scoped to encrypted secrets in a repo.

**dotenvx** encrypts `.env` files but uses a single shared key for the whole
team. There's no per-recipient encryption: if someone leaves, everyone needs
a new key.

**git-crypt** encrypts entire files via git filters. Diffs are opaque, and
revoking a team member is effectively impractical without re-encrypting git
history.

Ready to try it? Head to [install & verify](/install/) or jump straight into
the [quick start](/quick-start/).