Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Enc – A modern and friendly CLI alternative to GnuPG

Enc is a CLI tool for encryption, a modern and friendly alternative to GnuPG. It is easy to use, secure by default and can encrypt and decrypt files using password or encryption keys, manage and download keys, and sign data. Our goal was to make encryption available to all engineers without the need to learn a lot of new words, concepts, and commands. It is the most beginner-friendly CLI tool for encryption, and keeping it that way is our top priority.

Enc is a command-line encryption tool designed as a simpler alternative to GnuPG. It lets engineers encrypt and decrypt files using passwords or keys, manage and download keys, and sign data. The tool prioritizes ease… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Enc – A modern and friendly CLI alternative to GnuPG launched in 2023; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1E2
   EnvKey 2.0 – End-To-End Encrypted Environments (now open source)▲225

   Hey HN, I'm so happy to finally show you all this release after years of hard work. I posted the first version of EnvKey to HN back in 2017 (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15330757), then went through YC in W18 (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16569534). EnvKey is an end-to-end encrypted configuration and secrets manager. It protects your organization's API keys, encryption keys, credentials, and other secrets, and makes it easy to run servers, scripts, tests, and everything else with the latest config. It also helps you avoid duplication in your…

   2022 · v2.envkey.com · its alternatives →

2. 2SE
   Send encrypted secrets from the command line▲117

   2019 · fluidkeys.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   EnvCloak: lightweight, env file encryption – ready for CICD pipelines▲7

   When someone here told me to focus on something more useful than reinventing the wheel. So. EnvCloak, a lightweight and simple tool for securely managing sensitive environment files. The design focuses on simplicity - just a few intuitive commands using the Click Python library. I assume seamless integration with CI/CD workflows. The aim is to provide a streamlined solution without the need for clunky tools. If you're tired of complex configurations or bloated alternatives, this might be worth a look! I would appreciate any feedback, feature ideas or input on how to improve this…

   2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Age 1.0 – Simple, modern and secure file encryption▲494

   A simple, modern and secure encryption tool (and Go library) with small explicit keys, no config options, and UNIX-style composability. - Release age v1.0.0 🏁 · FiloSottile/age

   2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   ut – Rust based CLI utilities for devs and IT▲170

   Hey HN, I find myself reaching for tools like it-tools.tech or other random sites every now and then during development or debugging. So, I built a toolkit with a sane and simple CLI interface for most of those tools. For the curious and lazy, at the moment, ut has tools for, - Encoding: base64 (encode, decode), url (encode, decode) - Hashing: md5, sha1, sha224, sha256, sha384, sha512 - Data Generation: uuid (v1, v3, v4, v5), token, lorem, random - Text Processing: case (lower, upper, camel, title, constant, header, sentence, snake), pretty-print, diff - Development Tools: calc, json…

   2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Use encrypted passwords in shell scripts signed with your SSH key▲117

   Lightweight solution for using encrypted passwords in shell scripts - plyint/encpass.sh

   2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

7. 7
   1Password CLI 2.0▲90

   Manage secrets in your terminal with biometric unlock.

   2022 · 1password.dev · its alternatives →

8. 8
   enveil – hide your .env secrets from prAIng eyes▲201

   enject: Hide .env secrets from prAIng eyes: secrets live in local encrypted stores (per project) and are injected directly into apps at runtime, never touching disk as plaintext. - GreatScott/enject

   Feb 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Lego – A Let's Encrypt Library and CLI in Go▲93

   Let's Encrypt/ACME client and library written in Go - go-acme/lego

   2015 · github.com · its alternatives →

10. 10ES
    EnvKey – securely manage API keys, credentials, and config▲116

    2017 · envkey.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Bearer CLI▲174

    Free & open source security scanner for developers

    2023 · cycode.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    CLI-first management of your environment secrets▲10

    Open-source, end-to-end encrypted management of environment secrets.

    2023 · envsecrets.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    CodeSec by Contrast▲119

    Secure code in less than 5 minutes for free

    2022 · contrastsecurity.com · its alternatives →

14. 14
    bef – a tool that encodes/decodes interleaved erasure coded streams▲59

    Block Erasure Format - An extensible, fast, and usable file utility to encode and decode interleaved erasure coded streams of data. - gbletr42/bef

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Ezcrypt – A file encryption tool (simple, strong, public domain)▲37

    ezcrypt - An easy to use tool for strong file encryption.

    2024 · codeberg.org · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Lockenv – Simple encrypted secrets storage for Git▲105

    Hi! I got tired of setting up tools I can't explain to a team in a few words like sops or git-crypt, just to store few files with environment variables or secrets, so I built lockenv as a simple alternative. It's basically a password-protected vault file you commit to git. No gpg keys, no cloud, just lockenv init, set a password, and lock/unlock the secrets. This tool integrates with OS keyring, so you're not typing passwords constantly. Should work on Mac/Linux/Windows, but I tested it only on linux so far. I am not trying to replace any mature / robust solution, just…

    Dec 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    1Password Developer Tools▲105

    Develop faster, eliminate complexity, protect your secrets

    2022 · 1password.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    Share end-to-end encrypted secrets straight from the terminal▲5

    🔐 A simple developer-friendly CLI for managing secrets - sniptt-official/snip

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    envsecrets▲72

    CLI first management of your environment secrets

    2023 · envsecrets.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Cryptic – A sensible secret management toolkit and Go library▲93

    A sensible secret management toolkit (and Go library) for admins and programmers - domodwyer/cryptic

    2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

21. 21
    A CLI tool that enables you to remove files easily and safely▲37

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Let's Encrypt▲26

    A new Certificate Authority - free, automated, and open.

    2015 · letsencrypt.org · its alternatives →

23. 23CS
    Crypt – Secure Configuration Storage in Etcd or Consul▲69

    Crypt : Store and retrieve encrypted configuration parameters from etcd or consul

    2014 · xordataexchange.github.io · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Simple Image encrypt/decrypt using Python▲30

    Image AES256 crypt-decrypt . Contribute to s3nh/img-cryptor development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →