Rekey — hand off control without handing over your secret

What Rekey is for

Sometimes control of an account or a sealed package needs to move from the people who set it up to another trusted group. Rekey runs that handoff as a guided ceremony.

You keep the secret material on your own computers — each participant runs a small app called the Rekey agent.
We only coordinate — invitations, status, and sealed packages. Rekey never holds the controlling secret in the clear, and never receives clear file payloads.
No one person holds the whole key alone — enough people from the right group must cooperate.

How a handoff works

A short story of the path from setup to the receiving group. Press play, or step through one scene at a time.

Scene 1

Form the two groups

Where knowledge lives

Rekey’s cloud service never holds clear KEY, and never receives clear file payloads. Secrets are created on participant machines. Sealed packages stay sealed while they travel through us — the service coordinates; it does not open your sealed mailboxes.

On your side — the Rekey agent holds that seat’s keys and opens sealed mail only locally.
On our side — ceremony status, who is invited, and sealed deposits we cannot open. For file delivery, we store ciphertext only. For some on-chain deliveries, we store a public account manifest — not a private signing key.
In email — join links and install tips, never the controlling secret.

More on terms like KEY, DKG, and sealed mail is in the FAQ.

Closed beta

We’re inviting a small number of organizers to try Rekey. Leave your email and we’ll follow up with access when a seat opens.

If you already have an invite code, install the app below and enter the code when you create a ceremony.

Install the Rekey app

You’ll need Python 3.11 or newer. After install, open the local app and sign in to a ceremony with your invite (and organizer invite code, if you have one).

macOS / Linux

curl -fsSL https://releases.rekey-service.com/handoff-agent-stable/0.2.2/install.sh | bash
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
rekey-agent --version

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://releases.rekey-service.com/handoff-agent-stable/0.2.2/install.ps1 | iex
rekey-agent --version

Reopen PowerShell after install so the rekey-agent command is on your PATH.

Open the app

rekey-agent ui

A browser window opens on this computer (usually http://127.0.0.1:9740/). Choose the production Rekey service, then follow Create (organizer) or your join link (member).

If you were invited as a member

Install the app with the commands above.
Open the join link from your invitation email (confirm the ceremony id with your organizer).
Claim your seat and follow the in-app steps.

If you are the organizer

Request beta access (or use the invite code you were given).
Create a ceremony, verify your email, add seats, and send invites.
Walk the group through setup, handoff, and delivery in the app.

Downloads Ceremony service Request access

FAQ

Plain answers to terms and ideas that may be new on a first read.

What is a ceremony?

A structured handoff with named seats, invitations, and clear stages (setup → seal → hand over → deliver). Everyone follows the same script so control moves on purpose, not by informal key sharing.

What is the Rekey agent?

A program you install on your own computer. It holds that seat’s keys, talks to the Rekey service for sealed mail and status, and never uploads your private keys to us.

What is Group A and Group B?

Group A sets up the handoff and holds early custody. Group B is the receiving group after the handoff. The organizer is usually on the A side and helps run the process.

What is a “controlling secret” or KEY?

The secret that can unlock the delivery (for example decrypt a sealed file, or authorize a change on a blockchain account). That secret is split across people, and Rekey’s cloud service never holds it in the clear.

What is distributed key generation (DKG)?

A way for several computers to create a shared secret together so that no one machine ever needs to see the whole secret first. In Rekey’s default path, Group A (plus a special completing piece held by the organizer) creates that secret locally.

What is the “king” or completing share?

An extra share the organizer holds so that Group A alone cannot rebuild the full secret. After handoff, the receiving group gets their own completing piece. Think of it as a required co-signature in share form, not a password we store.

What is cutover / VSR?

Cutover is the step that moves custody from A toward B. VSR (verifiable secret redistribution) is a method that reshapes the shares for the new group without putting the full secret back together on a single dealer machine along the way.

What does Rekey’s cloud service actually store?

Ceremony roster and status, sealed packages, and coordination messages. For file deliveries: ciphertext only — never clear payload bytes. For some blockchain deliveries: a public account manifest — never a clear private signing key.

Why do I need a beta invite code?

Creating live ceremonies on our hosted service is invite-only during beta, so we can support participants carefully. You can still download the app; starting a production ceremony needs the code we send after approval.

Where does ceremonies@ceremony.rekey-service.com go?

That address is used as the from line on automated invite and verification email. It is not a monitored inbox for human replies — use the beta form on this page instead.

Is this the same as giving Rekey my wallet seed?

No. The hosted service never holds clear KEY and never receives clear file payloads. You run the agent; sealed material opens on participant machines.

Hand off control without handing us your secret.