The Problem

Every day, developers share API keys, database credentials, and secrets through:

• Slack DMs — stored forever on Slack's servers
• Email — sitting in inboxes indefinitely
• Text messages — backed up to iCloud, Google, carrier logs
• Notion/Docs — accessible to anyone with the link
• .env files in repos — we've all seen it

These secrets persist. They get indexed. They get breached.

The Solution

send-secret creates a one-time, encrypted link that self-destructs after viewing.

$ echo "sk_live_abc123" | npx send-secret

• Zero trust — Your machine encrypts the secret. The key never leaves the URL fragment.
• Zero persistence — Deleted from memory the moment it's viewed. Nothing stored anywhere.
• Zero accounts — No signups, no logins, no third-party services holding your secrets.
• Zero install — Works with npx. No dependencies to audit.

Install

npm i -g send-secret

Or use without installing:

npx send-secret

VS Code Extension

Share secrets directly from your editor:

ext install danwag06.send-secret

Or search "send-secret" in the VS Code extensions marketplace.

Right-click any file or selection → Send Secret → link copied to clipboard.

AI Coding Agents

Use send-secret with Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and other AI coding agents.

Install Skills

npx add-skill danwag06/send-secret

This installs skills that let AI agents help you share secrets without the agent ever seeing the secret content:

| Skill | Description | |-------|-------------| | send-secret-file | Send files by path (agent never reads content) | | receive-secret | Receive secrets to files (saves with -o, never displays) | | send-secret-clipboard | Share clipboard contents (macOS - agent never sees clipboard) |

Security Model

The skills are designed so secrets never enter the agent's context:

• Files are sent by path only — agent runs send-secret ./file.json without reading the file
• Secrets are received to files — agent always uses -o flag to save, never displays in terminal
• Clipboard is piped directly — pbpaste | send-secret bypasses agent context entirely

Example Usage

Ask your AI agent:

• "Send my .env file securely to my teammate"
• "Receive this secret: https://xyz.trycloudflare.com/s/abc#key=..."
• "Share what I copied to my clipboard securely"

Usage

Send a text secret

$ send-secret
Enter secret, press Enter, then Ctrl+D:
sk_live_abc123xyz
^D
○ Encrypting (18 B)
✔ Tunnel ready

╭ Share this link ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ https://abc123.trycloudflare.com/s/x7k2m#key=9f86d081884c7d659a2feaa0c       │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
  Keep terminal open until received
  Recipient can also run: npx send-secret -r <link>

◐ Waiting for receiver...
✔ Retrieved from 73.162.45.99

Send a file

$ send-secret ./credentials.json

○ Encrypting credentials.json (4.2 KB)
✔ Tunnel ready

╭ Share this link ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ https://abc123.trycloudflare.com/s/x7k2m#key=9f86d081884c7d659a2feaa0c       │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
  Keep terminal open until received
  Recipient can also run: npx send-secret -r <link>

◐ Waiting for receiver...
✔ Retrieved from 73.162.45.99

Send via pipe

$ cat .env | send-secret

$ echo "secret_token" | send-secret

$ pbpaste | send-secret

Auto-destruct timeout

Set an expiration time for undelivered secrets:

$ send-secret -t 300 ./secret.txt    # Expires in 5 minutes
$ send-secret --timeout 60           # Expires in 60 seconds

◐ Waiting for receiver... (expires in 4m 32s)

If the receiver doesn't retrieve the secret before the timeout, it's automatically deleted.

Multiple recipients

Share with multiple people using a single link:

$ send-secret -n 3 ./credentials.json    # Allow 3 views
$ send-secret -n 5 -t 300 ./secret.txt   # 5 views OR 5 minutes

◐ Waiting for receivers... (0/3)
✔ Retrieved (1/3) from 73.162.45.99
✔ Retrieved (2/3) from 98.45.123.12
✔ Retrieved (3/3) from 73.162.45.99 — All delivered

The sender sees each retrieval with the IP address for visibility.

Receive via CLI

Receivers can open the link in a browser, or use the CLI:

$ send-secret -r <url>
# or
$ send-secret receive <url>

◐ Fetching secret...
✔ Secret retrieved

╭─────────────────────╮
│ sk_live_abc123xyz   │
╰─────────────────────╯

Files are automatically saved with timestamps to prevent overwrites:

$ send-secret receive <url>

◐ Fetching secret...
✔ Secret retrieved

✔ File saved. View with:
  cat "/Users/you/.send-secret/received/credentials_2025-01-14T10-30-45.json"

Use -o to specify where to save:

$ send-secret -r <url> -o ./              # Save to current dir with original filename
$ send-secret -r <url> -o ./secrets/      # Save to specific directory
$ send-secret -r <url> -o ./myfile.json   # Save with custom filename

How It Works

Sender                         Receiver
  │                               │
  ├─ Encrypt secret locally       │
  ├─ Start local server           │
  ├─ Open Cloudflare tunnel       │
  ├─ Generate URL with key        │
  │   in fragment                 │
  │                               │
  ├─────── Share URL ────────────▶│
  │                               │
  │◀─────── Receiver opens URL ───┤
  │                               │
  ├─ Serve HTML + encrypted blob  │
  │                               ├─ Decrypt in browser
  │                               ├─ Display secret
  ├─ Delete blob from memory      │
  ├─ Close tunnel                 │
  ├─ Exit                         │
  │                               │
  ▼                               ▼
Done                            Done

The decryption key lives in the URL fragment (#key=...), which is never sent to any server — not even Cloudflare. Only someone with the full URL can decrypt the secret.

Security

| Threat | Protected | How | | ------------------ | --------- | ------------------------------------------------- | | Server sees secret | ✓ | Encrypted before leaving sender's machine | | Man-in-the-middle | ✓ | Decryption key in URL fragment, never transmitted | | Secret persists | ✓ | Deleted from memory immediately after viewing | | Sender's disk | ✓ | Never written to disk, only held in memory | | Brute force | ✓ | AES-256-GCM with 256-bit key (2²⁵⁶ possibilities) |

What's NOT Protected

• Link interception — If someone gets the full URL, they can view the secret
• Receiver's machine — Once decrypted, it's in their browser/terminal
• Metadata — Cloudflare sees IPs, timing, and payload size (but not content)

Encryption Details

• Algorithm: AES-256-GCM (authenticated encryption)
• Key: 256-bit cryptographically random
• IV: 96-bit random per encryption
• Key transmission: URL fragment only (never sent to server)

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• Internet connection (for Cloudflare tunnel)

License

Apache-2.0

Support

If send-secret saves you time, consider supporting development:

Donate via Stripe

Crypto:

| Currency | Address | | -------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | BTC | bc1qgel38lkck8vk4hpqjlzhjwg8rv39auahqxz7mg | | ETH | 0x8e9CeeaeF8beC7dfCa6D02B1c83f341217AA82F5 | | SOL | FsT8cZ6naBc7vAmqt3bEzKreLgAHT9HaWrmC32wvii15 | | BCH | qpykcppaaazfkt5dd3n6stswnxn4ehyxxc8m0z43v3 | | BSV | 1QFxtdewusnJsgyWWLviiZKEsDSsb77HPN |