keyrings.alt
Alternate keyring implementations
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, but only for development, testing, or specialized scenarios where you understand the security trade-offs. The package is actively maintained and carries no known vulnerabilities, but the description explicitly warns against production use due to security risks. Install only if you have a specific need for an alternate backend and accept responsibility for the security implications.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python >=3.8.
- The plaintext backend stores credentials unencrypted on the filesystem.
- Low install friction with only two lightweight runtime dependencies.
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — MIT license permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions, making it suitable for both open-source and commercial projects.
last release 2024-08-14 (730 days) · last repo commit 2026-04-13 · 29 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 3,930,160 downloads/mo, #2,448 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install keyrings.alt
from keyrings.alt.file import PlaintextKeyring
keyring = PlaintextKeyring()
keyring.set_password('service', 'username', 'password')- Which specific keyring backends are included beyond PlaintextKeyring and their security implications
- Whether this package is intended as a testing/development tool or has legitimate production use cases
What it is and what it does
keyrings.alt provides alternate implementations of credential storage backends for the keyring package. Rather than using the system's native secure storage, these backends offer alternative approaches—most notably a plaintext file-based storage. The package explicitly warns that these backends carry security risks and were extracted from the main keyring project to isolate experimental or discouraged implementations.
The package is designed for developers who need non-standard credential handling, such as testing scenarios or development environments where the standard keyring backends are unsuitable. It depends on jaraco.classes and jaraco.context for utility functionality. The maintainers explicitly discourage production use of these backends and recommend understanding the security implications before deployment.
Use it for
- Testing keyring-dependent code in CI/CD pipelines where system keyrings are unavailable
- Development environments where plaintext credential storage is acceptable for local testing
- Evaluating alternative credential storage strategies before committing to a production backend
- Scenarios requiring custom or legacy credential storage formats incompatible with standard keyrings
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, but only for development, testing, or specialized scenarios where you understand the security trade-offs.
The package is actively maintained and carries no known vulnerabilities, but the description explicitly warns against production use due to security risks. Install only if you have a specific need for an alternate backend and accept responsibility for the security implications.
Install
keyrings-alt on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with only two lightweight runtime dependencies. Active maintenance with latest release on 2024-08-14 and last commit on 2026-04-13.
Requires Python >=3.8. The plaintext backend stores credentials unencrypted on the filesystem.
License in practice
MIT license permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions, making it suitable for both open-source and commercial projects.
Quickstart
pip install keyrings.alt
from keyrings.alt.file import PlaintextKeyring
keyring = PlaintextKeyring()
keyring.set_password('service', 'username', 'password')Verify before relying
- Which specific keyring backends are included beyond PlaintextKeyring and their security implications
- Whether this package is intended as a testing/development tool or has legitimate production use cases
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.8 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 2 packagesjaraco.classesjaraco.context |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 730 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 3,930,160 / month, #2,448 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3 :: Only |
Evidence: keyrings.alt-5.0.2-py3-none-any.whl
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