Encrypt any sensitive file, then split its encryption key into shares so the file only comes back when enough shares are pooled → fully offline, no cloud, no single point of failure.
Designed for long-term cold storage of critical secrets: recovery credentials, exports of database & password managers, family photos, legal documents, crypto seed phrases.
When to use it:
- Emergency recovery creds (admin passwords, break-glass access)
- Backup encryption master keys
- Root CA / PKI private keys
- Legal & financial documents (wills, contracts, tax records)
- Cryptocurrency (seed phrases, private keys, hardware wallet backups)
- Family photos
Why distributed?
- Fewer than K shares reveal nothing: the key-split has information-theoretic security (same as Trezor SLIP-39, ICANN DNSSEC ceremonies); the file itself stays sealed under AES-256-GCM
- No single point of failure: distribute shares across people, locations, media. No $5 Wrench Attack
- Works completely offline in air-gapped environments
Fractum encrypts your file with AES-256-GCM, then splits that key into N shares via Shamir's Secret Sharing. Any K shares reconstruct the key and decrypt the file; fewer than K learn nothing. No novel cryptography → only battle-tested primitives.
Docker is the recommended way to run Fractum. The --network=none flag guarantees the container cannot exfiltrate your secrets over the network.
Setup:
git clone https://github.com/katvio/fractum.git
cd fractum && git checkout tags/v1.4.2
mkdir -p data shares
docker build -t fractum-secure .docker run --rm -it \
--network=none \
-v "$(pwd)/data:/data" \
-v "$(pwd)/shares:/app/shares" \
fractum-secure encrypt /data/passwords-export.csv \
--threshold 3 --shares 5 --label "bitwarden-backup"
docker run --rm -it \
--network=none \
-v "$(pwd)/data:/data" \
-v "$(pwd)/shares:/app/shares" \
fractum-secure decrypt /data/passwords-export.csv.enc \
--shares-dir /app/shares
📚 All CLI options · Decrypting guide · Manual install
Inside the container (or after a manual install), the binary is fractum. Prefix with docker run --rm -it --network=none -v "$(pwd)/data:/data" -v "$(pwd)/shares:/app/shares" fractum-secure to run any of these in Docker.
fractum -i # interactive mode — guided menu, no flags needed
fractum --version # print the version
# Encrypt: encrypt FILE, split its key into N shares, K of which are needed to recover it
fractum encrypt FILE -t <threshold> -n <shares> [OPTIONS]
-t, --threshold <int> shares required to reconstruct (required)
-n, --shares <int> total shares to generate (required)
-l, --label <str> label identifying the share set (default: filename)
-e, --existing-shares DIR reuse an existing share set instead of generating a new key
--full-metadata embed label/total_shares/share_set_id in shares (less private, eases debugging)
-b, --bundle-encrypted also copy the .enc file into every share ZIP (default: .enc stays out of the ZIPs)
-v, --verbose verbose output
# Decrypt: reconstruct FILE.enc from K-of-N shares
fractum decrypt FILE.enc [OPTIONS]
-s, --shares-dir DIR directory with share .txt files and/or share ZIPs
-m, --manual-shares type share index/value pairs by hand instead of reading files
-v, --verbose verbose output📚 All CLI options · Decrypting guide · Manual install
🔍 Security Architecture · 🛡️ Security Best Practices
Submit a pull request or open an issue.
Fractum is Apache-2.0. You may use it, modify it, redistribute it and use it commercially, without asking anyone.
The name is separate: Apache-2.0 grants no trademark rights (section 6), so "Fractum", the logos and the associated marks stay with S.A.S.U. KATVIO. Fork the code freely, give your fork its own name.
📄 LICENSE · TRADEMARK.md · SECURITY.md