Deadbolt2.1.1

Deadbolt encrypts and decrypts individual files or entire folders with a password, giving users a direct way to protect private data. Its graphical interface reduces the process to selecting the item, entering a password, and performing the requested operation, while decryption follows the same pattern. A command-line interface provides the same encryption and decryption functions for terminal-based workflows, and it securely prompts for the password when one is not supplied as an argument.

The tool uses AES-256-GCM for encryption and argon2id for password hashing, with a randomly generated 128-bit salt and a 256-bit derived key. AES-GCM’s authentication tag verifies the integrity of encrypted data, while the implementation uses Electron, Node.js crypto.js, and the @node-rs/argon2 library. It is intended for people protecting documents, folders, and other files on laptops or desktop computers, including users who prefer scripting or terminal automation.

Deadbolt runs on macOS and the current 2.1.1 release targets Apple Silicon (arm64); pre-built releases also exist for Windows and Linux. Linux users can choose AppImage or Flatpak packages, although automatic updates are currently unavailable there. The macOS edition is freeware and requires a password to perform its core operations.

Starting with version 2.1.0-alpha, newly encrypted files use argon2id instead of PBKDF2-SHA512 for password-based key derivation. These files carry a DEADBOLT_V002 header, while older V001 files remain decryptable for backward compatibility and can be re-encrypted under the newer format.