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Quick Start

This guide walks you through your first steps in Cryptomator Hub, from logging in for the first time to working with an unlocked vault, in about 15 minutes.

As a worked example, meet Bob: he just joined the design agency Acme, and his administrator Alice sent him the Hub URL and his login credentials. Bob will set up his account, create a vault called Client Projects, share it with his colleague Carol and the Designers group, and unlock it with the Cryptomator desktop app.

Before You Start​

You need:

  • The URL of your organization's Hub instance and login credentials, both provided by your administrator.
  • The Cryptomator app for your OS. This guide uses the desktop app; Android and iOS work analogously, see Working with Vaults.
  • The create-vaults role to create a vault yourself. If the Add button in the vault list stays grayed out for you, ask your administrator for the role — or skip that section and continue with a vault someone shared with you.

Set Up Your Account​

Bob opens the Hub URL, logs in with his credentials, and Hub greets him with a one-time account setup.

Account setup on first login

The setup generates his personal Account Key. It is what links further browsers and Cryptomator apps to his account later, so he copies it into his password manager before finishing the setup.

After finishing the setup, Bob lands on the vault list — Acme's is still empty. The Add button in the top right corner is the starting point for the next section: Create New opens the vault creation wizard.

Empty vault list with the Add button in the top right corner

For more details, read Account Setup and Account Key.

Create a Vault​

Time for the first vault:

  1. In the vault list, Bob clicks Add → Create New and names the vault Client Projects.
  2. He follows the creation wizard and stores the displayed recovery key in his password manager — it restores access to the vault data if Hub is ever unavailable.
  3. In the last step, he downloads the vault template (a zip file, exactly once) and unzips it into the cloud storage folder the team already shares.

Create a vault

For more details, read Create a Vault, Show Recovery Key, and Download Vault Template.

Add Members​

The vault is Bob's alone so far. In the vault details, he clicks into the search field of the Shared with section, picks Carol, and clicks Add. He then adds the Designers group the same way, so future team members get access automatically through their group membership.

Add a user or group in the vault details

note

When a member completes their account setup (or resets their account), a vault owner has to confirm the access once via the Update Permissions button before that member can unlock the vault.

For more details, read Share a Vault, Update Permissions, and Web of Trust for verifying the identity of vault members.

Unlock the Vault​

To work with the encrypted data, Bob opens the Cryptomator desktop app, adds the vault by selecting the vault.cryptomator file from the shared cloud folder, and clicks Unlock. His browser opens for authentication, and since this is the first unlock from this device, Hub asks him to register it with a device name and his Account Key. After that, the vault unlocks, and Bob can reveal and edit the Client Projects files as usual.

Desktop shows unlock successful

For more details, read Unlocking a Vault, in particular Register Device.

Next Steps​