electron-security

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Secure IPC patterns, credential storage, and API key management for Electron apps

bradtaylorsf By bradtaylorsf schedule Updated 1/28/2026
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name: electron-security description: Secure IPC patterns, credential storage, and API key management for Electron apps

Electron Security Skill

Security is critical in Electron apps. This skill covers secure IPC, credential storage, and protecting sensitive data.

Secure IPC with contextBridge

NEVER expose Node.js directly to the renderer. Use contextBridge:

Preload Script

// electron/preload.ts
import { contextBridge, ipcRenderer } from 'electron';

// Define allowed channels
const validSendChannels = [
  'keychain:set',
  'keychain:delete',
  'cli:detect',
  'app:quit',
];

const validReceiveChannels = [
  'keychain:result',
  'cli:status',
  'update:available',
];

const validInvokeChannels = [
  'keychain:get',
  'keychain:set',
  'keychain:delete',
  'cli:detect-claude',
  'app:get-version',
  'app:get-paths',
];

contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('electronAPI', {
  // Invoke pattern (request-response)
  invoke: (channel: string, ...args: unknown[]) => {
    if (validInvokeChannels.includes(channel)) {
      return ipcRenderer.invoke(channel, ...args);
    }
    throw new Error(`Invalid channel: ${channel}`);
  },

  // Send pattern (fire-and-forget)
  send: (channel: string, ...args: unknown[]) => {
    if (validSendChannels.includes(channel)) {
      ipcRenderer.send(channel, ...args);
    }
  },

  // Receive pattern (listen for events)
  on: (channel: string, callback: (...args: unknown[]) => void) => {
    if (validReceiveChannels.includes(channel)) {
      const subscription = (_event: Electron.IpcRendererEvent, ...args: unknown[]) =>
        callback(...args);
      ipcRenderer.on(channel, subscription);
      return () => ipcRenderer.removeListener(channel, subscription);
    }
    throw new Error(`Invalid channel: ${channel}`);
  },

  // One-time listener
  once: (channel: string, callback: (...args: unknown[]) => void) => {
    if (validReceiveChannels.includes(channel)) {
      ipcRenderer.once(channel, (_event, ...args) => callback(...args));
    }
  },
});

TypeScript Declarations

// src/client/types/electron.d.ts
export interface ElectronAPI {
  invoke: (channel: string, ...args: unknown[]) => Promise<unknown>;
  send: (channel: string, ...args: unknown[]) => void;
  on: (channel: string, callback: (...args: unknown[]) => void) => () => void;
  once: (channel: string, callback: (...args: unknown[]) => void) => void;
}

declare global {
  interface Window {
    electronAPI?: ElectronAPI;
  }
}

export {};

React Hook for Electron API

// src/client/hooks/useElectron.ts
import { useCallback, useEffect } from 'react';

export function useElectron() {
  const isElectron = typeof window !== 'undefined' && !!window.electronAPI;

  const invoke = useCallback(
    async <T>(channel: string, ...args: unknown[]): Promise<T | null> => {
      if (!isElectron) return null;
      try {
        return (await window.electronAPI!.invoke(channel, ...args)) as T;
      } catch (error) {
        console.error(`IPC invoke error on ${channel}:`, error);
        throw error;
      }
    },
    [isElectron]
  );

  const send = useCallback(
    (channel: string, ...args: unknown[]) => {
      if (isElectron) {
        window.electronAPI!.send(channel, ...args);
      }
    },
    [isElectron]
  );

  const on = useCallback(
    (channel: string, callback: (...args: unknown[]) => void) => {
      if (!isElectron) return () => {};
      return window.electronAPI!.on(channel, callback);
    },
    [isElectron]
  );

  return { isElectron, invoke, send, on };
}

// Keychain-specific hooks
export const KEY_NAMES = {
  ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: 'anthropic-api-key',
  GEMINI_API_KEY: 'gemini-api-key',
  OPENAI_API_KEY: 'openai-api-key',
} as const;

export function useKeychain() {
  const { isElectron, invoke } = useElectron();

  const getKey = async (keyName: string): Promise<string | null> => {
    if (!isElectron) return null;
    return invoke<string | null>('keychain:get', keyName);
  };

  const setKey = async (keyName: string, value: string): Promise<boolean> => {
    if (!isElectron) return false;
    return (await invoke<boolean>('keychain:set', keyName, value)) ?? false;
  };

  const deleteKey = async (keyName: string): Promise<boolean> => {
    if (!isElectron) return false;
    return (await invoke<boolean>('keychain:delete', keyName)) ?? false;
  };

  return { isElectron, getKey, setKey, deleteKey };
}

Secure Credential Storage

Main Process IPC Handlers

// electron/ipc-handlers.ts
import { ipcMain, app } from 'electron';
import { getCredential, setCredential, deleteCredential, KEY_NAMES } from './keychain';

// Map keychain keys to environment variables
const KEY_TO_ENV: Record<string, string> = {
  [KEY_NAMES.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY]: 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY',
  [KEY_NAMES.GEMINI_API_KEY]: 'GEMINI_API_KEY',
  [KEY_NAMES.OPENAI_API_KEY]: 'OPENAI_API_KEY',
};

export function registerIpcHandlers(): void {
  // Get credential from keychain
  ipcMain.handle('keychain:get', async (_event, keyName: string) => {
    return getCredential(keyName);
  });

  // Set credential in keychain AND environment
  ipcMain.handle('keychain:set', async (_event, keyName: string, value: string) => {
    const result = await setCredential(keyName, value);
    // Also set as environment variable so server can use it immediately
    if (result && KEY_TO_ENV[keyName]) {
      process.env[KEY_TO_ENV[keyName]] = value;
    }
    return result;
  });

  // Delete credential from keychain AND environment
  ipcMain.handle('keychain:delete', async (_event, keyName: string) => {
    const result = await deleteCredential(keyName);
    if (result && KEY_TO_ENV[keyName]) {
      delete process.env[KEY_TO_ENV[keyName]];
    }
    return result;
  });

  // App info
  ipcMain.handle('app:get-version', () => app.getVersion());
  ipcMain.handle('app:get-paths', () => ({
    userData: app.getPath('userData'),
    temp: app.getPath('temp'),
  }));
}

Load Credentials at Startup

// electron/main.ts
import { app } from 'electron';
import { getCredential, KEY_NAMES } from './keychain';

async function loadCredentials(): Promise<void> {
  const keyMappings = [
    { key: KEY_NAMES.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, env: 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY' },
    { key: KEY_NAMES.GEMINI_API_KEY, env: 'GEMINI_API_KEY' },
    { key: KEY_NAMES.OPENAI_API_KEY, env: 'OPENAI_API_KEY' },
  ];

  for (const { key, env } of keyMappings) {
    try {
      const value = await getCredential(key);
      if (value) {
        process.env[env] = value;
        console.log(`Loaded ${key} from keychain`);
      }
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(`Failed to load ${key}:`, error);
    }
  }
}

app.whenReady().then(async () => {
  await loadCredentials();
  // ... rest of startup
});

Settings UI Component

// src/client/pages/Settings.tsx
import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import { useKeychain, KEY_NAMES } from '../hooks/useElectron';

interface KeyConfig {
  name: string;
  keyName: string;
  placeholder: string;
}

const API_KEYS: KeyConfig[] = [
  {
    name: 'Anthropic API Key',
    keyName: KEY_NAMES.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
    placeholder: 'sk-ant-...',
  },
  {
    name: 'Google Gemini API Key',
    keyName: KEY_NAMES.GEMINI_API_KEY,
    placeholder: 'AIza...',
  },
];

export function Settings() {
  const { isElectron, getKey, setKey, deleteKey } = useKeychain();
  const [values, setValues] = useState<Record<string, string>>({});
  const [saved, setSaved] = useState<Record<string, boolean>>({});
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);

  useEffect(() => {
    async function loadKeys() {
      if (!isElectron) return;

      const loaded: Record<string, string> = {};
      const savedState: Record<string, boolean> = {};

      for (const key of API_KEYS) {
        const value = await getKey(key.keyName);
        if (value) {
          loaded[key.keyName] = '••••••••••••' + value.slice(-4);
          savedState[key.keyName] = true;
        }
      }

      setValues(loaded);
      setSaved(savedState);
      setLoading(false);
    }

    loadKeys();
  }, [isElectron, getKey]);

  const handleSave = async (keyName: string, value: string) => {
    if (!value.startsWith('••••')) {
      const success = await setKey(keyName, value);
      if (success) {
        setValues((prev) => ({
          ...prev,
          [keyName]: '••••••••••••' + value.slice(-4),
        }));
        setSaved((prev) => ({ ...prev, [keyName]: true }));
      }
    }
  };

  const handleDelete = async (keyName: string) => {
    const success = await deleteKey(keyName);
    if (success) {
      setValues((prev) => ({ ...prev, [keyName]: '' }));
      setSaved((prev) => ({ ...prev, [keyName]: false }));
    }
  };

  if (!isElectron) {
    return <div>Settings are only available in the desktop app.</div>;
  }

  if (loading) {
    return <div>Loading...</div>;
  }

  return (
    <div className="settings-page">
      <h1>Settings</h1>

      <section>
        <h2>API Keys</h2>
        <p>Your API keys are stored securely in your system keychain.</p>

        {API_KEYS.map((key) => (
          <div key={key.keyName} className="key-input-group">
            <label>{key.name}</label>
            <input
              type="password"
              placeholder={key.placeholder}
              value={values[key.keyName] || ''}
              onChange={(e) =>
                setValues((prev) => ({ ...prev, [key.keyName]: e.target.value }))
              }
            />
            <button onClick={() => handleSave(key.keyName, values[key.keyName] || '')}>
              Save
            </button>
            {saved[key.keyName] && (
              <button onClick={() => handleDelete(key.keyName)}>Delete</button>
            )}
            {saved[key.keyName] && <span className="saved-badge">Saved</span>}
          </div>
        ))}
      </section>
    </div>
  );
}

Navigation Security

Prevent navigation to untrusted URLs:

// electron/main.ts
app.on('web-contents-created', (_, contents) => {
  // Block navigation to external URLs
  contents.on('will-navigate', (event, navigationUrl) => {
    const parsedUrl = new URL(navigationUrl);
    const allowedOrigins = ['localhost', '127.0.0.1'];

    if (!allowedOrigins.includes(parsedUrl.hostname)) {
      event.preventDefault();
      console.warn('Blocked navigation to:', navigationUrl);
    }
  });

  // Block new window creation
  contents.setWindowOpenHandler(({ url }) => {
    // Open external links in default browser
    if (url.startsWith('https://')) {
      require('electron').shell.openExternal(url);
    }
    return { action: 'deny' };
  });
});

BrowserWindow Security Settings

// electron/window.ts
import { BrowserWindow } from 'electron';

export function createMainWindow() {
  const win = new BrowserWindow({
    width: 1200,
    height: 800,
    webPreferences: {
      // CRITICAL: Enable context isolation
      contextIsolation: true,

      // CRITICAL: Disable Node.js integration in renderer
      nodeIntegration: false,

      // Use preload script for IPC
      preload: preloadPath,

      // Disable remote module
      enableRemoteModule: false,

      // Sandbox renderer process
      sandbox: true,

      // Disable webview tag
      webviewTag: false,
    },
  });

  return win;
}

Anti-Patterns

// NEVER do these:

// 1. Expose ipcRenderer directly
contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('ipc', ipcRenderer); // DANGEROUS!

// 2. Allow any channel
ipcRenderer.invoke(anyUserProvidedChannel); // DANGEROUS!

// 3. Eval user input
eval(userInput); // DANGEROUS!

// 4. Disable security features
webPreferences: {
  nodeIntegration: true, // DANGEROUS!
  contextIsolation: false, // DANGEROUS!
}

// 5. Store credentials in localStorage
localStorage.setItem('apiKey', key); // Use keychain instead!

Integration

Used by:

  • electron-converter agent
  • Settings page implementation
Install via CLI
npx skills add https://github.com/bradtaylorsf/alphaagent-team --skill electron-security
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