On Windows, you can keep your AI API keys in the API Key vault in 77Fox: keys are encrypted with Windows secure storage on your PC, shown masked in the list, and copied in full when you click the mask. The vault is never cloud-synced and is left out of 77Fox data backups; to move to a new PC, you export an encrypted .77foxkeys file and import it there. It is only in the Windows desktop app and is off by default, so you turn it on under Settings → Features; it is free and needs no sign-in.
OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, OpenRouter, a couple of cloud providers: if you use AI tools heavily, a dozen keys pile up fast. They end up in Notepad, chat history and browser bookmarks. Finding the right one takes a while, copying it puts the whole string on screen, and a new PC means hunting them all down again.
Gather the scattered keys in one place
The vault has a category sidebar on the left and a table on the right: name, key and note, with show, copy and more-actions buttons at the end of each row. Organizing them comes down to four tools:
- Categories and groups. Categories sit in the sidebar and can hold groups. Drag either to reorder them, rename them, and give groups a color to spot them at a glance.
- Moving between categories. Right-click an entry or a group header and choose Move to category to move a single key or a whole group.
- Favorites. Choose Favorite from the right-click menu for the keys you use most, then open Favorites in the sidebar to see them all.
- Global search. Search key names across every category (Ctrl+F jumps to the box). Results show their category and group under the name, so same-name keys are easy to tell apart.
How you split them depends on how you use the keys. These layouts are only examples:
| Layout | Categories | Groups | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| By provider | Model APIs, Cloud | OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, OpenRouter | A handful of keys, looked up by vendor |
| By project | Client A, Client B, Side projects | Then by provider | Freelancers whose keys follow the project |
| By environment | Production, Staging, Local | Then by provider | Several keys for the same service |
The note column is a good place for who a key is for, its spending limit and when it is due for replacement.
Copy a key without showing the whole string
Copy a key from Notepad and the whole string is on screen, in full view of a screen recording, a meeting share or whoever walks past.
The vault uses masked copy instead. Longer keys show only their first 4 and last 4 characters, with dots in between, which is enough to tell which key is which. Click the mask and the full key goes straight to the clipboard without being displayed.
If you do need to check the plaintext, click Show. It hides again after 15 seconds, and also when you leave the vault page.
Be aware that a copied key sits on your clipboard in full, so watch where you paste next. If Windows clipboard history (Win+V) is on, a copy stays there too; you can delete it from that list.
Which of the four export formats to choose
Export sits behind the arrows icon in the vault header (its tooltip reads Import & export); the API Keys section in Settings offers the same options. Every export covers the whole vault:
| Format | What the file contains | Can be imported back | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
.77foxkeys encrypted backup |
Every key plus categories, groups, notes and favorites, encrypted with a passphrase you set (at least 8 characters, entered twice) | Yes | Moving to a new PC or keeping a backup; the first choice |
| JSON | The same content in plaintext | Yes | Moving keys to another tool, or reading them with a program |
| Markdown | Plaintext keys sorted by category and group, with notes | No | Reading through or checking your list |
| TXT | Plaintext keys as plain text | No | Copying elsewhere or checking by hand |
When you pick one of the last three, 77Fox warns that the file contains plaintext keys. The file holds the full keys, and anyone who gets it can use them: delete it when you are done, don't send it to anyone, and keep it out of public cloud folders. If all you want is to move PCs or keep a backup, choose .77foxkeys.
Note that 77Fox's data backup does not include your keys, so keys always move through the vault export; format details are in the import and export section.
Moving to a new PC
- Export on the old PC. Open the vault, click the Import & export icon in the header and choose Export. Pick Encrypted backup (.77foxkeys), enter a passphrase of at least 8 characters, confirm it and save the file.
- Carry the file over. A USB stick or any other route you trust is fine, since the file is encrypted. Keep the passphrase separate from the file.
- Turn on the vault on the new PC. Install 77Fox from the download page and turn on API Keys under Settings → Features.
- Import. Open the vault, click the Import & export icon, choose Import, select the file and enter the passphrase. Merging is the default: categories with the same name are combined, and so are groups with the same name inside one category. To replace every key on this PC with the file's contents, tick Replace all local keys, then tick the confirmation as well.
- Check, then clean up. 77Fox reports how many keys were imported and how many were skipped (entries already imported from the same backup). Copy a few keys on the new PC to test them, then delete the exported file.
Letting AI tools use your keys, with your say-so
AI tools such as Claude Code and Cursor can read and write your prompts, tasks and other data through the 77Fox MCP server; MCP server for personal data: what 77Fox exposes explains the setup. The vault is closed to them by default. For an external AI tool to read plaintext keys, you have to tick the API key vault (plaintext) scope for that specific client in the MCP settings. The checkbox carries a red warning, and ticking it opens a second confirmation asking whether that client may read every key in the vault in plaintext. A client without the scope cannot read any keys, or even see which keys exist.
Once the scope is ticked, that client can read, edit and delete every key in the vault in plaintext, which is why the settings tell you to grant it only to local agents you fully trust. Before each external write, 77Fox backs up the affected data file automatically and keeps up to 30 snapshots, which you can restore from Undo snapshots in the MCP settings. See the MCP permissions section for permission levels and the API Key vault page for the vault side.
What to do on the provider side as well
These general practices happen in each provider's dashboard; 77Fox does not do them for you.
- Limit scope and spending. Where the provider allows it, restrict what a key can do by project or purpose, and set a spending cap. If a key ever leaks, the damage has a ceiling.
- Rotate keys regularly. Create a new key in the dashboard, edit the entry in the vault and paste the new key in, check that it works, then revoke the old key in the dashboard.
- Delete keys you no longer use. Revoke them with the provider first, then delete them from the vault. Deleting from the vault cannot be undone, so double-check first.
FAQ
Are my keys uploaded to the cloud?
No. Keys are encrypted with Windows secure storage on your PC, never cloud-synced and left out of 77Fox data backups.
A file is only created when you export one yourself, and an MCP client can only read plaintext keys if you have ticked the API key vault scope for it. What that tool then does with a key is up to the tool.
What if I forget the passphrase for my .77foxkeys file?
It cannot be recovered. 77Fox does not store the passphrase and has no recovery option; with the wrong passphrase, the import only reports a wrong passphrase or a corrupted file.
As long as the vault on the old PC still exists, export a fresh backup with a new passphrase. Keeping the passphrase in a password manager you trust, away from the backup file, avoids the problem.
Can I see my keys in the web console?
No. The API Key vault is only in the Windows desktop app, and the 77Fox web console neither shows nor stores these keys.
Is a plaintext export safe?
A plaintext file contains the full keys, and anyone who gets hold of it can use them straight away. Export plaintext only when you really need it, for example to move keys to another tool; delete the file when you are done, don't send it to anyone and keep it out of public cloud folders. To move PCs, use the .77foxkeys encrypted backup.
Does it cost anything, or need an account?
No. The API Key vault is free and needs no sign-in. Once 77Fox for Windows is installed, turn on API Keys under Settings → Features.