keychains.dev Review (2026): Pricing, Features & Honest Verdict
TLDR
keychains.dev is a credential delegation layer for AI agents. keychains.dev is one of the more thoughtful answers to a problem that almost every serious agent team eventually hits: how do you let an LLM call an API without exposing the underlying token to prompt injection or log leaks. Best for: teams building AI agents or MCP integrations who want to delegate API access without leaking credentials to the model layer. Price: Free. Rating: 7.8/10.
What is keychains.dev?
keychains.dev is a credential delegation layer for AI agents. Instead of stuffing API keys into prompts or environment variables, agents call APIs through a keychains-aware version of curl that injects real credentials server-side, so the agent itself never sees raw secrets.
It supports more than 11,000 API providers and uses SSH keypairs for machine identity, with per-permission user approval and instant revocation. The goal is to make agentic workflows safer against prompt injection, leaked logs, and over-broad tokens.
What Are keychains.dev’s Key Features?
Drop-in curl replacement
Use template variables like GITHUB_TOKEN in your requests, and keychains injects the real credential at the proxy level so agents never touch raw secrets.
SSH keypair machine identity
Every machine authenticates via SSH keys instead of static API keys, and stateful fingerprinting invalidates leaked keys on first reuse.
Per-API user consent
Users approve each scope and provider individually with one click and can revoke access from the dashboard at any moment.
Scoped sub-agent tokens
Issue scoped delegate tokens that give sub-agents only the permissions they need, or blank tokens that require fresh approval for any new API.
Audit trail and transparency
Every credential use is logged, so security teams can see exactly which agent called which API at which time.
11,000+ API providers
Out-of-the-box support for OAuth 2.0, API keys, basic auth, and custom headers across GitHub, Google, Slack, Stripe, Notion, Linear, Shopify, OpenAI, and many more.
keychains.dev Pricing
| Plan | Price | Includes | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Core proxy, basic providers, dashboard access | Indie developers |
| Team | Contact sales | Higher limits, team management, support | Engineering teams |
Public pricing is limited at launch; the site emphasizes a free entry tier with team plans available on request.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Solves a real and underrated agent security problem at the protocol level
- Massive provider catalog with thousands of supported APIs
- SSH-based identity is more robust than static API tokens
- Granular per-API user consent matches modern OAuth UX
- Per-sub-agent scoped tokens fit nicely into agentic workflows
Cons
- Adds another vendor to your security review and dependency chain
- Public pricing details are sparse, which complicates budgeting
- Requires migrating from raw curl or SDKs to a keychains-aware wrapper
- Less proven than incumbent secret managers in legacy stacks
- Mostly developer-facing, with no obvious UI for non-engineers
| Plan | Price | Plan Features | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Core proxy, basic providers, dashboard access | Indie developers |
| Team | Contact sales | Higher limits, team management, support | Engineering teams |
Who is keychains.dev Best For?
Use keychains.dev if: teams building AI agents or MCP integrations who want to delegate API access without leaking credentials to the model layer.
Skip keychains.dev if: the use case doesn’t match your day-to-day workflow.
Best keychains.dev Alternatives
| Tool | What It Does | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Doppler | Secrets management platform that centralizes API keys and environment variables across teams and services. | Free, paid from $7/user/month |
| Infisical | Open-source secrets management with strong developer ergonomics and policy controls. | Free tier available |
| 1Password Secrets Automation | Programmatic secrets layer built on top of 1Password’s vaults for service and machine identities. | From $19.95/month |
Final Verdict: Is keychains.dev Worth It?
keychains.dev is one of the more thoughtful answers to a problem that almost every serious agent team eventually hits: how do you let an LLM call an API without exposing the underlying token to prompt injection or log leaks. The drop-in curl model keeps the developer experience simple.
Pricing transparency is still light and there is a real adoption cost to wiring agents through any proxy. But for security-conscious teams running production agents, this is exactly the kind of layer you want between your model and your secrets.
FAQ
How does keychains.dev hide credentials from my agent?
Your agent calls a keychains-aware curl with template variables, and keychains substitutes the real credential server-side, so the raw secret never reaches the model context.
How many APIs does it support?
It works with over 11,000 API providers across OAuth, API key, basic auth, and custom header authentication patterns.
Can I limit what a sub-agent can do?
Yes, you can issue scoped delegate tokens or blank tokens that require fresh user approval before a sub-agent can use new APIs.
Is there an audit log?
Yes, every credential use is logged with a full audit trail so security teams can review exactly which agent used which API.
Is keychains.dev free to use?
There is a free entry tier for individual developers, with team plans available on request rather than published rates.
Does it protect against prompt injection?
Because the agent never sees the real credential, a successful prompt injection cannot exfiltrate or misuse the underlying API key.
keychains.dev Pros & Cons
What We Like
- Solves a real and underrated agent security problem at the protocol level
- Massive provider catalog with thousands of supported APIs
- SSH-based identity is more robust than static API tokens
- Granular per-API user consent matches modern OAuth UX
- Per-sub-agent scoped tokens fit nicely into agentic workflows
What Could Be Better
- Adds another vendor to your security review and dependency chain
- Public pricing details are sparse, which complicates budgeting
- Requires migrating from raw curl or SDKs to a keychains-aware wrapper
- Less proven than incumbent secret managers in legacy stacks
- Mostly developer-facing, with no obvious UI for non-engineers
keychains.dev FAQ
How does keychains.dev hide credentials from my agent?
Your agent calls a keychains-aware curl with template variables, and keychains substitutes the real credential server-side, so the raw secret never reaches the model context.
How many APIs does it support?
It works with over 11,000 API providers across OAuth, API key, basic auth, and custom header authentication patterns.
Can I limit what a sub-agent can do?
Yes, you can issue scoped delegate tokens or blank tokens that require fresh user approval before a sub-agent can use new APIs.
Is there an audit log?
Yes, every credential use is logged with a full audit trail so security teams can review exactly which agent used which API.
Is keychains.dev free to use?
There is a free entry tier for individual developers, with team plans available on request rather than published rates.
Does it protect against prompt injection?
Because the agent never sees the real credential, a successful prompt injection cannot exfiltrate or misuse the underlying API key.
