A secure, lightweight desktop password manager built with Python. Credentials are encrypted using AES-128 via the Fernet standard, with your master password never stored anywhere — only used to derive the encryption key through PBKDF2-SHA256.
- Master password protection — lock screen on startup with a 5-attempt lockout
- Strong encryption — AES-128-CBC + HMAC-SHA256 (Fernet) with PBKDF2 key derivation (100,000 iterations)
- No plain-text key file — the encryption key is derived from your master password, never saved to disk
- Add, retrieve, and delete credentials — organised by service name
- Show/hide toggle — credentials are hidden by default
- Copy to clipboard — with automatic clipboard clear after 30 seconds
- Dark minimal UI — built with tkinter
- Python 3.12 (recommended — Python 3.14 has known PyInstaller compatibility issues)
cryptographylibrary
1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/AlexNCyber/password-vault.git
cd password-vault2. Install dependencies
py -3.12 -m pip install cryptography3. Run the app
py -3.12 password_vault.py1. Install PyInstaller
py -3.12 -m pip install pyinstaller2. Build
py -3.12 -m PyInstaller --onefile --noconsole password_vault.pyThe executable will be created at dist/password_vault.exe. No Python installation required to run it.
On first launch you will be prompted to create a master password. This password is used to derive the encryption key — if you forget it, your vault data cannot be recovered.
Three files are created locally on first run:
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
vault.salt |
Random salt for key derivation |
vault.hash |
Salted hash of your master password for verification |
vault.json |
Encrypted credentials |
⚠️ Back these files up somewhere safe. Losing them means losing access to your vault.
| Feature | Implementation |
|---|---|
| Encryption | AES-128-CBC + HMAC-SHA256 (Fernet) |
| Key derivation | PBKDF2-SHA256, 100,000 iterations |
| Password verification | Separate PBKDF2 hash, constant-time comparison |
| Brute-force protection | 5-attempt lockout per session |
| Clipboard safety | Auto-clear after 30 seconds |
MIT License — free to use, modify, and distribute.