File::...y::File(3pm)

💖 File::KDBX::Key::File — a file key 💖

okay bestie, this page lives in the File::KDBX::Key::File manual, part of the User Contributed Perl Documentation, and it's about the kind of key that's literally just... a file. no cap.

---

✨ VERSION ✨

version 0.906 — she's giving stable, she's giving released 🫶

---

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

use File::KDBX::Constants qw(:key_file);
use File::KDBX::Key::File;

### Create a key file:

my $key = File::KDBX::Key::File->new(
    filepath    => 'path/to/file.keyx',
    type        => KEY_FILE_TYPE_XML,   # optional
    version     => 2,                   # optional
    raw_key     => $raw_key,            # optional - leave undefined to generate a random key
);
$key->save;

### Use a key file:

my $key2 = File::KDBX::Key::File->new('path/to/file.keyx');
# OR
my $key2 = File::KDBX::Key::File->new(\$secret);
# OR
my $key2 = File::KDBX::Key::File->new($fh); # or *IO

---

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so a file key (aka a "key file", we been knew) is the type of key where the secret is a file. the secret is either the file contents, or it's generated based on the file contents. to lock and unlock a KDBX database with a key file, you have to present the exact same file. girl, the database literally cannot be opened without it. no file, no entry, periodt. 🔒

it inherits methods and attributes from File::KDBX::Key (the original text says "Inherets", and honestly? iconic typo, we love her, but the meaning stands 💅).

there are multiple types of key files supported — go peek at "type" below. this module can read and write key files. versatile queen. 👑

---

💅 ATTRIBUTES 💅

✨ type

$type = $key->type;

gets the type of key file. it can be one of these, from ":key_file" in File::KDBX::Constants:

• "KEY_FILE_TYPE_BINARY"
• "KEY_FILE_TYPE_HEX"
• "KEY_FILE_TYPE_XML"
• "KEY_FILE_TYPE_HASHED"

✨ version

$version = $key->version;

gets the file version. heads up: this only applies to XML key files. everyone else can sit down bestie 🪑

✨ filepath

$filepath = $key->filepath;

gets the filepath to the key file, if known. if not known... mystery. 🤫

---

🔥 METHODS 🔥

🌈 load

$key = $key->load($filepath);
$key = $key->load(\$string);
$key = $key->load($fh);
$key = $key->load(*IO);

loads a key file. look at all those ways to hand her the goods — a path, a scalar ref, a filehandle, a glob. main character energy fr fr. ⭐

🌈 reload

$key->reload;

re-reads the key file, if possible, and updates the raw key if the key changed. like a vibe check on your key, but it actually updates state. 🦋

🌈 save

$key->save;
$key->save(%options);

writes a key file. available options, bestie:

• "type" — type of key file (default: the value of "type", or "KEY_FILE_TYPE_XML")
• "verson" — version of key file (default: the value of "version", or 2). yes, it's spelled verson in here, that's not me, that's the source, we don't ask questions 🙈
• "filepath" — where to save the file (default: the value of "filepath")
• "fh" — IO handle to write to (this overrides "filepath", and one of the two must be defined)
• "raw_key" — raw key (default: the value of "raw_key")
• "atomic" — write to the filepath atomically (default: true) — no half-written key files, we're not doing chaos today ✨

---

💀 BUGS 💀

please report any bugs or feature requests on the bugtracker website <https://github.com/chazmcgarvey/File-KDBX/issues> — go off, tell them everything 🫶

when submitting a bug or request, please include a test-file or a patch to an existing test-file that illustrates the bug or desired feature. receipts, bestie. give them receipts. 🧾

---

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Charles McGarvey <ccm@cpan.org>

---

🎀 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE 🎀

this software is copyright (c) 2022 by Charles McGarvey.

this is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself. slay, legally speaking. 💜

---

and that's the whole page, babes — this one's documented against perl v5.40.1, dated 2025-05-04, under the manual name File::...y::File(3pm) (yes, truncated, mystery-core, we love that for her 💖✨). now go lock something up properly. 💅