Quick access to your credentials.

Vaultlight is 9Secure's compact desktop interface on both Windows and macOS. Find saved items, create Logins, generate passwords, and add websites without opening the full app. Use it with the mouse or keyboard, with shortcuts for fast field delivery across browsers and desktop apps. No browser extension is required.

Desktop availability

Vaultlight runs only in the Windows and macOS desktop apps. Use the main 9Secure app for recovery-key unlock, attachments, full item editing, and non-Login item creation.

Unlock boundaries

Vaultlight can use only vaults available through the current unlocked keyring. If no keyring exists, it directs you to set one up in 9Secure.

• A locked session shows Keyring is Locked and a keyring-password field.
• Windows can offer Unlock with Windows Hello.
• macOS can offer Touch ID or device-password authentication when configured.
• Recovery-key entry and keyring archiving stay in the main app.

Vaultlight closes and clears its armed item when the keyring locks.

Open Vaultlight

Use the configured global hotkey or choose Open Vaultlight from the system tray or menu bar. The default hotkey is Control+;.

Sign in with field shortcuts

This shortcut example uses a standard Login with username and password and the default Paste delivery mode. It provides reliable field delivery into supported text inputs in browsers and desktop apps.

1. Place focus in the destination's username field, then press Control+; to open Vaultlight. If locked, unlock there with your keyring password or configured device authentication.
2. Type a few letters of the item's name, then click the result or select it with the arrow keys and press Enter to arm it.
3. Focus returns to the previous app. Vaultlight's reference card stays visible without taking keyboard focus.
4. Press Control+1 to paste the username. Move to the password field with Tab or a click, then press Control+2. Follow the card's displayed numbers when an item's fields differ.
5. If the service requests an Authenticator code, focus that field and use the code's displayed shortcut. You decide when to submit the form.
6. Press Escape to hide the card if desired. The item stays armed and its field shortcuts keep working until the session ends. Hiding does not reset the countdown.
7. Press the opening hotkey again to bring the card forward and restart its countdown. Press Backspace while the card is focused to return to search for another item.

Using an armed action also restarts the countdown. The default is 45 seconds; change it in Settings > Vaultlight session timeout. A second Escape while the card is hidden clears the armed item, as do session expiry and locking.

Search the index

Vaultlight Search searches item titles, item types, field labels, and non-secret field values in the unlocked index. It does not decrypt concealed field values to make them searchable.

• With an empty query, favorites come first and recent use helps order the results.
• Type to filter up to the available result limit.
• Click a result, or use the arrow keys to change selection and Enter to activate it.
• Use Escape to clear a nonempty query. Press it again when the query is empty to close.
• created: and modified: filters accept a UTC day. Normal searches also use fuzzy subsequence matching.

No results means no indexed item matched, not that every concealed value was searched.

Create a quick Login

1. Click New Login or use its shortcut.
2. Choose a Vault and enter the Item name and Username.
3. Review or generate the password.
4. Add one or more Website values.
5. If a website uses http://, review the Sentinel warning and explicitly enable Allow HTTP for this website only when required.
6. Select Create.

The compact creator always creates a Login. It does not add attachments or arbitrary custom fields. Use the main app for those tasks.

Arm an item

Activate a result to arm up to ten copyable fields. Vaultlight decrypts the selected item's concealed payload only when needed to build its actions. The reference card maps fields to the number shortcuts and shows a countdown. Arming returns focus to the previous app while the card remains visible.

For a Login with Authenticator configured, Vaultlight places the current rotating code immediately after the password, shows its remaining lifetime, and refreshes it at the next period boundary.

For an SSH Key, saved commands appear as Run Command actions. Activating one executes the complete command through the desktop shell instead of copying or delivering the command text. See SSH command setup, example, and security limits before using it.

• Attachments are not exposed. The card says Open in app to access.
• Overflow fields require the main app.
• Add Website updates websites directly in Vaultlight for supported items.
• Open the item in the main app when you need complete details or editing.

Add a website to an existing Login

1. Search for the Login and click it or press Enter to arm it.
2. Click Add Website on the reference card.
3. Enter the address, or click Use Current Browser Page to retrieve the active page URL from a supported browser.
4. Review the address, then select Done to save it to the Login.

Browser-page capture is available on Windows and macOS where the browser supports it. macOS may request Automation permission. Full item editing remains in the main app.

Deliver a field

Click a field's value box to copy it to the clipboard. Hover a concealed value to preview it. Mouse copying does not paste or type into another app; the delivery setting below controls numbered keyboard shortcuts.

Press Control+1 through Control+0 for the action shown beside that shortcut. Field actions deliver the value, including the currently displayed Authenticator code. An SSH command action runs the saved command instead. Either action restarts the armed-session countdown.

• Paste copies the field, then sends the platform paste shortcut to the destination app.
• Type Out sends Unicode input and does not place the field on the clipboard.
• Copy Only copies the field without sending input.

Focus the destination field before delivery. Shortcuts use the current foreground app rather than fixing the destination when Vaultlight opens. Type Out can behave differently in applications that transform keystrokes, and Paste depends on the target still accepting input.

Clipboard and session behavior

When Vaultlight copies a value, it clears that clipboard entry after the configured session timeout only if 9Secure still owns the same clipboard content. Replacing the clipboard prevents 9Secure from deleting your newer content.

Clipboard-history exclusion is enabled by default. It marks Vaultlight copies as sensitive or non-roaming where the platform supports it. This reduces exposure but cannot control third-party clipboard managers or another process that already read the value.

Escape hides an armed card without resetting its countdown. Field shortcuts still work while hidden. Pressing Escape again while hidden clears the armed item. Reopening the card or using an action restarts the countdown; session expiry or locking clears the armed state.

Configure Vaultlight

Open Settings to configure:

• Vaultlight on or off.
• Vaultlight hotkey: Control ;, Control \, Control ` (backtick), or a supported custom shortcut.
• Vaultlight session timeout: 15 seconds through 5 minutes, with a 45-second default.
• Vaultlight delivery (Vaultlight keyboard delivery on Windows): Paste, Type Out, or Copy Only.
• Exclude copies from clipboard history.

Handle failures safely

• No Keyring: open 9Secure and complete keyring setup.
• Keyring is Locked: unlock with the password or configured device authentication.
• No results: shorten the query and search indexed titles, field labels, or non-secret values.
• Hotkey failure: choose another shortcut in Settings. Operating systems and other apps can reserve global shortcuts.
• Paste failure: the value may still be on the clipboard even when input delivery fails. Check the visible error before retrying.
• Type Out failure: the value is not copied, but part of it may already have been typed. Inspect and clear the target before retrying.
• Attachments or missing fields: open the item in the main app.