Tene is a local-first, encrypted secret management CLI. It stores your API keys, tokens, and credentials in an encrypted SQLite vault on your device. No server, no signup, no cloud dependency.

How does Claude Code auto-detection work?

When you run tene init, it generates a CLAUDE.md file in your project root. Claude Code reads this file automatically and learns how to use tene to retrieve secrets.

Yes, Tene is 100% free and open source under the MIT license. All local features — encryption, runtime injection, multi-environment, AI editor rules — are free forever with no limits.

Will there be team features?

Team sync and collaboration features are being designed. The goal is encrypted team sync without a central server. Join the waitlist at tene.sh to get notified when it launches.

How are my secrets encrypted?

Tene uses XChaCha20-Poly1305 encryption with 256-bit keys derived from your master password via Argon2id. Each secret gets a unique 192-bit nonce.

Does Tene work offline?

Tene is 100% offline. It makes zero network calls. Your secrets are encrypted and stored locally in a SQLite database.

tene vs everything else

Honest side-by-side comparisons against the major secret managers. No FUD, no marketing — just the facts about pricing, architecture, AI-agent integration, and migration paths.

tene vs .env files
Plaintext .env files are now an AI liability. tene encrypts them and injects values at runtime — agents never see the secrets.
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tene vs Doppler
Doppler is cloud-based and proprietary. tene is local-first and MIT. Same developer workflow, very different ops story.
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tene vs dotenv-vault
dotenv-vault's Pro tier shut down February 2026. tene is the drop-in local-first replacement — MIT, free, no signup.
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tene vs Infisical
Infisical needs a server (self-hosted or SaaS). tene runs on your machine. Same encryption guarantees, completely different ops surface.
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tene vs HashiCorp Vault
HashiCorp Vault is the gold standard for enterprise server-side secrets. tene is the local-first CLI for developer machines and AI-editor safety.
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