Secret managers for teams
Slinky vs Doppler
Doppler keeps a team’s secrets on its servers and syncs them to everyone’s machines, CI and cloud hosts, with access controls and logs. Slinky keeps keys on your Mac and shares them with the people you choose, through encrypted files, with nothing on a server.
Choose Doppler if
- Several people need the same secrets, with roles and access logs.
- Secrets need to sync to CI and cloud hosts automatically.
- You want one source of truth across many machines and servers.
Choose Slinky if
- It’s your own keys, on your own Mac.
- You’d rather your secrets weren’t on anyone’s server.
- You also want somewhere for backup codes and recovery keys.
- You want AI agents to see names only, with Touch ID for each command.
- Your small team can share a project through a folder you already sync.
Side by side
| Slinky | Doppler | |
|---|---|---|
| Made for API keys and tokens | Yes | Yes |
| A project’s .env, per environment | Yes | Yes |
| Starts your app with its variables | Yes: slinky run | Yes: doppler run |
| AI agents see names, not values | Yes | No: Its MCP server can read values |
| Backup codes that cross themselves off | Yes | No |
| Where your secrets are kept | An encrypted file on your Mac | Their cloud, with an encrypted copy on each machine |
| Works without an account | Yes | No |
| Share with your team | Yes: Encrypted files, no server | Yes |
| Opens with Touch ID | Yes | No |
| Open source | Yes: MIT | Partly: The CLI |
| Price | Free | Free for small teams, then $21 a person a month |
| Runs on | Mac, Apple silicon | Any computer, through its CLI and website |
Yes Partly No As of October 2026, from doppler.com. Features and prices change.
Questions
Can Slinky send my variables to a host the way Doppler does?
Partly. Share › Send to Host sends a project’s variables to Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare or Fly.io through their own command-line tools, signed in as you, after you see the names and confirm with Touch ID. It runs when you choose, not on its own.
Does Slinky work for a team?
Yes, without a server. Share with… sends items as an encrypted file only the people you pick can open, and a shared project keeps one signed, encrypted file in a folder your team already syncs. There are no roles, audit logs or syncing to CI, which is where Doppler is the better fit.
Is Slinky free?
Yes. Slinky is free and open source under the MIT License, made by Testament Made, LLC. It runs on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 15 Sequoia or later.
More comparisons
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Slinky vs HashiCorp Vault
Secrets infrastructure for organisations, or a Mac app for your own keys.
Slinky vs 1Password
A full password manager with developer tools, or a free Mac app just for keys.
Slinky vs Apple Passwords
Use Apple Passwords for sign-ins, and Slinky for keys and backup codes.
Slinky vs Bitwarden
An open-source password manager and a Secrets Manager for teams, or one Mac app.
Slinky vs .env files
Plain text in the project folder, or encrypted and out of it.
All comparisons
Every tool side by side, in one table.