Get started

#Before you begin

You'll need:

• An email address you can receive mail at, for the verification code.
• A master password that only you know, at least 12 characters long.
• A safe place to keep your Emergency Kit — for example an encrypted USB drive, or a printout stored somewhere secure.

You can sign up in the web vault or in the Mac, iPhone or Android app; the steps are the same. The example below uses the web vault.

#Step 1: Create your account

1. Open the sign-up page.
2. Enter your email address and click Send code (发送验证码).
3. Enter the 6-digit code from the email and click Verify (验证). The code is valid for 10 minutes. If it doesn't arrive, use Change email (返回修改邮箱) to check the address.
4. Choose a master password and enter it again. It must be at least 12 characters and both entries must match.
5. Click Create account (创建账号). MimiKey generates your Secret Key and derives your keys on this device, which can take a few seconds.

When you sign up in the Mac or iPhone app, you'll also enter a device name (设备名称), such as "My iPhone", which appears in your device list. Sign-ups in the web vault are always named "Web 浏览器".

#Step 2: Save your Emergency Kit

Once the account is created, MimiKey shows your Secret Key.

Important Your Secret Key is shown only once. If you lose both your master password and your Secret Key, your data cannot be recovered — not even by MimiKey.

1. Click Download Emergency Kit (下载应急包). You'll get a text file named MimiKey-应急包.txt containing your email address and Secret Key. You can also use the copy button and store the key yourself.
2. Keep the Emergency Kit somewhere safe, and not in the same place as your master password.
3. Select "I've saved my Emergency Kit somewhere safe" (我已把应急包保存到安全的地方) and click Enter vault (进入保险库).

To learn what the Emergency Kit is for, see Master password and Secret Key.

#Step 3: Sign in on your other devices

The first time you sign in on a new device, you need three things: your email address, your master password and your Secret Key. After that, the device remembers the Secret Key and only asks for your master password.

1. Install the Mac app or the Android app from the download page. For the iPhone app, see its page for beta access.
2. Enter your email address and master password.
3. Paste the Secret Key from your Emergency Kit into the Secret Key field. Upper or lower case, dashes and spaces don't matter.
4. Click Sign in (登录). Your items sync to the device automatically.

#Step 4: Add your first item

1. Click New item (新建条目).
2. Choose a type, such as Login (网站账号).
3. Fill in the name, website, username and password. To create a new password, click the generate button next to the password field.
4. Click Save (保存). The item is encrypted and synced to your other devices.

Enter the full https:// address of the website (for example https://example.com) — AutoFill uses it to match the item to the site.

Coming from another password manager? You can import in bulk in the Mac app.

#Step 5: Turn on AutoFill

• Mac: open System Settings > General > AutoFill & Passwords and turn on MimiKey (during the beta, registered development Macs only).
• Android: in MimiKey's settings, tap Set as system Autofill service (设为系统自动填充服务).
• iPhone: open Settings > General > AutoFill & Passwords and turn on MimiKey, or jump there from System AutoFill (系统自动填充) in MimiKey's settings.
• Chrome / Edge: install the browser extension; a MimiKey icon appears in login fields.

See AutoFill for the full details.

#Next steps

• Turn on Touch ID or Face ID unlock — see Mac and iPhone.
• Create a shared vault for items you share with family or colleagues.
• Learn how to manage devices and recover your account.