Automic Vault manual

This is the user and operator manual for Automic Vault 3.16.0 on macOS. It was checked against the installed CLI, app UI, and 3.16.0 source on August 22, 2026.

Automic Vault does more than store a Secret. It authorizes a complete operation: the Verified Launcher, Gate Client, Target, command and arguments, working directory, requested Secret Names, and selected Value sources. If allowed, it applies the Secret to the Target without displaying the stored Value.

Install and verify

brew install --cask automic-vault/isotopes/automic-vault
open /Applications/Automic\ Vault.app
av --version
av help

You may instead use the latest release or review the website installer. The menu bar app owns Approval UI and Authorization Policy. Open it before an operation that needs Approval: av open.

Start here

Scan the Mac, save one Value through the hidden terminal prompt, and apply it only to the Target that needs it:

av scan --show-all
av save GH_TOKEN
av inject +GH_TOKEN gh auth status

av save opens /dev/tty, turns terminal echo off, and does not read standard input. Do not remove the old credential until the approved command succeeds. For a Tool with a supplied hardener, prefer its Tool-specific flow:

av hardeners --json | jq '.hardeners[] | select(.applicable) | {name, hardened}'
av harden gh
av doctor gh

Interface map

The main window is an operator console for exposure, authority, live use, and evidence. Global search filters the selected destination; Refresh recomputes live state. The sidebar separates four jobs:

Job	Destinations	Question answered
Discover	Detectors, Doctor	Where is supported insecure state, and is the protected route healthy?
Establish authority	Hardened Tools, Authorization Gates, Blessed Scripts, Launcher Bundles	Which exact code and operations can ask for authority?
Operate	Secrets, Active Proxies	Which named Values exist, and which proxy sessions are live?
Audit and configure	Authorization History, Settings	Why was an operation allowed or denied, and which approval routes are enabled?

Counts are live summaries, not security conclusions. A zero beside Active Proxies means no proxy session is registered now; it does not prove that no Target currently holds a Value it received earlier. A clean Doctor view means the checks implemented by that build passed; it is not a whole-machine attestation.

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