Install and get started

What you need

• A Mac running macOS 12 (Monterey) or later.
• Space on the Mac’s disk for the archives: Vault writes them to its library folder (see below). Your original files stay where they are.
• To activate a licence, an Internet connection for the time of signing in. Everything else works offline, except sending offsite to online storage and the optional timestamping of certificates.

Install the app

Obscura Vault is distributed as a disk image, Obscura.Vault-<version>.dmg. Download it from your Obscura member area: sign in, or request access.

1. Open the Obscura.Vault-<version>.dmg disk image.
2. In the window that opens, drag Obscura Vault onto the Applications shortcut.
3. Eject the disk image, then launch Obscura Vault from the Applications folder or Launchpad.

The app and the disk image are signed with Oorun’s Developer ID certificate and notarized by Apple; the notarization ticket is stapled to the app. macOS therefore opens it without a warning, even with no Internet connection. Only install Obscura Vault from your Obscura member area. Later versions are then offered by the app itself (see Updates).

The disk image also holds the End User License Agreement (License Agreement.md, and the prevailing French version Contrat de licence.md) and the privacy policy: using Obscura Vault means accepting the agreement. You will find them in Help › Licence and Legal Notices….

Activate the licence, or continue without one

On first launch, the Activate Obscura Vault window opens.

• To activate your licence, enter the Email Address and Password of the account that holds your Obscura Vault licence, then click Sign In. Vault fetches the licence and the sheet closes by itself.
• Forgot Password? sends a reset email to the address entered.
• Continue Without a Licence closes the sheet. It will no longer open by itself at launch; you will find it in Obscura Vault › Activate Obscura Vault….

Without a licence, you can browse your library, import folders, verify the integrity of your files and archives, and restore your archives. Creating archives, sending offsite and issuing certificates require a licence. Details are in the chapter Licence and settings.

Each Obscura app has its own licence: an Obscura Flow or Obscura Catalog licence does not apply to Obscura Vault, and Vault says so, naming the licence it found.

Once activated, the licence is also checked offline (see Offline).

The main window

On first launch, Vault opens on the Dashboard; afterwards, it reopens the last screen shown. The Obscura Vault symbol and name, with the app’s version number, sit at the top of the sidebar; below them, it groups the screens into five groups: Overview, Preserve, Verify, Copies and Attest (see the contents).

In the toolbar, a button shows the state of your licence: Pro Licence (or the name of your plan), No Licence, Licence Needs Checking or Licence Blocked. It opens Account & Licence.

Vault’s own commands are in the Obscura Vault menu:

• Check for Updates…
• Settings… (⌘,)
• Account & Licence…
• Activate Obscura Vault…

Keyboard shortcuts

Vault has a single main window. If you close it (⌘W), Vault stays open, with its scheduled audits; a menu command opens it again (macOS 13 and later; on macOS 12, click the Dock icon).

Your first import

1. In Projects, click Import Folder….
2. Choose the folder to preserve, then Import.
3. Vault turns it into a project of the same name and computes the SHA-256 fingerprint of each file. The folder stays where it is.

The logical next steps:

1. Create the project’s .obf archive in Archives (chapter 3).
2. Declare the disks that hold your copies in Storage Media (chapter 6).
3. Add an Offsite destination and send the archive there (chapter 7).
4. Schedule a regular integrity audit (chapter 4).
5. Export your keys and store them safely (chapter 12).

Where Vault keeps its data

Everything Vault produces is kept in a single folder, the library:

~/Library/Application Support/com.oorun.obscuravault/
├── vault.sqlite                  the database: projects, fingerprints, checks, journal, certificate register
├── Archives/                     the .obf archives
├── Backups/                      the database backups
├── Certificats/                  the issued PDF certificates
├── License/                      the signed licence, verifiable offline
└── certificate-settings.json     the certificate settings

Settings… › General shows this location; Show in Finder opens it.

The keys (archive signing and encryption, the certificate key, offsite access keys) are not in this folder: they are in your Mac’s keychain. See Keys and security.

Updates

Vault updates through Obscura Vault › Check for Updates…, and through an automatic check that you set in Settings… › Updates. A development copy or a locally signed copy does not check for updates: the tab says so (“Automatic Updates Not Available Yet”).