# Secretive

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/secretive/

8 people recommended Secretive in Hacker News comments, 5 had mixed feelings and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 12 months, in 5 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended for keeping SSH keys in the Mac Secure Enclave with a prompt on each use. Critics say it skips CLI tokens like AWS and npm.

Summary written by Claude from 15 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Keeps SSH keys in Secure Enclave (2 comments in the sample): "An alternative is to use ssh keys stored in the Secure Enclave with tools like" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48899836)) "so your ssh keys are stored in the secure enclave" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48904010))
- Notifies on every key use (2 comments in the sample): "I like that Secretive allows you to create keys that don't require TouchID, yet still notifies you when they are used." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46051903)) "I know exactly when my SSH key is used for any operation, because I need to hit a button or do a fingerprint scan." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46025938))

## What people warn about

- Requires third-party installation (2 comments in the sample): "Secretive required installation, which is both friction and security-sensitive tool written by a third party." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46026020)) "I think this is worth doing without an additional third party, especially since it's only a few commands." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50178287))

## What people recommend instead

- [ssh-tpm-agent](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ssh-tpm-agent/): 6 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Secretive", https://hackerapproved.com/p/secretive/ (8 recommend, 5 mixed, 2 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.