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safeStorage

Permite el acceso a un cifrado y descifrado simple de cadenas para el almacenamiento en la máquina local.

Proceso: principal

This module adds extra protection to data being stored on disk by using OS-provided cryptography systems. Current security semantics for each platform are outlined below.

[!NOTE] We recommend using the asynchronous API (encryptStringAsync/decryptStringAsync) over the synchronous API. The async API is non-blocking, supports key rotation, and handles temporary unavailability gracefully. The synchronous API may be deprecated in a future version of Electron.

Platform-Specific Key Providers​

Synchronous API​

  • macOS: Encryption keys are stored for your app in Keychain Access in a way that prevents other applications from loading them without user override. Therefore, content is protected from other users and other apps running in the same userspace.
  • Windows: Encryption keys are generated via DPAPI. As per the Windows documentation: "Typically, only a user with the same logon credential as the user who encrypted the data can typically decrypt the data". Therefore, content is protected from other users on the same machine, but not from other apps running in the same userspace.
  • Linux: Encryption keys are generated and stored in a secret store that varies depending on your window manager and system setup. Options currently supported are kwallet, kwallet5, kwallet6 and gnome-libsecret, but more may be available in future versions of Electron. As such, the security semantics of content protected via the safeStorage API vary between window managers and secret stores.
    • Note that not all Linux setups have an available secret store. If no secret store is available, items stored in using the safeStorage API will be unprotected as they are encrypted via hardcoded plaintext password. You can detect when this happens when safeStorage.getSelectedStorageBackend() returns basic_text.

Note that on macOS, access to the system Keychain is required and these calls can block the current thread to collect user input. Los mismo es válido para Linux, si una herramienta de gestión de contraseñas está disponible.

Asynchronous API​

The asynchronous API uses pluggable key providers that vary by platform:

  • macOS: Encryption keys are stored and retrieved from Keychain Access. This provides the same security model as the synchronous API, protecting content from other users and other apps running in the same userspace.
  • Windows: Encryption keys are protected via DPAPI. This provides the same security model as the synchronous API, protecting content from other users on the same machine but not from other apps running in the same userspace.
  • Linux: Multiple key providers may be available depending on the desktop environment:
    • org.freedesktop.portal.Secret: Uses the Portal Secret D-Bus interface to retrieve application-specific secrets. This is the preferred provider for sandboxed environments like Flatpak.
    • Secret Service API: Uses the freedesktop.org Secret Service API (e.g., GNOME Keyring) for key storage.
    • A fallback provider is used for environments without a secret service available.

Unlike the synchronous API, these operations are non-blocking and support additional features like key rotation (indicated by shouldReEncrypt) and temporary unavailability handling (indicated by isTemporarilyUnavailable).

Eventos​

El módulo safeStorage emite los siguientes eventos:

Métodos​

El módulo safeStorage tiene los siguientes métodos:

safeStorage.isEncryptionAvailable()​

Devuelve boolean - Si el cifrado está disponible.

En Linux, devuelve verdadero si la aplicación ha emitido el evento ready y la clave secreta está disponible. En MacOS, devuelve true si Keychain está disponible. En Windows, devuelve "verdadero" una vez que la app ha generado el evento ready.

safeStorage.isAsyncEncryptionAvailable()​

Returns Promise<boolean> - Resolves with whether encryption is available for asynchronous safeStorage operations.

The asynchronous encryptor is initialized lazily the first time this method, encryptStringAsync, or decryptStringAsync is called after the app is ready. The returned promise resolves once initialization completes.

safeStorage.encryptString(plainText)​

  • plainText string

Devuelve Buffer - Un array de bytes que representa la cadena cifrada.

Esta función lanzará un error si falla el cifrado.

safeStorage.decryptString(encrypted)​

  • encrypted Buffer

Devuelve string - La cadena descifrada. Descifra el buffer cifrado obtenido con safeStorage.encryptString de nuevo a una cadena.

safeStorage.encryptStringAsync(plainText)​

  • plainText string

Devuelve Promise<Buffer> - Un array de bytes que representa la cadena cifrada.

safeStorage.decryptStringAsync(encrypted)​

  • encrypted Buffer

Devuelve Promise<Object> - Resuelve con un objeto conteniendo lo siguiente:

  • shouldReEncrypt boolean - whether data that has just been returned from the decrypt operation should be re-encrypted, as the key has been rotated or a new key is available that provides a different security level. If true, you should call decryptStringAsync again to receive the new decrypted string.
  • result string - the decrypted string.

safeStorage.setUsePlainTextEncryption(usePlainText)​

  • usePlainText boolean

This function on Linux will force the module to use an in memory password for creating symmetric key that is used for encrypt/decrypt functions when a valid OS password manager cannot be determined for the current active desktop environment. This function is a no-op on Windows and MacOS.

safeStorage.getSelectedStorageBackend() Linux​

Returns string - User friendly name of the password manager selected on Linux.

This function will return one of the following values:

  • basic_text - When the desktop environment is not recognised or if the following command line flag is provided --password-store="basic".
  • gnome_libsecret - When the desktop environment is X-Cinnamon, Deepin, GNOME, Pantheon, XFCE, UKUI, unity or if the following command line flag is provided --password-store="gnome-libsecret".
  • kwallet - When the desktop session is kde4 or if the following command line flag is provided --password-store="kwallet".
  • kwallet5 - When the desktop session is kde5 or if the following command line flag is provided --password-store="kwallet5".
  • kwallet6 - When the desktop session is kde6 or if the following command line flag is provided --password-store="kwallet6".
  • unknown - When the function is called before app has emitted the ready event.