worthless 0.3.0

Split-key reverse proxy that makes leaked API keys worthless

Worthless

Make leaked API keys worthless.

Your API key is split into two pieces. Neither piece is useful on its own. Every request goes through a proxy that enforces a hard spend cap before the key ever reconstructs. Budget blown = key never forms = request never reaches the provider.

Every secrets tool protects the key until your app uses it. Worthless protects you after it leaks.

Quickstart

pipx install worthless
cd your-project
worthless

That's it. Worthless detects API keys in your .env, splits them, starts a local proxy, and you're protected.

$ worthless

  Found 2 API keys:
    OPENAI_API_KEY      openai
    ANTHROPIC_API_KEY   anthropic

  Lock these keys? [y/N] y

  Protecting OPENAI_API_KEY...      done
  Protecting ANTHROPIC_API_KEY...   done

  Starting proxy on 127.0.0.1:8787...   healthy

  Proxy healthy on 127.0.0.1:8787

Your code doesn't change. The proxy handles everything.

Alternative install

pip install worthless        # in a virtualenv

How it works

1. worthless lock splits each API key into two shards using XOR
2. Shard A stays on your machine (encrypted). Shard B goes to the proxy database.
3. Your .env is rewritten with shard-A (format-preserving — looks like a real key but is cryptographically useless alone)
4. The proxy reconstructs the key only when the rules engine approves the request
5. Spend cap blown? The key never forms. The request never reaches the provider.

Commands

worthless              # Auto-detect, lock, start proxy (the magic)
worthless lock         # Lock keys in .env
worthless unlock       # Restore original keys
worthless scan         # Detect exposed keys without locking
worthless status       # Show proxy and key status
worthless up           # Start proxy (foreground)
worthless up -d        # Start proxy (background daemon)
worthless down         # Stop the proxy
worthless wrap <cmd>   # Run a command through the proxy
worthless revoke       # Revoke enrolled keys

Undo everything

$ worthless unlock
1 key(s) restored.

Original key is back. No trace.

Pre-commit hook

repos:
  - repo: https://github.com/shacharm2/worthless
    rev: main
    hooks:
      - id: worthless-scan

For AI coding agents

Worthless ships a SKILL.md that tells Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf what commands are available. Agents use --json for structured output:

worthless status --json

Development

git clone https://github.com/shacharm2/worthless && cd worthless
uv sync --extra dev --extra test
uv run pytest

Learn more

• Security model -- how the split-key proxy works
• Security rules -- invariants all contributions must preserve
• SKILL.md -- agent discovery file

Contributing

PRs welcome. Read SECURITY_RULES.md first.

License

AGPL-3.0