# Install blackbox with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, pacman Safely store secrets in Git/Mercurial/Subversion. Version 1.20220610 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:blackbox ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install blackbox ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install blackbox ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: x11/blackbox/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add blackbox ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: blackbox from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install blackbox ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: blackbox from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install blackbox ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: blackbox from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S blackbox ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: blackbox from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:blackbox - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 1.20220610 - **Source summary:** Safely store secrets in Git/Mercurial/Subversion - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-22T14:02:53-07:00 - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - _blackbox_common.sh (cli) - _blackbox_common_test.sh (cli) - _stack_lib.sh (cli) - blackbox_addadmin (cli) - blackbox_cat (cli) - blackbox_decrypt_all_files (cli) - blackbox_decrypt_file (cli) - blackbox_deregister_file (cli) - blackbox_diff (cli) - blackbox_edit (cli) - blackbox_edit_end (cli) - blackbox_edit_start (cli) - blackbox_initialize (cli) - blackbox_list_admins (cli) - blackbox_list_files (cli) - blackbox_listadmins (cli) - blackbox_postdeploy (cli) - blackbox_recurse (cli) - blackbox_register_new_file (cli) - blackbox_removeadmin (cli) - blackbox_shred_all_files (cli) - blackbox_update_all_files (cli) - blackbox_view (cli) - blackbox_whatsnew (cli) - _blackbox_common.sh (alias) - _blackbox_common_test.sh (alias) - _stack_lib.sh (alias) - blackbox_addadmin (alias) - blackbox_cat (alias) - blackbox_decrypt_all_files (alias) - blackbox_decrypt_file (alias) - blackbox_deregister_file (alias) - blackbox_diff (alias) - blackbox_edit (alias) - blackbox_edit_end (alias) - blackbox_edit_start (alias) - blackbox_initialize (alias) - blackbox_list_admins (alias) - blackbox_list_files (alias) - blackbox_listadmins (alias) - blackbox_postdeploy (alias) - blackbox_recurse (alias) - blackbox_register_new_file (alias) - blackbox_removeadmin (alias) - blackbox_shred_all_files (alias) - blackbox_update_all_files (alias) - blackbox_view (alias) - blackbox_whatsnew (alias) ## Dependencies - gnupg ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on all ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 1.20220610 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-22 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/StackExchange/blackbox - Upstream latest detected: v1.20220610 (current) ## Project history and usage StackExchange BlackBox is a shell-based secrets-management tool for keeping selected files encrypted inside version-control repositories. It is historically important as a pragmatic pre-cloud-KMS DevOps utility, though the upstream README now marks the project abandoned and warns new users away. ### Project history The repository was created in 2014 under StackExchange. The README says BlackBox was originally written for Puppet and later worked with Git, Mercurial, Subversion, Perforce, and even no-VCS cases when the .blackbox directory is intact. BlackBox wraps GPG so teams do not have to memorize low-level encryption flags. It stores encrypted copies of selected files in the repository, tracks authorized administrators by public key, and provides commands to register files, edit encrypted files, rotate admins, and decrypt files after deployment. ### Adoption history BlackBox became popular enough to be packaged by Homebrew, MacPorts, Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, Alpine, Arch, pkgsrc, Nix, and shell plugin managers such as Antigen and Zgenom. That breadth reflects how many infrastructure teams wanted a simple Git-compatible way to ship encrypted Puppet, Ansible, certificate, or API-key material before centralized secret stores became common. The README now opens with an abandonment notice and points users to alternatives. That status is part of its history: BlackBox remains in package managers and old automation, but upstream no longer presents it as a recommended new choice. ### How it is used A repository is initialized with blackbox_initialize. Users add administrators with blackbox_addadmin, register files with blackbox_register_new_file, edit secrets with blackbox_edit or blackbox_edit_start/blackbox_edit_end, and deploy plaintext copies with blackbox_postdeploy. BlackBox's metadata normally lives under .blackbox or $BLACKBOXDATA, with keyrings/live used for enrolled public keys. The README emphasizes that it is a simple GPG wrapper for a small number of files, not an enterprise encryption platform. ### Why package nerds care BlackBox is package-nerd significant because it captures a specific era of infrastructure packaging: secrets were often kept near Puppet or Ansible code, Git was the collaboration substrate, and a pile of shell commands around GPG was acceptable if it made deployments repeatable. It also shows the lifecycle problem of security tooling in package managers. A widely packaged and still-installable CLI can become abandoned upstream, so curation has to record both historical adoption and current maintenance warnings. Its command sprawl is notable: the Homebrew formula exposes many blackbox_* executables rather than one subcommand-based binary, a style common in older Unix toolkits and shell-script suites. ### Timeline - 2014: StackExchange/blackbox repository is created. - 2010s: BlackBox is used for GPG-encrypted secrets in Git, Mercurial, Subversion, and Puppet-oriented workflows. - 2020s: BlackBox is packaged across Homebrew, MacPorts, Linux distributions, Nix, and shell plugin managers. - 2022: The current GitHub release history contains v1.20220610. - 2020s: Upstream README marks the project abandoned and recommends alternatives. ### Related projects - The README names git-crypt as a competing project and includes an alternatives section for newer choices. - BlackBox overlaps with hiera-eyaml, Ansible Vault, git-crypt, Mozilla SOPS, and cloud KMS-backed secret workflows, but its design is deliberately a small GPG wrapper around files in VCS. ### Sources - - - source_facts.executables - source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. - **Geiger risk:** blue / medium - broad file, network, media, or database tool signal ## Configuration and credential file locations These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval. ## Configuration files - Unix: $BLACKBOXDATA, .blackbox, keyrings/live ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** blackbox - **Version Scheme:** 1 - **Revision:** 0 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** yes - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - blackbox - 0.70.1-39+b3: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: blackbox from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Window manager for X | https://sourceforge.net/projects/blackboxwm/ - Debian apt - libbt-dev - 0.70.1-39+b3: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libbt-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Blackbox - development library | https://sourceforge.net/projects/blackboxwm/ - Debian apt - libbt0 - 0.70.1-39+b3: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libbt0 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Blackbox - shared library | https://sourceforge.net/projects/blackboxwm/ - Ubuntu apt - blackbox - 0.70.1-39build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: blackbox from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Window manager for X | https://sourceforge.net/projects/blackboxwm/ - Ubuntu apt - libbt-dev - 0.70.1-39build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libbt-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Blackbox - development library | https://sourceforge.net/projects/blackboxwm/ - Ubuntu apt - libbt0 - 0.70.1-39build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libbt0 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Blackbox - shared library | https://sourceforge.net/projects/blackboxwm/ - apk - blackbox - 1.20220610-r1: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: blackbox from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Safely store secrets in Git/Mercurial/Subversion | https://github.com/StackExchange/blackbox - dnf - blackbox - 0.77-17.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: blackbox from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Very small and fast Window Manager | https://github.com/bbidulock/blackboxwm - dnf - blackbox-devel - 0.77-17.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: blackbox-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Development files for blackbox | https://github.com/bbidulock/blackboxwm - pacman - blackbox - 0.77-3: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: blackbox from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | A window manager for X11 | https://github.com/bbidulock/blackboxwm - MacPorts - blackbox: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: x11/blackbox/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [gnupg](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gnupg/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [fnox](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/fnox/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, encryption, secrets, security. - [git-crypt](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/git-crypt/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, encryption, secrets, security. - [git-secret](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/git-secret/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, encryption, secrets, security. - [kubeseal](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/kubeseal/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, encryption, secrets, security. - [shush](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/shush/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, encryption, secrets, security. - [transcrypt](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/transcrypt/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, encryption, secrets, security. - [aescrypt](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/aescrypt/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, encryption, security. - [aespipe](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/aespipe/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, encryption, security. - [age](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/age/) - Security-sensitive metadata or terminology overlaps. Shared terms: cli, encryption, file, files, security. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/blackbox.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/blackbox.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph