Getting Started

Registration


The first step in getting started is to register for your own CommonKey account. Whether you are setting up CommonKey for the first time or invited by someone, the process is the same. Navigate to https://dashboard.commonkey.com/signup and input the information in the appropriate form fields.

NOTE: CommonKey enforces a strong password policy to keep your data safe. The following password requirement rules are required:

  • Must be at least 8 characters long.
  • Include at least one lowercase caharacter (a-z).
  • Include at least one uppercase character (A-Z).
  • Include at least one digit (0-9).
  • Include a special character.


Installing the Browser Extension


Once you've created a CommonKey account, the next step is to install the browser extension to fully utilize all of CommonKey's features. You can go to the Chrome Web Store or the Firefox Addons to download and install the extension. Once installed, you can log into CommonKey through the extension and easily access all your personal and shared secrets.


Verifying your Account


The final step in getting started with CommonKey is verifying your email address. When you registered for a CommonKey account, a verification email was sent. You have 14 days to click on the registration email to ensure your identity is protected.


Creating a Company


To get started managing all your company's secrets for you and your team you'll need to create a company. Admins and managers who maintain access to these secrets can create a company from the dashboard. Go to https://app.commonkey.com and click on the "For Sharing, Create a Company" button. Enter your company's name and a short description and you'll be launched into the company dashboard view.


Setting up a Company

Creating a Team


One of the first things you'll want to do when setting up a company is creating a team. A team is an organizational group within your company that should have access to a subset of secrets (e.g. Marketing, Sales, Development). Easily create a new team by clicking on the "Create Team" button, assign the group a name, and the new team will appear on the left hand side.


Inviting a User


The next step is to invite users to the company. By clicking on the "Invite User", a pop-up window will appear and you'll be able to either add new users or existing users you've already invited to have access to company secrets. To invite new users, simply enter their email address in the form (add multiple users by entering in multiple email addresses) and an invitation email address will be sent to them by you on our behalf. They will receive instructions to sign up for a CommonKey account and accept your invitation to receive access to the shared secrets you assign to them.


Accepting an Invitation


When an invitation is sent to a new user, an email is sent to them from CommonKey on behalf of the admin. They will receive an email with instructions to sign up for a CommonKey account and will be prompted on first login to accept the pending invitation. For security purposes, once they've accepted the invitation, they must wait for the company admin to either log into the dashboard or refresh the extension to complete the encyrption process. Once completed, the invited user will have access to all the company secrets the admin shared with them.


Adding a Secret


To add a secret using the CommonKey dashboard, click on "+ Add Secret" within the team you want to add the new secret. There are three ways in which you can add a secret:

  • Auto-Login Secret: select from one of over 800 approved web apps that are integrated with CommonKey. By adding this type of secret, users will receive access and be able to automatically login without seeing the username or password using the browser extension.
  • Custom Secret: to add login credentials for non web apps (e.g. FTP, servers, routers). When shared with a user, they will be provided the username and password, which can be copied to clipboard.
  • Existing Secrets: to transfer an existing secret from your company or personal list, click on the "Existing Secret" tab and select the secret you'd like to add to the current team.
There is one additional way to add a secret using our browser extension. To learn more, check out the Login Auto-Detect section below.


Assigning Admin Permissions

You can grant adminitrative permissions to users to help manage your company. There are three levels of admin permissions, one scoped at the company level and two at the team level:

  • Administrator: will have the same permissions and rights as the owner (excluding billing).
  • Add Users: allows a user to add users to only that team (Note: this user will only be able to view this team and it's corresponding users when visiting the company dashboard.
  • Add Secrets: allows a user to add secrets to only that team (Note: this user will only be able to view this team and it's corresponding secrets when visiting the company dashboard.
Combining "Add Users" and "Add Secrets" will expand the administrative privelages of a user, based on their roles and responsibilities within the company, designated by the admin.


Browser Extension Features

Login Auto-Detect


When you log into a web app, the CommonKey browser extension's auto-detect feature will prompt you, asking if you'd like to save the secret's login credentials to your CommonKey account. By clicking YES, you can assign the secret to either your Personal list OR to a company/team(s).


Automatic Login


You can automatically log into applications by either clicking on the Auto-Login secrets from the CommonKey browser extension pop-up window OR clicking on the CommonKey icon within the password field and selecting the secret you'd like to use to log in with.


Random Password Generator

When creating a new account, you can use CommonKey's random password generator within the browser extension to help create a strong password. Simply click on the CommonKey icon within the password field and set your password requirements to generate a strong password. Alternatively, you can use our web-based random password generator.


Additional Functionality

Export Secrets

You can export your saved secrets from CommonKey two ways:

  • Personal Secrets: Navigate to your CommonKey account settings page (top right menu selection) and clicking on "Export Secrets" at the bottom left hand side of the page. This will export all personal secrets to a csv file.
  • Company Secrets: Navigate to the company settings pop-up and click on "Export Secrets" at the bottom of the window. This will export all of the current company secrets to a CSV file. NOTE: Only the company owner can export company secrets.

Transfer Company

Need to change ownership rights to your company? Transfer ownership of your company with a click of a button!

We've recognized that as your company grows and scales, so does responsibilities, which often means roles shift. This is why we've released a feature that allows you to easily transfer ownership of a company to another team member. The transfer feature allows you to maintain continuity in operations and managing access to all your shared services.


Two Factor Authentication

Add an extra layer of security for your CommonKey account by enabling two factor authentication (2FA).

You can enable 2FA for your account by navigating to the Settings page. Since we use Time-based One Time Passwords (TOTP), you'll need to download an app on your phone from its respective app store. Examples of supported phone applications are:

Once setup, you'll be required to enter your TOTP code each time you log into the dashboard or browser extension.